The 125th Maine Legislature and our new governor have now been at work for the better part of three months. The work of government continues.

Those who voted for and expected change should not be disappointed in the broad strokes of policy that have been proposed in Augusta. New priorities are being set that are intended to make the state’s business climate more friendly, create jobs and put more money into family paychecks.

What is disappointing is the business-as-usual jostling between the political parties and the continuing penchant for undertaking trivial matters when there is so much work to be done on a few critical issues.

An allegation by the Maine Republican Party that state Rep. Emily Cain, the Democratic leader in the House, inappropriately received a benefit for taking advantage of the Maine Green Energy Alliance efficiency program seems to be an unnecessary distraction.

The agency was staffed largely by current and former Democratic Party activists and legislators. According to allegations by GOP party Chair Charlie Webster, Cain had an energy audit done for her home. But she concluded that the recommended cost to upgrade insulation and energy systems was beyond the means of her household.

Without the upgrades, she was not eligible for the tax incentives allowed under the program and did not recapture the $300 energy audit cost. If all that information is factually correct, the only objective of the GOP would be to embarrass the Democrats and extend the negative media coverage associated with this flawed program.

Cain fired back by saying, “These baseless charges from the Maine Republican Party are a pathetic attempt to create a scandal out of thin air to distract the public from their own wildly unpopular energy and budget proposals, and their governor, who can’t stay out of trouble.”

Unless a law has been broken, drop it. Such tit-for-tat politics is not what the majority of voters asked for. Political theater in this time of economic distress is a waste of time and tarnishes everyone associated with it.

Another event that has wasted time and resources is the proposal to make the whoopie pie the state dessert. The average cost to introduce a bill in the Legislature is about $320 for staff time, advertising and printing, not to mention the time to debate and amend the bill.

If legislators have time to go through the long process of extolling the dubious virtues of flour, chocolate, sugar and fat so Maine can claim title to a popular confectionary treat, then perhaps our elected officials have too much time on their hands. Perhaps they ought to stay home and save the taxpayers the cost of transporting, housing and feeding them.

Here is a sample of other bills unrelated to the core operations of government. They are among the 1,771 bills submitted this session that will take time for staffers and legislators to process, deliberate and decide whether they should be among the laws of Maine:

• LD 67 would require horse breeders to pay a stallion registration fee by Jan. 1 or be subject to a late fee.

• A bill to require all state agencies to use armories for meetings if they are available, something one might simply communicate as a good idea rather than a law with administrative overhead.

• A law to “require the inclusion of Franco-American history and the study of the influence of French intellectual thought on American history” in history classes — another unfunded state mandate.

• A bill to make consumer fireworks legal in Maine with the provision that “A seller of consumer fireworks must provide a safety pamphlet to each purchaser of consumer fireworks. A person who violates the provisions of this bill is liable for any bodily injury or property damage that results and cannot use certain civil defenses.”

Sounds like a bill submitted by trial lawyers.

• A bill to change the license fee for an infant lifetime hunting license for nonresidents to $150 from $450, even though those same out-of-state babies have to pay $450 for a lifetime fishing or bow hunting license.

There are numerous policy and administrative bills that are very important and deserve attention.

It seems that if the filtering process through strong leadership or legislative rules were more rigorous, the Legislature could cut its meeting time and related expense to a minimum. And for the political parties, more policy and less posturing is needed to bring Maine closer to the prosperity we all desire.

What do you think and what are you going to do about it?

Tony Payne is a lifelong Maine resident active in business, civic and political affairs. He can be reached at:

tpayne@maine.rr.com