COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS
MAKE MAINE AFFORDABLE
Address the high cost of home ownership. Housing is increasingly expensive, and the multi-faceted causes, including skyrocketing inflation and interest rates, are largely the result of poor decisions made by the federal government. That being said, Maine’s housing costs are high when compared to other states. Major contributors to Maine’s high housing costs are the result of bad policy at the state level. Enable permits to be fast-tracked, remove burdensome regulations, and incentivize investments in a wider array of housing options.
Keep the money you earn! It’s not rocket science: Decrease government spending and lower taxes! When the state’s rainy day fund is full and obligations to essential government services are met, the people’s money needs to be returned to them.
Realign government programs. Government programs have greatly expanded under Democrat control. Government expenditures are not like market costs, subject to downward pressure from price, product, and profit/loss competition, thus, they need to be de-monopolized over time through greater competition, consolidation, downsizing, privatization, scrutiny, transparency and other innovative means.
Support Licensing reform. Allow career or military experience to count toward occupational licensure in appropriate fields that will provide higher incomes, such as teaching. Make it easier for people to move to Maine and get to work with transferable licensing.
PRIORITIZE PUBLIC SAFETY
While recognizing that rehabilitation is the only long term solution to crime, public safety needs to rise to the forefront of our judicial system. If an offender is willing to take personal responsibility, offering meaningful opportunities for them to turn their lives around and become contributing members of their families and their community is the ultimate outcome of the criminal justice system.
Hold criminals accountable. America’s founding principle of justice for all has been overtaken by so-called “social” justice. This shift in focus is eroding public safety. Criminals are not “victims;” they are perpetrators of crimes against our communities, and we must uphold the laws already in place.
Strengthen bail code policy. The current focus on low/no bail is harmful. Pre-conviction bail laws are designed to keep the public safe.
Enforce existing laws. Probation officers are not being allowed to do their jobs and revoke paroles despite multiple offenses. The Department of Corrections must be allowed to fulfill their function, and jails need funding to maintain capacity to house the incarcerated.
Reaffirm commitment to drug courts. Drug Courts should be funded with adequate treatment and supervisory support and rigorous testing to incentivize addicts to get clean and pull themselves out of the bondage of addiction. Accountability is essential to rehabilitation and everyone deserves a second chance.
REINVIGORATE EDUCATION
Maine Republicans support meaningful reforms that will empower students, parents, and educators alike.
Provide greater choice. As we confront our education system's challenges, it becomes increasingly clear that providing greater choice is essential. Education freedom is not just a matter of policy; it is the civil rights issue of our time. Through commitment to these legislative priorities, we can create a brighter future for all Maine students.
School choice is integral to better education outcomes as parents would utilize this freedom to find the best fit for their child. In Maine, only wealthy parents have school choice. A child's zip code should not determine their educational options. We must allow the state’s funding to follow the student to be an equalizer in educational opportunity.
Uphold parental rights in the upbringing of their children. Research consistently shows the biggest indicator of a student’s educational success is the support and involvement of the student's family. Therefore, Government policy should in all ways reinforce the family unit. As the most integral component of their child’s education, parents must be respected and welcomed in our school systems and respected as the highest authority.
Increase vocational education options that are integrated into our secondary schools with meaningful investment in equipment, technology, and instruction, recognizing that college is not the path for everyone.
Restore true local control through funding the classroom rather than administration. Public education has not delivered on their responsibility to prepare Maine students for meaningful careers and lifelong learning. This is a result of a near monopoly in methods and content, forced onto our local school districts through the enticement of funding by the Maine Department of Education.
Take politics out of the classroom. In school, children should be focused on fact-based curriculum and not subject to the political agendas of organizations or any member of the staff, including the administrators.
IMPROVE HEALTHCARE ACCESS
Expand telehealth options. Extend reciprocity to non-resident physicians, nurses, labs, and clinics, and other personnel whose license is in good standing in their ‘home’ state of operation and allow them full practice authority. This practice was successful during the pandemic, but was disallowed when the “emergency” ended. Terminating this practice only benefits hospitals who fear competition. Allowing non-resident practicing physicians to deliver telehealth services in Maine without going through a time-consuming and cumbersome licensing process could dramatically increase healthcare options for rural Maine communities and for those without reliable transportation. By removing regulatory obstacles, more Mainers can access the vital health care services they need.
Enhance consumer protections from medically induced bankruptcy. Ensure there are reasonable barriers to impairing consumer credit for medical debt, especially when charges are highly inflated and unreasonable, and require billing be done in a reasonable timeframe. Medical bills are often excessively delayed causing confusion, and providers are quick to apply collection practices that harm consumer credit.
Allow consumers to see the medical provider of their choice. Insurance networks are increasingly narrowing and restricting access to doctors, often pushing out lower cost options. Enable spending at cost-effective, out-of-network providers to count towards in-network deductibles, offering flexibility for Mainers stuck in narrow provider networks.
Require price disclosure. Promote measures that Ensure Lower Costs and Consumer Protections for Patients. Amend medical billing processes, which currently favor hospitals and providers, instead of consumers, by requiring cash price disclosure on services to ensure consumers know when they may be better off paying cash directly to the provider, rather than using insurance. Additionally, require providers to provide, without charge, an itemized bill upon request.
LOWER ENERGY BILLS
High energy prices hurt the elderly and families. Parents shouldn’t have to choose between paying their electric bill or for basic family needs. High electricity rates block business expansion and prohibit new companies from locating in Maine, causing the loss of thousands of high-paying blue-collar jobs.
Cut subsidies to solar. These subsidies not only enrich special interest groups, but also increase utility rates for everyday Maine people. The elderly and struggling families, who can barely afford their personal electricity bills, are currently forced to subsidize solar panels for the wealthy.
Lift the cap on Maine’s clean hydropower and fully utilize existing dams powered by our abundant water.
Reevaluate Maine’s wholesale purchase requirements. Maine’s renewable energy portfolio standards are mandating us to purchase premium-priced, unreliable wind and solar power, which drives the non-competitive electricity prices in the state.
Explore the viability and advantages of micro-modular reactors that have already achieved US regulatory approval. Modern control systems using artificial intelligence make these 100x safer than nuclear reactors of years past; the small size reduces potential collateral damage, and one unit produces power equal to one of Maine’s small hydro dams, about 10 to 50 megawatts.
SAFEGUARD OUR ENVIRONMENT
Localized agriculture helps improve community and is essential to food security. With sustainable practices in fishing, farming and forestry, it also restores vitality to the land and marine environment, all while reducing fossil fuel use and bolstering rural economic growth. Simply put, healthy farms grow healthy communities.
Increase Local real estate tax credits for small and medium sized farms, linked to productivity per acre.
Implement tax credits supporting local food production. Government policies should nurture small agricultural ventures, not subsidize the razing of farmland for the purpose of green energy solutions. Maine has lost 564 farms within five years, and now has the fewest number in at least 25 years. Maine’s farmland and forest are fast becoming solar fields, to the severe and yet unrealized impact to our ability to feed ourselves and eliminating access to nutrient dense food sources closer to home.
Implement immediate regulatory revision to protect and encourage investment in small-scale, widely dispersed slaughtering and processing facilities, milk houses, cheese houses, and other value-added food production facilities, including maple syrup.
Protect our heritage fishing industry, lobstering, by investing in innovation and pushing back on federal overreach and demand regulations be based on verified science, not biased theories.
Develop research-based protocols for management of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl) substances and within a balanced, prudent, regulatory framework that protects the population of Maine and the environment. There are an estimated 600 different PFAS in use today; it is important to classify and identify them. Some with limited ability to expose or contaminate the environment, such as those used in life-saving medical devices, are vital for businesses to continue to operate in Maine and provide good manufacturing jobs.
Protect our oceans from industrialization.
Modernize wastewater treatment facilities. Maine needs to prioritize our aging infrastructure systems to ensure protection from spilled waste, leaking pipes, and from service disruptions.
GIVE A HAND UP, NOT A HAND OUT
We all share the goal of providing Mainers with opportunities for upward mobility through work. However, entitlements and the bureaucratic welfare programs, continually expanded by Augusta Democrats at an ever-increasing cost to Maine taxpaying families, have failed to reduce poverty. Welfare policy reform focused solely on work requirements, while a key component, is also inadequate, without reforming government regulations that block pathways to meaningful employment and unduly burden businesses seeking to offer training opportunities and inhibits entrepreneurs.
Reduce barriers to entry. Over the years, dramatic increases in professions that require government-imposed, expensive, and time-consuming licensing, along with increased regulation of labor markets, have carried unintended consequences of making entry level vocations more difficult to enter. Maine’s over-regulated environment disproportionately impacts poor Mainers, clearly burdening those striving for upward mobility.
End the welfare cliff. Policies must ease people into the workforce by gradually reducing subsidies to prevent loss of necessary benefits, such as childcare, until they become well-established in their employment.
Get able-bodied adults back to work! Realign our welfare benefits with federal guidelines; Maine should not be an outlier. By controlling the magnet of overly generous welfare benefits and utilizing the Maine Department of Labor to help match workers with jobs, the state can help facilitate the transition of people from welfare to work. Many people simply lack confidence that they can find the pathway to prosperity. This is a win/win partnership; employers are eager to fill job openings, and the state helps identify, support and coach able-bodied Mainers.
Reinvigorate the asset test. Support checking food stamp applicants’ financial assets, such as homes and cars, to make sure they are truly eligible for benefits. Currently, only income is measured, allowing people with high assets, but lower income, to abuse the system.
Obligate welfare recipients take personal action. New pathways to self-sufficiency are attainable. A condition of welfare should be financial literacy education, jobs skills training and mentoring, and/or volunteering. Support similar requirements as a condition of eligibility for MaineCare.
Mandate annual state verification of eligibility for food stamps, cash assistance (such as TANF), and MaineCare, rather than extending automatic approvals.
RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN OUR ELECTIONS
Support voter ID. Maine should join thirty-five other states in the country and adopt this basic precaution which is crucial to safeguarding our constitutional republic. Voter ID laws can stop multiple types of fraud, such as impersonating another registered voter, preventing noncitizens from voting, and stopping out-of-state residents or someone registered in multiple jurisdictions. Voters across all demographics support voter ID laws in virtually every poll by almost 80%.
Preserve the distinct voice of each of Maine’s two Congressional Districts by maintaining the electoral college and rejecting the National Popular Vote, an unconstitutional process that would eliminate the voice of small states like Maine.
Safeguard absentee votes by requiring all drop boxes be monitored via round-the-clock security cameras with recording capabilities.