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August 18, 2008
AUGUSTA –House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, was appointed by the Senate President and Speaker of the House on Friday to serve as House Chairwoman of a bipartisan panel tasked with reviewing the state’s resources to help Mainers facing an expensive winter, and develop a plan for the Legislature to help with heating costs when it convenes in December. The 13-member Heat and Energy Emergency Task Force will hold its first meeting on Aug. 20 at the State House.
On Friday, Gov. John Baldacci released details of his emergency short-term energy strategy, which has already gone into effect. His $12.585 million plan includes new investments in weatherization, low-income heating assistance, alternative modes of transportation, voluntary alternative work schedules for state employees, business development, training and education, and is targeted toward specific, attainable results within the next five months.
The governor has said that these measures make a special session of the Legislature before the next Legislature is sworn in on Dec. 3 unnecessary, so the task force will spend their meetings collecting information, looking for additional needs and gaps in service, and developing a plan for legislative action immediately upon convening for the next session.
“The first goal of this task force is to bring in representatives from state and community agencies that help people with heating and energy costs to find out what they have, and what they need,” Pingree said. “Once we have all of that information in the same place for the Legislature to consider, we can come up with an informed plan that will help the most people as soon as possible.”
The bipartisan task force is comprised of House and Senate leadership, including the Democratic majority leaders and assistant majority leaders from both chambers, as well as the Republican minority leaders and assistant minority leaders from the House and Senate. The rest of the group is made up of five other lawmakers who bring policy expertise from legislative committees that focus on energy laws and resources; including the Utilities and Energy Committee; the Natural Resources Committee; and the Business, Research and Economic Development Committee.
While the task force may report their findings as early as they wish, they must issue a report by Nov. 28, before the next Legislature is sworn in on Dec. 3. They hope to have a bipartisan agreement on legislation prepared for when the new legislature convenes, possibly as soon as the swearing-in day.
Democratic legislators hoped that the task force will focus on heating and energy areas that may need immediate legislative attention and garner support for other energy initiatives that would require legislative approval.
“Although our immediate goal is to do whatever we can as a state to prepare for this coming winter, we also plan to review what kind of direction the Legislature ought to take over the next year to ensure that we aren’t going into the next winter with as much fear as we’re facing for this one,” Pingree said. “We want to point our state in a direction that has fewer people relying on oil, and an informed, effective game plan to help the people who still are.”
In addition to the eight legislative leaders, those appointed to the task force are: Sen. Phil Bartlett, D-Cumberland, chair of the Utilities and Energy Committee and member of the Natural Resources Committee; Sen. Douglas Smith, R-Piscataquis, member of the Utilities and Natural Resources committees; Rep. Jon Hinck, D-Portland, member of the Utilities Committee; Rep. Bruce MacDonald, D-Boothbay, member of the Business, Research and Economic Development Committee; and Rep. Stacey Fitts, R-Pittsfield, member of the Utilities Committee.
Contact:
Travis Kennedy, communications director, 287-1433