Ask Your Legislators to Support LD 1378
As summer approaches, both the weather and the Maine Legislature are really heating up! Legislators in Augusta are in the final push to get all their work done before adjournment at the end of June, so bills are coming to the House and the Senate at a breakneck pace.
One of the hottest issues of this session has been around the Land for Maine’s Future Program (LMF). As you’ve heard before, AMC and our conservation partners across the state support this important source of state conservation funding. The Land for Maine’s Future Program has a proven track record of bringing together state agencies, landowners, municipalities, and local organizations & partners to support and protect Maine’s most treasured places and resources.
Governor LePage has decided to politicize this widely supported program by withholding LMF bond funding – funds that you and I voted to allocate in the 2010 and 2012 general elections. He is using LMF as a bargaining chip by connecting this program to unrelated issues and initiatives.
AMC supports LD 1378, a bi-partisan effort to limit the Governor’s ability to withhold voter-approved bond money. LD 1378 is sponsored by Senator Katz (R-Augusta) and supported by both Republican and Democratic legislators who understand the value of LMF to their communities and regions. The bill would require the state treasurer to borrow all outstanding LMF bonds – the $6.47 million approved in 2010 and the $5 million in 2012.
This bill faces a long road ahead – and we need your help! It was voted out of Committee with a divided report, so we expect a lively floor debate and will need to generate as much support as possible from legislators across the State. If the bill does move forward the Governor will almost certainly veto it, so we will need a 2/3 majority in both the House & Senate to override his veto.
We need all the support we can get from you and others who care about Maine’s outdoors.
Please contact your legislators today and tell them you support LD 1378. Ask them to support the bill and to communicate this support to their respective legislative leaders.
It only takes a few minutes to use our simple form to send a message. I’ve drafted an email for you to use or you can write one in your own words.
Help us by speaking up for Maine’s natural resources and the special places protected by the Land for Maine’s Future program.
If you’re active on social media, you can show your support for LD 1378 and the LMF program by using #releasethebonds and #ProtectLMF.
Labels: CAN, Conservation Action Network, Land for Maine's Future, Maine