This week, local legislators comment on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and term limits for the Legislature, both of which passed into law. Next week, look for legislators’ take on the tax reform bill.

Rep. Gary Moore

RGGI: Yes

I voted in support of the bill that would authorize Maine to join the 10-state agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent over the next decade. It is important for Maine to play its part in combating global warming. I also believe that this bill will encourage us to use cleaner energy sources and to become more energy independent. In addition, funds raised by the sale of “carbon credits” will be used to promote energy efficiency and offset increases in consumer energy rates.

Term Limits: Yes

I also voted in favor of a bill that would extend legislative term limits from eight years to 12 years if approved by voters at a referendum. This bill was before my committee and I heard many compelling arguments in favor of extending term limits by a few years. The most compelling was that since term limits, the governor has gained more influence due to legislative turnover. The Legislative Branch is an important part of our system of checks-and-balances and I want to make sure it stays that way. I especially felt comfortable with this bill because the voters of Maine will have the final say.

Rep. Gary Plummer

Term Limits: No

I voted against the term limit proposal. Term limits was a citizen-initiated proposal when it was passed several years ago. In talking with voters I do not see this as a really important issue to them. If the people do want to change term limits they can again partition the state for another referendum. It seems to me it is somewhat self serving for legislators to push for this change.

RGGI: Yes

I voted in favor of the Regional Greenhouse Gas bill in the House of Representatives. This bill generated almost no discussion on the floor and passed the House on a 120-7 vote. This 10-state agreement is designed to reach a 10 percent reduction in pollution from the region’s power plants by 2018. The plan is to encourage Maine’s electricity generators to move away from fossil fuels and adopt cleaner means of energy production. Anything we can do to cut our nation’s dependence on foreign oil is a step in the right direction.

Rep. Mark Bryant

Term Limits: Yes

One of the first things I realized when elected to the Legislature was how much there is to learn about the issues and the political process. The institutional memory of the Legislature has shifted somewhat to the agencies and special interest groups, who have more time and resources to develop positions and information on the issues. As I have watched other colleagues become “termed out,” it has become clear to me that these members still had much left to accomplish, but were passing the torch on their initiatives to new members with undeveloped expertise.

RGGI: Yes

While the headlining issue of this session has been administrative school consolidation, I believe the real legacy of this Legislature will be its effort to reduce our state’s carbon emissions through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This compact between Maine and nine other northeastern states will reduce pollution, encourage the use of renewable energy sources, and work to decrease our carbon footprint over time. It also presents a good model of how businesses and the state can work together to stem the tide of global warming and preserve our natural heritage for future generations.

Rep. Rich Cebra:

RGGI: Yes

I voted for the “reggie” bill for several reasons. RGGI would move us away from dependence on imported fossil fuels, opening up opportunities for expanding the use for cleaner, domestic alternative fuels which will bring jobs to Maine and a cleaner environment. As a member of Republicans For Environmental Protection, I have advocated for reasonable and responsible environmental solutions. The final RGGI bill is not perfect but it should lead to cleaner air in the Northeast and the funds that come from selling the RGGI credits to other states should be used to keep future electricity rates from spiking for consumers as they would have without RGGI.

Term limits: No

I do not support the idea of increasing term limits based on the arguments I have heard. The people decided on term limits several years ago because there was too much power being held by a couple of people who essentially were “elected for life.” The Maine House of Representative is “The Peoples House” and is supposed to be a citizens’ legislature not one made up of career politicians. Term limits assures that. If the people of Maine want to change that, there is a referendum process that allows them to do just that.

Sen. Bill Diamond

Term Limits: Yes

The issue of whether or not the current Term Limits law should be changed has been debated for the past several years. A bill was submitted this legislative session to extend the limits from eight to 12 years. The original term limits law was created by a citizen referendum which was passed in 1994 by the voters. The law has been in place for 13 years resulting in both advantages and disadvantages to the system. I supported sending the question out to the voters this year since that was how this law was originally passed.

RGGI: Yes

I support this compact between Maine and nine other northeastern states designed to encourage the use of renewable resources and to reduce global pollution that effects climate changes. RGGI was crafted with the help of both environmentalists and business leaders throughout Maine focusing on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 10 percent by 2019. Without the RGGI agreement, it is estimated that those emissions would increase by 30 percent. Many expected big business to fight this bill, however they supported it recognizing the long-term benefits to the environment and to reducing the cost of doing business.