Dear John,
While there remains a mountain of work ahead to untangle systemic racism and abusive policing practices in our nation, this week we feel a rare moment of relief that George Floyd's killer was held accountable.
MCV exists to protect Maine's environment and our democracy — and people are at the center of our efforts. Our work means nothing if Black communities are not safe in the very environment we’re fighting for. No one should fear persecution or death because of the color of their skin. Black Lives Matter.
As we reflect on this moment, we find ourselves in the final stretch of this year's legislative session in Augusta. As always, things are changing pretty quickly in the State House, and lawmakers are planning to pick up the pace to vote on over 1,500 bills by mid-May! They come back into session next week, on April 28, to vote on legislation completed in committee.
Although we occasionally forget that we’re “muted” on our Zoom calls, I assure you that we're not silent in our mission to support the issues you care about at every step in the legislative process.
Before we begin this update, we'd like to thank the thousands of you who have attended our Friday Lunch & Learns, especially the sessions involving legislation backed by the Environmental Priorities Coalition — all policies near and dear to all of us here at MCV.
And with that, here's where many of our priority bills stand right now in Augusta:
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Reducing Litter: Balloons & Plastic Bags
Thanks to the hundreds of you who signed our petition, along with the activism of our allies, the Environment and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) voted 9-4 to keep the single-use plastic bag ban in place, which means the full legislature should follow the committee lead and vote on April 28 to uphold the plastic bag ban!
LD 1023, "An Act To Define Intentional Balloon Releases as Litter", introduced by Rep. Genevieve McDonald of Deer Isle, recently passed in the ENR committee, by a 9-4 vote. This bill should also be voted on by the full legislature on April 28.
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Environmental Priorities Legislation [Read the fact sheets for all of the EPC bills here]
LD 125, a bill sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson to ban aerial spraying of a class of toxic herbicides, was tabled in committee after a public hearing. Vermont banned aerial herbicide spraying in 1997, so Maine is behind the times on this one. You can read more about this bill by our staff member Stacie on our blog and a recent feature piece in the Maine Monitor on the subject.
We love Land for Maine’s Future (LMF), the successful program that has conserved public access to land and water and protected farms, forests, and working waterfronts since 1987. We will be testifying at a public hearing on April 26 in favor of LD 983, the Land for Maine’s Future bond sponsored by Sen. Cathy Breen of Falmouth.
It's not too late to sign-up for our Earth Week LMF event! Click here to join us.
We all know that fuel costs in Maine winters get very expensive, especially for Maine’s seniors, low-income residents, schools, and towns. That's why we're excited that LD 1094, an energy efficiency and weatherization bond sponsored by Sen. Matt Pouliot of Augusta will help reduce costs. The public hearing was yesterday.
A public hearing is scheduled for May 3 to hear LD 1503, a bill to phase out toxic PFAS chemicals sponsored by Rep. Lori Gramlich of Old Orchard Beach. PFAS chemicals are used in thousands of everyday products including cookware, clothing, food packaging, textiles, and car seats and are contaminating our lands and waters, threatening public health, and burdening municipalities with expensive cleanup.
Recycling and disposing of excessive, mostly plastic packaging is very expensive for municipalities. LD 1541, sponsored by Rep. Nicole Grohoski of Ellsworth, shifts the cost of disposing of packaging from towns to where it belongs, with producers of the packaging. This bill was just printed and the public hearing is not yet set.
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Democracy
The first committee "work session" was held on LD 1126, a bill to create an online voter registration system sponsored by Rep. Teresa Pierce of Falmouth. We're excited for this bill because it will help more people register to vote, including young people, working people, and really all people in Maine. The Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee will likely vote on it soon.
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Equity
LD 1034, "An Act To Provide Funding To Support the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Populations", was heard on April 14. This important Commission currently has no funding, so this legislation is vital for it to do its work.
Mark your calendars! Join tribal leaders and advocates for a virtual rally on Wednesday, April 28 from 10-10:30 AM in support of Tribal Sovereignty ahead of a Judiciary Committee hearing on the issue scheduled for May 4. We hope you can attend this online event and help us spread the word — This event will be livestreamed on Facebook. Click here to sign-up!
Interested in learning more about this issue? Take a look at our Guide to Tribal Sovereignty on our Facebook and Instagram.
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Environmental Justice
A legal loophole in Maine's waste management laws has allowed for Maine to become a toxic dumping ground for the Northeast. Every year, hundreds of thousands of tons of waste from out-of-state are dumped in the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town — increasing pollution, leading to landfill expansions, and threatening sites of cultural and spiritual significance to the Penobscot Nation. Residents in the area banded together to form the community group Don't Waste Maine and are fighting back. A bill to close this out-of-state waste loophole is coming soon.
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There are more Environmental Priority Coalition bills to be printed and heard. We will update you on them and much more as the legislature’s work continues.
Again, we can't thank our supporters like you enough for our big victories this legislative session — and we hope to report on more in the weeks to come!
Happy Earth Day!
Yours,
Beth
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