Re: [at-l] Papers, please

["Bucky" <mfuller@somtel.com>]

The link to this article in the Press Herald is dead, so I'll just
post the whole enchilada.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Shawn Levasseur (by way of Maine Libertarian Activist List, 
<liberty@free.midcoast.com>) <shawnl@midcoast.com>
Sent: Friday, April 09, 1999 10:32 AM
Subject: Bill Nemitz: Making your point the hard way 


> 
> This email has been sent to you by Shawn Levasseur (shawnl@midcoast.com).
> 
> Comments from Sender: 
> 
> This story can be found online at: 
> http://www.portland.com/news/story12.shtml
> 
> ===========================================================================
> ====
> 
>  
>  Friday, April 9, 1999 
> 
>  
> 
>   Making your point the hard way 
> 
>   They complain that they're overworked and underpaid, that the packed 
> public hearings, endless floor debates and the flood tide of proposed 
> legislation are enough to transform them from elected lawmakers into 
> certified lunatics.
> 
>  But before we shower the Maine Legislature with our sympathy, they need 
> to explain two things. One is Rep. Henry Joy, R-Crystal. The other is 
> L.D. 1987, a bill titled, "An Act to License Hikers, Canoeists, Kayakers 
> and Off-road Bicyclists."
> 
>  The bill, which Joy is sponsoring, will be the subject of a public 
> hearing before the Legislature's Natural Resources Committee one week 
> from today. That means tax dollars have already been spent printing it, 
> distributing it and finding a place for it on the committee's busy 
> schedule.
> 
>  It also means that Maine is being run by masochists.
> 
>  Let's imagine for a moment that Joy's bill became law. Under its 
> provisions, any person who walks through the woods, paddles a canoe, 
> squeezes into a kayak or pedals down a bike trail anywhere in Maine would 
> need a license for such "recreational activities" from the Department of 
> Conservation.
> 
>  The one-year fee for state residents, lucky souls, would be $5 for kids 
> and $15 for adults. Out-of-staters would pay $20 and $48 respectively for 
> their tickets to Vacationland.
> 
>  Now Joy, mind you, is not an unreasonable man. If the land on which 
> you're recreating is owned by your "immediate family," no license would 
> be required. If you're already licensed to hunt, fish or operate a 
> snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle, you're off the hook as well.
> 
>  Missing from Joy's bill (in addition to simple logic), however, is the 
> answer to one glaring question: How might Maine enforce such a law? Would 
> hikers halfway up Katahdin run into a cop in climbing shoes? Would 
> coastal sightseers thrill to kayakers locked in slow-speed chases with 
> the marine patrol? Would bicyclists have to choose between hitting their 
> brakes and running over the thumbtack mat laid in their path?
> 
>  "You couldn't enforce it," Joy said Thursday between hearings on equally 
> important bills. "But I think it's an issue that needs to be discussed."
> 
>  Actually, the "issue" bugging Joy has little to do with hikers or bikers 
> or boaters. Rather, he's upset with rules being developed by the Bureau 
> of Parks and Lands that might prohibit the use of motorized vehicles in 
> state-owned "wilderness areas." "Sometimes, (a nonsensical bill) is the 
> only way you can get people's attention," he said.
> 
>  He's got that right. Asked about Joy's bill Thursday, Department of 
> Conservation spokeswoman Susan Benson hastily faxed out 16 pages of 
> reports showing the rules are still many months  and many public hearings 
>  away from enactment.
> 
>  In other words, whatever Joy says at next Friday's hearing will have to 
> be repeated  when the right people are listening.
> 
>  Now with 1,500-plus bills crammed into this session's legislative 
> hopper, it's unfair to pick only on Joy. Last week, the House spent two 
> killer hours debating a bill naming Chesuncook the official state soil. 
> Around the same time, Gov. Angus King took time out of his busy day to 
> veto a law that would have let gas station owners stop posting their 
> prices.
> 
>  And these people complain about having too much to do?
> 
>  "Some bills are frivolous," House Speaker Steven Rowe, D-Portland, 
> conceded Thursday. "But the authors of those bills can feel they need the 
> bill to make a point."
> 
>  Even if the point is hopelessly off target.
> 
>  "Do I expect them to spend an awful lot of time on it? No," Joy said. 
> "But if I'm going to pay money for public lands, I should have access to 
> them."
> 
>  So let the hearing begin. If they're lucky, the Natural Resources 
> Committee will see only Joy waiting to testify when they get to L.D. 1987.
> 
>  And if they're as busy as they claim, hearing no more discussion, 
> they'll tell him to take a hike.  
> 
>    - Bill Nemitz is a columnist for The Portland Press Herald/Maine 
> Sunday Telegram.  


--
mfuller@somtel.com; Northern Franklin County, Maine         $
The Constitution is the white man's ghost shirt.  }>:-/> --->


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