Justin Chenette
  • Bio
  • Commissioner
  • State Govt
  • Projects
    • Speaker
    • Author
    • Consulting Firm
    • Age Friendly Saco
    • Southern Maine Planning & Development Commission
  • Scholarships
  • News
  • Contact

Bill targets ‘pay-to-play’ by banning lobbyists’ political contributions

3/1/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​AUGUSTA — A bill by Sen. Justin Chenette, D-Saco, would prohibit legislators from accepting donations from lobbyists, corporations and special interests.
 
The bill — LD 413, “An Act To Limit the Influence of Lobbyists by Expanding the Prohibition on Accepting Political Contributions” — received a public hearing before the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee on Monday.
 
State law currently prohibits legislators from accepting donations from lobbyists, lobbyist associates or their employers during the legislative session. Sen. Chenette’s bill would extend that  prohibition to the entire year, effectively banning all lobbyist contributions.

“Mainers know we need to get big money out of politics. In Augusta, as in Washington, those with the largest checkbook have the most direct influence over public policy decision making in our state. Citizens can’t afford to hire lobbyists to advocate on their behalf, but big corporations and special interests can,” said Sen. Chenette. “By expanding the lobbyist ban on political contributions to the entire year, we end the pay-for-play system that leads to undue influence on state officials, from our legislators all the way up to the Governor himself.“ (Click here for a full video of Sen. Chenette’s testimony before the committee.)
Between 2014 and 2015, more than 400 companies hired 229 lobbyists and spent nearly $5 million to lobby state legislators. During his testimony, Chenette stressed the importance of undue influence of money in politics.
 
“This year marks the seventh anniversary of Citizens United, the catastrophic decision by the United States Supreme Court that declared ‘money is speech,’ and in so doing exposed our politics to a deluge of special interest and lobbyist cash,” said Chenette.
 
“Especially in the case of a citizen legislature, lobbyists have become a fixture in the lawmaking process, often providing helpful information and perspective,” said Andrew Bossie, the Executive Director of Maine Citizens for Clean Elections. “But it is quite obvious that lobbyists are not here just to provide information. All lobbyists have an agenda. They want something from [lawmakers]. Many times, they want something that will benefit  their clients financially. Sometimes the financial benefit is very large. Sometimes what the lobbyist seeks comes at the expense of taxpayers and/or other worthy programs or interests.”
 
In addition to Bossie’s testimony, there were several citizens testifying in support of the bill, including Ann Luther of Trenton, a volunteer for the League of Women Voters of Maine.
 
LD 413 faces further action in the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, and votes in the House and Senate.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Latest Updates


    Archives

    July 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    January 2021
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    RSS Feed

Picture
Email:
justinchenette@gmail.com
Paid for & Authorized by Justin Chenette
  • Bio
  • Commissioner
  • State Govt
  • Projects
    • Speaker
    • Author
    • Consulting Firm
    • Age Friendly Saco
    • Southern Maine Planning & Development Commission
  • Scholarships
  • News
  • Contact