Pro-business and environmental views collide at a hearing on bills that would loosen the 34-year-old ban in Maine. by Rebekah Metzler Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA – Two daughters of the woman who led the effort to enact Maine’s 34-year-old ban on billboards testified Tuesday against proposals that they said would erode her legacy. Read More
Maine Legislature
The Natural Resources Council of Maine reviews every bill being considered by the Maine Legislature to determine which ones deserve support and which ones should be opposed based on their potential impact on Maine’s environment. Read more about the bills we are following and taking action on.
Proposal to Lift Maine’s Billboard Ban Sparks Opposition
by A.J. Higgins Maine Public news story A pair of bills has surfaced in the Legislature’s Transportation Committee that would try to help the cash-strapped state DOT find new ways to build and maintain roads. But a provision for billboards in one bill, and the option for business signs in another, created an uproar during public Read More
Chemical Industry Drafted Bill to Modify Maine’s Kids Safe Act
by Susan Sharon MPBN radio news story The sponsor of a bill that environmentalists say would dramatically weaken Maine’s Kid Safe Products Act acknowledged today that the chemical industry drafted the language. Republican Rep. Jim Hamper says the proposed reforms are necessary to improve the act, which he thinks is overly broad and creates uncertainty Read More
NRCM Testimony Regarding Bills Related to Maine’s Kid-Safe Products Law
in SUPPORT of LD 1185: An Act to Amend the Process for Prioritizing Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products by Matt Prindiville, NRCM Clean Production Project Director Senator Saviello, Representative Hamper and members of the Committee. My name is Matt Prindiville and I’m the Clean Production Project Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). Read More
Sweeping Anti-Environment Agenda Emerges at State House
Record Number of Rollback Bills Proposed to Weaken Environmental Safeguards News release At a State House news conference today, a broad range of people spoke out in strong opposition to dozens of bills introduced by lawmakers that would repeal or weaken laws that protect Maine’s environment and the health of Maine people. Although the governor’s Read More
Maine Governor’s Bisphenol-A Remark Draws Rebukes
by Susan Sharon MPBN radio news story Recent remarks by Gov. Paul LePage about what he perceives as a lack of science surrounding the chemical bisphenol A and its role as a hormone disruptor is once again making headlines around the country and generating a strong and critical response from environmental and health policy groups. Read More
Business Leaders Unveil Criteria for Evaluating LD 1 Proposals
Lawmakers Urged to Use Five Common Sense Guidelines to Sort through Reforms News release At a State House news conference today, before a crowd of people from all corners of Maine, a group of businessmen and women endorsed a set of guiding principles that could help lawmakers sort through the raft of proposals for “regulatory Read More
Critics: LePage’s Proposed Regulatory Reforms “Extreme”
by Susan Sharon MPBN radio news story The LePage administration has released a list of proposed regulations targeted for outright repeal, relaxation or reform and environmentalists are calling it “extreme” and “reckless.” Some of the proposals will require legislative approval. Others could be done by administrative rule-making. In either case, alarms are being sounded on Read More
2011 Environmental Roundtable with Governor LePage
On January 20, 2011, NRCM sponsored a Roundtable on Maine People and the Environment at which speakers presented to Maine Governor Paul LePage their views on why a clean and healthy environment is important for their job, our economy, the quality of life of Maine people, and our state’s future. More than 500 citizens from Read More
