To the Editor:
Last week I received a letter from the State of Maine Revenue Service. My interpretation of its contents is that our Legislature passed a law regarding monthly 911 surcharges on the sale of track phones when it already had a law on the books regarding the issue.
The older law was for a tax of $.30 per month and the newer law is for $.37 per month. Of course they are going with the higher monthly amount. You might not think this is a big deal but the idea itself is that our legislature passed a law that was already had on the books and we did not need.
To make it worse, they then had to send a correction letter out to the general public and at taxpayer expense. This is just one example of a government being ineffective and far too big.
They need to stop passing so many laws in general and focus on important things like how to get people off welfare and how to reduce our debt (contrary to popular belief, it is not the government’s job to create jobs unless they are government jobs). They need to get out of the way and let private business do their thing. Small business has always been the foundation of our State.
If a person at my husband’s company had made such a costly and careless mistake they would likely have been fired. Who is going to take responsibility for this stupidity? Doesn’t anyone research before a bill becomes law? This is a clear and obvious sign that too many laws are being passed each year because they can’t even keep track of them. We already knew this though.
The way it works here in Maine is that bills get introduced by various folks and then get voted on by the Legislative Council. They decide if something is worthy of going forward to be discussed. There is one regular session in the spring and then another “emergency” session in the fall. I recently attended an emergency session of the legislative council where they decided to let a bill go on for further discussion that has to do with allowing malt beverage sales be allowed from mobile transport (i.e. golf carts) at golf courses. (Reading between the lines one could assume the golf courses do not want patrons supplying their own beverages and want to provide this valuable service for them) This does not seem like an emergency to me rather a very specific law aimed at a very specific circumstance. Not something the average person can benefit by.
In Texas, new laws are only passed once every two years, perhaps allowing more time for research and less opportunity for duplication and items of such narrow range of importance.
I am urging people to start asking questions and to be more aware of what is happening with our government. There is great job security in passing more and more laws. Yes it is a complicated new world out there with lots of things to consider but it does not take much to realize they are out of control and need to be held accountable.
I urge you to contact your local representatives, Senators and members of Congress and talk to them about your concerns. They work for us and need to hear what we think.
Paula G. Sutton, Jefferson
