Emboldened Democrats Unveil First Bill Package, Starting With Heat Pumps For Moose
Leadership says the bigger majority finally lets them tackle the issues nobody asked about.
Illustration by The Black Fly
AUGUSTA, ME. Fresh off an election that padded their majorities in both chambers, Democratic leaders gathered in the Hall of Flags Wednesday to unveil the first package of bills for the new session, which aides described as "the stuff we were too nervous to try last time."
First up was the Heat Pump Mandate for Moose Act, which requires every moose shelter in the unorganized territories to be heat pump certified by 2028. The bill includes a $14 million study to determine how many moose own shelters.
"Right now the answer appears to be zero," said the bill's sponsor, who asked not to be named until the moose had been consulted. "That is a crisis. Zero moose have access to efficient heating." Asked who would install the units, the sponsor said a pilot program would train moose.
The package also creates the Mud Season Equity Commission, which will ensure potholes are distributed fairly across all 16 counties and place a paid pothole liaison in every town. A co-sponsor, who asked to be identified only as "a friend of the frost heave," cited a study finding that potholes disproportionately impact certain neighborhoods, specifically the ones with roads.
Under the bill, no pothole may be filled until the commission completes a racial equity impact statement for that pothole. "We can't just pour asphalt into a hole without asking whose hole it is," the co-sponsor said. The commission has already hired consultant Trevor Ashby-Lund at $400 an hour to determine whether frost heaves are systemic.
"Early findings suggest they are," Ashby-Lund said. "They happen every single year in the same places. I will need another eighteen months to confirm that."
A third bill, An Act to Rename Lobsters "Ocean Neighbors," would retire a name that supporters called hurtful to crustaceans. Mainers who wish to keep eating Ocean Neighbors will need a new state license, available online at a cost to be determined by a separate commission.
"We are not banning anything," said legislative aide Kelsey Prue. "You can still boil your neighbor. You just need paperwork."
The final bill, the Snow Removal Feelings Act, requires plow drivers to complete empathy training before pushing a snowbank across anyone's driveway. Drivers must make eye contact with the homeowner and say "I see you" before lowering the blade.
Plow driver Dale Cormier of Skowhegan said he supported the idea in principle. "I'll do the training," he said. "But it's five in the morning and nobody's awake. I'm going to be saying 'I see you' to a lot of dark windows."
At press time, leadership confirmed the $14 million moose study had already found its first shelter, a bus stop in Millinocket, and had begun drafting its certification paperwork.
