The list of bills clearing the Revisor’s Office continues to grow, closing in on the 900 mark last week.
Here is a list of highlights sponsored by tri-county lawmakers in bills 200 through 300:
* Rep. Gary Knight, R-Livermore Falls, wants to change Maine’s voter registration law to eliminate same-day voter registration. Knight’s bill is one of several Republican proposals that seek to tighten voting rules. Knight’s proposal, LD 203, would halt voter registration seven days before an election. The bill has already had a public hearing, but hasn’t been voted out of committee.
* Sen. David Hastings, R-Fryeburg, has introduced a bill that would ban all motorboats, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and jet skis from Hall Pond in Paris. A public hearing for LD 211 is scheduled for March 16.
* Sen. Thomas Saviello, R-Wilton, originally introduced a bill that would deny smokers from receiving MaineCare benefits. Saviello has since amended LD 216 to focus on smoking cessation programs for MaineCare recipients.
* Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello, R-Poland, has a bill that would reduce shoreland zoning land-use rules from 250 feet from the high-water mark to 75 feet. The bill has drawn the ire of environmentalists, who worry that loosening the restriction will lead to more pollutants, such as lawn fertilizers, leaking into lakes and ponds. A public hearing hasn’t been scheduled.
* Snowe-Mello is also sponsoring LD 281, which would change state law regarding enforcement of environmental violations and confine enforcement within a five-year statute of limitations. Currently, state law has a 10-year statute of limitations. The bill had a public hearing on Thursday.
* Saviello has a bill that would require recreationists, such as snowmobile riders and ATV riders, to seek written permission from landowners of cropland and pastureland before going on the property. Violating the rule would result in fines between $100 and $500. No public hearing has been scheduled for LD 223.
* Sen. Lance Harvell, R-Farmington, wants to create a sales tax exemption for commercial agriculture products, such as crops, nursery products and seed for livestock. No public hearing has been scheduled.
* Rep. Brian Bolduc, R-Auburn, tried to make registering to vote a prerequisite for high school graduation. A committee voted against Bolduc’s proposal.
* Rep. Peter Johnson, R-Greenville, wants a sales tax exemption for heating oil, coal or wood used to heat businesses. There’s no public hearing yet scheduled for LD 239.
* Harvell tried to lift chimney lining requirements for most residential heating units. The Public Safety Committee voted against the bill.
* Harvell’s LD 275 would allow school boards to terminate a teacher’s contract 30 days after notification. The termination currently occurs 90 days after the firing notification.
* Rep. Dale Crafts, R-Lisbon, has a bill that would prohibit water skiing on a course on small ponds. Crafts’ proposal would affect ponds with less than 100 continuous acres of open water. The Agricultural Committee has voted against the measure.
* Rep. Tom Winsor, R-Norway, thinks the state can save money by contracting out certain services to private companies. There are no specifics in Winsor’s draft proposal of LD 287, but they’ll soon emerge when the State and Local Government Committee holds a March 7 work session.
* Crafts has a bill that would allow people 70 years old or older to hunt with a crossbow during bow and arrow season. The Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee has yet to vote on the measure.
* Sen. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, wants health care providers to be able to perform lead poisoning blood tests on children whose parents are enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children Special Supplemental Food Program . The Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday voted to pass the bill.
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