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Legislative council focuses on critical legislation in economic crisis
October 21, 2009
AUGUSTA – Rep. Jane Eberle’s bill to protect the state’s lakes from invasive plants was selected from 374 bills to be considered by the full legislature during the second session of the 124th Maine Legislature, which convenes on Jan. 6. The shorter second session will focus only on top priority items in an effort to save taxpayer dollars in tough financial times.
“I am interested in getting all the stakeholders to the table to come up with a plan that dramatically increases Maine’s efforts to prevent, respond to and eradicate invasive plants,” said Eberle, D-South Portland. “We do not want to be in the situation that other states are in, having to harvest milfoil just to create a usable water surface area for boating and swimming. We must act quickly and with all the tools we can gather to fight for the future of our precious lakes.”
Maine is one of the last states in the country to fall victim to the worst invasive aquatic plants, due in large part to the vigilance of the state, lake associations and other groups. But in the last two summers, both Eurasian water milfoil and hydrilla have been discovered in Maine lakes. These two infestations have ramped up the urgency of dealing with the plants and preventing their further spread. Eberle’s bill would restrict activities that are most compromising in the couple of dozen lakes known to be infested with invasives, and increase protections for all the other lakes.
In Maine, the second session of the legislature is reserved for bills that fall into one of four broad categories: bills relating to the budget, bills submitted by the governor, emergency legislation and legislation carried over from the first session. Citizen-initiated bills can also be considered during the second session.
“The second session is very short, so we have to limit the number of bills that will be considered,” said Speaker Hannah Pingree. “Every one of these bills is important to someone, but it is our job to manage the legislature’s time in a responsible way and that requires limiting the volume of bills we will consider. Last year we set an aggressive schedule and we were able to adjourn a week early – saving taxpayers money. I am hopeful we can do that again.”
The Legislative Council, which is made up of six Democrats and four Republicans approved 129 bills – 19 fewer than the 148 let in during the 123rd Legislature. In addition to bills voted in today and the bills that are voted in on appeal, the Legislature will consider 88 bills carried over from last session and 75 submitted by state agencies.
A list of the Legislative Council’s action on each bill is available at the Maine State Legislature's web site.
Contact:
Rep. Jane Eberle, 776-3783
Lori Eschholz, legislative aide, 287-1430
Jodi Quintero, communications director, 287-1433