ATTENTION LEGISLATORS: What part of ‘NO!’ Don’t You Understand?
The Agriculture Committee has been told that this work session will be designed to discuss how they are going to process the forestry bills, whether they will work them together, or one at a time, or come up with a committee bill. Insiders say they strongly suspect they will be urged to come out with a committee bill, but that would be a terrible idea. We need to urge them not to.
Keep in mind that people on that Ag Committee such as Rep. Volenik and Rep. Shiah will continue to be the conduits for the Green agenda. When- ever forestry bills are on the table, the room is filled with paid lobbyists representing Green Groups. The real working Maine has to be there as well, in spite of the fact that we’re not paid to be there, otherwise the committee may get out of touch with reality. They have to be reminded of the “NO” vote and what it meant. Otherwise, they might think that Audubon and NRCM and the Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club et al are the reality.
Beyond some funding for the enforcement and educational parts of The Forest Practices Act, plus support of the Snow-Mello bill, the message is “do nothing”, that was NOT a give-us-more- big-government vote last November. The Snow-Mello bill requiring a search warrant is something which should have been a part of the FPA from the beginning and we view this as simply a housekeeping bill to reflect what is already guaranteed under the Maine Constitution.
This doesn’t give anyone much time. I found out about this work session late this afternoon from someone who had just happened to call to see if a work session had been scheduled for any time in the future. The notices the committee were supposed to send out have not made it yet to the mail boxes of those of us who asked to be notified.
You may want to print out and save the following list: The phone number of the Agriculture Committee is 287-1312. Call and have others call the Agriculture Committee Members throughout this session. We cannot rest. Members of the Committee are the following:
Senator Marge Kilkelly of Wiscasset (Senate Chair of the Committee) (Home Ph. 882-5410) Email: Kilkelly@wiscasset.net
Senator Judy Paradis of Frenchville (Home Ph. 728-4854) Email: rody@nbnet.nb.ca
Senator Leo Kieffer of Caribou (Home Ph. 493-3190) Email: Leo.Kieffer@state.me.us.
House Members on the Committee:
Rep. George Bunker (House Chair of the Committee) (Home Ph. 796-2876) No email
Rep. Roland Samson of Jay (Home Ph. 645-2620) No email
Rep. David Shiah of Bowdoinham (Home Ph. 666-5902) Email: dshiah@horton.col.k12.me.us
Rep. Paul Volenik of Brooklin (Home Ph. 359-2106) Email: paul_volenik@celestat.com
Rep. Sharon Libby Jones of Greenville (Home Ph. 695-2604) Email: sljones@moosehead.net
Rep. Linda Rogers McKee of Wayne (Home Ph. 685-4385) Email: repdist79@aol.com
Rep. Ruel Cross of Dover-Foxcroft (Home Ph. 564-7781) No Email
Rep. Edward Dexter of Kingfield (Home Ph. 265-4571) No email
Rep. Walter Gooley of Farmington (Home Ph. 778-2368) Email: wgooley@somtel.com
Rep. Priscilla Lane of Enfield (Home Ph. 732-4783) Email: alane@telplus.net
All House members may be contacted by calling 1-800-423-2900 during session.
All Senate members may be contacted by calling 1-800-423-6900 during session.
