Join NRCM's Action Network! Your voice can make a difference in protecting the Maine we love.
Legislative Priorities:
(Updated during the session)
Anglers, Lobstermen, Conservationists, and State Officials Highlight Need for Saltwater License
Legislators & Legislative Committees
Tips for Contacting Your Legislators
Today's Happenings at the State House
LIVE ONLY DURING SESSION
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Working for legislation to protect Maine's environment is an essential part of NRCM's mission for the people of Maine. We work for new protections and also to uphold current legislation as it is attacked by industry and others who put profit ahead of our children's health. |
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State House News and InformationNRCM is at the State House every day during the legislative session, working hard to protect Maine's environment and improve the quality of our air, our forests, our lakes and rivers. |
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Keep Maine's Food Supply "DECA-Free"No one should have to worry about toxic chemicals contaminating their food. In 2007, Maine banned the toxic chemical DECA from use in consumer products. It is now being used in plastic shipping pallets and is as dangerous and unstable as ever. |
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Improve Air Quality and Reduce Regional Haze Clean and healthy air should be an integral part of Maine. Yet Maine’s air is sometimes unhealthful due to polluters upwind. Unhealthy air can lead to serious health problems, especially for children, seniors, and those with lung or heart disease. It also results in visibility loss, which makes our many scenic parks and lands less enjoyable for residents and visitors alike. NRCM strongly supports setting a reasonable limit on sulfur air pollution. |
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Build a Clean Energy Future for MaineClimate impacts must be addressed in a comprehensive manner in Maine development practices through a simple, streamlined process that will help Maine meet its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while creating clean energy jobs to stimulate the economy. LD 891 moves Maine forward on a path to energy efficiency and smart development, helping us achieve our existing goals of reducing carbon dioxide pollution. |
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Responsible Recycling for Consumer ProductsMaine’s product stewardship laws for computers, TV sets, mercury thermostats and fluorescent light bulbs are success stories that now serve as national models. It makes sense for producers to share in the responsibility to recycle their products. Expanding our partnerships with manufacturers of consumer products supports responsible recycling and creates new opportunities to get hazardous materials out of community landfills. |
In-Depth Project Description
Our Mission for Maine
Working for legislation to protect Maine's environment is an essential part of NRCM's mission for the people of Maine. We work for new protections and also to uphold current legislation as it is attacked by industry and others who put profit ahead of our children's health.
Location, location, location
Our location, just steps from the State House, as well as our commitment to the people of Maine means we are well positioned to watch over what happens within Maine 's Legislature. Each January the Legislature begins a new session to evaluate funding and other priorities. NRCM follows each and every piece of proposed legislation that may affect Maine 's environment and the people who enjoy and rely upon it.
Helping with the Good, Preventing the Bad
During the winter months, much of our time is spent proposing bills and scanning lists of titles for "bad bills" - those that would roll back existing protections or introduce new harms to Maine 's environment. Once we identify bills of interest, we track them throughout the session. A bill is usually then sent to committee, where legislators serving on that committee can pass it, kill it, or recommend an amendment. NRCM staff, with help from our members and volunteers, put tremendous effort into testifying, calling legislators, and working for or against a bill while it is in committee.
Once a bill passes out of a committee, it must go before the House of Representatives and the Senate. NRCM does not rest along the way. We are there during the committee hearings and in the House and Senate chambers working to ensure protection for Maine 's environment.