Lawmakers question permit reform
A legislative panel will likely drop a proposal by Gov. Paul LePage that would change how the state's courts handle appeals of permits and other regulatory decisions.
The proposal, submitted to the Committee on Regulatory Fairness and Reform to be included in LD 1, would make it less likely that the courts would defer to state agencies when ruling on regulatory permits, according to MaineToday Media. Currently, judges defer to determinations made by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Land Use Regulation Commission, assuming they acted appropriately in the absence of serious challenges related to permit decisions. After hearing testimony from private industry representatives, the committee said it would likely drop the proposal, saying the change would delay permitting processes for Maine businesses by sending more approvals back to agencies for review. Lawmakers also told the news service it would result in courts having less power to solve issues. "Courts are very cautious about reversing an executive agency or an administrative agency decision, the same as they are very cautious about saying that a statute that you would pass is unconstitutional," Linda Pistner, chief deputy attorney general, told lawmakers yesterday.
The committee plans to finish drafting regulatory reform legislation by the end of the month, according to the news service. Should this proposal be dropped, LePage could submit a separate bill to the Legislature.
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