By Rep. MARC MALON

I view this past week in Augusta as transitional. Committees, including my own, finished their work on bills and the bulk of the activity began moving from the committee room to the floors of each chamber.

The week began on a stressful note personally. I went to the Memorial Day ceremony at Waterhouse Field, but had to leave before it began due to a family health matter (not to worry – everyone is okay now). This same issue kept me from being able to attend session on Tuesday, making it the first session day I have missed this term.

My absence Tuesday from roll call votes is excused due to the compelling personal reasons for my absence. Still, I hate missing any vote. Fortunately, it does not appear that my vote alone would have swung the outcome on any measures on Tuesday.

Among the measures I would have supported on Tuesday (and look forward to supporting on enactment) are two bills for active transportation and trails along defunct rail corridors.

As the Maine Sunday Telegram noted in their lead editorial today, these measures are modeled off the economic success of the Eastern Trail which runs through our community. While I am supportive of expanding rail transit where it is viable, I have not seen compelling evidence that these corridors would be viable anytime soon, and this is an excellent use for them. I am proud to support the Transportation Committee’s bipartisan work on this issue.

Though I missed session on Tuesday, things stabilized enough for me to be able to remotely attend and participate in the last full meeting of the Housing and Economic Development Committee later that day. We worked and voted on three bills dealing with very important issues.

After long, occasionally challenging conversations regarding two bills to amend the Growth Management Act, I joined a majority of the committee in supporting a compromise version of LD 1940, which makes badly needed updates to the Act to enable smarter growth principles and development where it makes sense. The compromise incorporates feedback from municipalities and their planners and gives them options rather than mandating one pathway from the state.

There was also merit to LD 1751, which proposed more modest changes and would still be a step forward, but while I wanted to support both I believe LD 1940 is the better policy and that is what I decided to throw my full support behind. These measures took us deep into the weeds of policymaking over development and how Maine can align its goals on housing, economic development, and our environment. While it was charged at times, I believe we landed in a very good place.

I also was proud to cast my vote in favor of LD 1829, sponsored by Speaker Ryan Fecteau, which makes needed updates to zoning requirements and makes the laws clearer for folks interested in creating more housing.

The Speaker worked hard with Rep. Amanda Collamore (R-Pittsfield) on a compromise which makes sense for all Maine communities while respecting their differences. The vote was unanimous, which is significant given the history of bills dealing with zoning. Building more housing remains imperative, and this bill will help.

Overall, the Housing and Economic Development Committee was very productive this session, and it benefited from the thoughtfulness of all of its members (from both parties). Perhaps it was due to the subject matter and the fact that we kept the culture wars out of the committee room, but even members whom I have sharp disagreements with on other subjects engaged in good faith discussions over the bills we worked. Not everything was unanimous of course, but we never disagreed on the underlying facts behind the policies we debated. When facts matter, good process is possible we can accomplish a great deal.

I was able to return to Augusta on Wednesday and Thursday, which were spent in the House Chamber. We voted on a number of items. These included:

– Very close votes on a measure, LD 301, to clarify the Public Utilities Commission’s authority to engage in performance-based ratemaking. Like many bills from the Energy Utilities and Technology Committee (EUT) this bill is highly technical and dense. It takes a lot of studying to understand! But these bills are very important as they deal with the vital and sensitive issues of how to best regulate utilities, protect consumers, and meet state economic development and climate goals. I believed LD 301 made sense and voted in favor.

* We voted 108-33 (making it bipartisan) to support funding for the University of Maine System, whose importance needs no explanation.

* We opposed a wholly unnecessary measure out of my other committee, Veterans and Legal Affairs (VLA), which proposed a constitutional amendment stating that only citizens can vote in our elections. We opposed this for a very good reason: it is already the case that only citizens can vote in our elections. Statute makes it crystal clear that only citizens can vote in all Maine elections, including municipal (and town ordinances cannot change that as state law supersedes them). This bill was brought forward to perpetuate a myth and spread disinformation. It failed, as it should have.

* Bills from the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee (IFW) don’t normally garner a ton of attention, but three did on Thursday. On a mostly party-line vote, we approved a budget initiative from the Department to support their programs, which bolster sportsmen and our outdoor economy. This measure was strongly backed by the Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine (SAM).

 It remains unclear why there was opposition, but the few arguments I heard against it were not compelling to me.

• A bipartisan majority of us rejected a bill which would allow youth hunters to hunt on Sundays. For those unaware, Sunday hunting has long been a touchy issue. It is not currently allowed, and that is not simply due to old-fashioned “blue laws.” To make a long story short, most hunting in Maine is conducted on privately-owned land as allowed by the landowner. Multiple surveys and studies have shown that both landowners and hunters alike enjoy (reasonably, in my view) having one day each week where there is a reprieve and precautions are not needed for folks enjoying the land for non-hunting purposes. If Sunday hunting were to be allowed, more landowners would post their land and prevent hunting. This would be a blow to our hunting traditions. This is why I opposed the measure.

I also voted against a measure to establish a Constitutional Right to hunt and fish in Maine. For one, I do not think it is at all necessary. Mainers enjoy broad hunting and fishing rights (as they should!) and they are not at risk. This measure is also broad and vague, which creates confusion that will surely lead to litigation. We don’t need that. It also could open the door to Sunday hunting.

 I was in the minority voting in opposition, but it is unclear whether or not this measure will move forward because a constitutional amendment needs to receive a two-thirds vote on enactment and it did not receive that on Thursday (though it was close). I support our hunting and fishing traditions, and am likely to oppose any restrictions on what is currently allowed. But this measure went too far and was poorly drafted.

I also would like to note that one of my bills, LD 641 which bolsters the Housing Problem Solving Program at MaineHousing in support of homelessness diversion efforts, was unanimously enacted by the House and now goes to the Special Appropriations Table, where all bills with fiscal notes go. I am working on ways to secure the funding for this vital program which prevents people from becoming unhoused in the first place.

These next few weeks will be busy as we move through the remainder of our work. We will have some late nights and will tackle some very important and sometimes-controversial issues. I’ll keep you posted as we go.

In the meantime, let’s remember to take good care of each other, respect our neighbors, and support our community.

Please feel free to reach out to me anytime at marc.malon@legislature.maine.gov with any questions and/or concerns.

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State Rep. Marc Malon is currently serving his second term representing a portion of Biddeford in the Maine House of Representatives. He is also the party affairs director for the Maine Democratic Party. He may be contacted at: Marc.Malon@legislature.maine.gov

The views and opinions presented here are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Biddeford Gazette or its publisher.

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