My term representing District 127 (coastal Scarborough) in our state capital has been truly rewarding. Everywhere I go in town, I am asked how I like working in Augusta. I always reply that I love it. Serving this community that I love has been a challenging learning experience, but it has been a joy and a privilege. I have been amazed at how well the role has fit into my busy life as my family and I adapted to the role. Additionally, I have been very proud of the accomplishments of the 125th Legislature and I am enthusiastically seeking a second term.

This last session of the Legislature saw many major changes in our state’s direction. We passed the first tax reform in years, modernizing an outdated code that placed a married couple earning just $20,000 a year at Maine’s highest tax rate.

We addressed the looming state pension crisis that threatened to devour over $300 million a year of state revenue, jeopardizing the pensions of current and future workers. The legislation we passed cut the state share of the debt in half, putting the retirement system on a sustainable trajectory without crippling future state budgets.

We passed major bipartisan regulatory reforms that will reduce red tape and streamline state functions.

We made major first steps in welfare reform by setting limits on cash assistance and restructuring departments at DHHS while protecting the most vulnerable. Much more reform will be needed, but the hardest step on any journey is the one first taken.

We passed health insurance reform to break up the monopoly of a single health insurance company and allow competition. We held the line on spending increases and paid down our debt to our hospitals.

My work on the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee has been particularly rewarding. I love the diversity of the issues we hear and am particularly proud of the work we did regarding Unemployment Insurance Reform, Workers’ Compensation Reform and clarifying the definition of Independent Contractors. These are critical issues affecting nearly every Maine business.

Additionally, I sponsored several Scarborough-specific bills. These include:

LD 307 “An Act to Encourage Lobstering Traditions and Facilitate Retirement Lobstering” and LD 1282 “An Act To Increase Fairness in Lobster Fishing Licensure” – If successful, either would have helped a local man retire and pass his business along to his son, who remains on a waiting list for a full license.

LD 1162 “An Act To Allow Members of Professional Associations To Purchase Health Insurance across State Lines” – This bill, inspired by a local veterinarian, was folded into the health insurance reform which became Public Law 90 and which will allow all Mainers to purchase health insurance across state lines.

LD 1817 “Resolve, Regarding Access to Eastern Road in Scarborough” – Successful bill to allow local residents to build on their property and convey land to the state in exchange.

LD 1809 “”An Act To Apply the Sales Tax on Camper Trailers and Motor Homes Purchased for Rental in the Same Manner as on Automobiles Purchased for Rental” – Successful bill which solved a major tax issue for Bayley’s Camping Resort and any other campground or business which leases camper trailers.

I also introduced LD 323 “An Act To Implement a Coordinated Strategy To Attract New Businesses, Expand Existing Businesses and Develop a Consistent and Recognizable Maine Brand” which DECD Commissioner George Gervais recently listed as one of the legislature’s most important business bills from this session.

As a member of the legislature’s “Moderate Caucus,” I enjoy working across party lines to reach consensus and I have proven myself effective in doing so, such as when I helped pass a bipartisan compromise on workers’ compensation reform on the House floor.

In addition to serving on the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee, I was also appointed to the State Workforce Investment Board (the former Maine Jobs Council) and was most recently invited to sit on the Advisory Board for Avesta Housing’s Home Ownership Center, which will help Mainers becomeready for homeownership or avoid foreclosure.

I believe that personal responsibility and a government that lives within its means is essential to growth. I believe the path to future prosperity begins with a smaller, more responsive and efficient government that is able to meet our 21st century head on.

I look forward to talking with as many people as possible this summer as I visit your homes and expect to be held accountable by the people of this district for the job I have done. I can be contacted at RepAmy.Volk@legislature.maine.govor by phone at 229-5091. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Volk is a Republican state representative from Scarborough.