There’s a new game of chance coming to a convenience store near you, courtesy of the Maine Legislature. Not a new spin on the lottery, not another scratch-and-win variation; call it the Gassing Game.

Last week’s passage in the House and Senate of “An Act to Repeal the Law Requiring Retailers to Post Motor Vehicle Fuel Prices” (sponsored by Rep. Adam Mack, Republican of Standish, supported by the closest thing Maine has to Big Oil) is one of the odder acts committed this session. Touted as pro-business, the result is anti-consumer. Worse, it violates two time-tested axioms: Don’t fix it if it’s not broken; and timing is everything.

The thinking behind the bill goes like this: the law mandating those little black price placards atop the pump are an unneeded relic of the days when there was a difference between cash and credit purchases; gas prices fluctuate almost daily and retailers find it a nuisance to trudge outside to make the change; those huge, garish marquee signs on the roadside convey the necessary information; and, if not, the price-per-gallon probably can be found somewhere on the beeping, baffling display of the pseudo-Space Shuttle gizmo that is the modern gas pump.

Just a few quibbles. It is precisely because prices fluctuate that prices ought to be easy to find and known before the transaction begins. Retailers who object to informing the customer of price may be in the wrong line of work. Marquee signs are not required by law, they don’t have to be accurate and, because they are also very expensive, many mom-and-pop stations can’t afford them, so will be at a disadvantage in competing with the chains. Anti-consumer and anti-small business — a real two-fer.

This bad idea sailed through the Committee on Business and Economic Development on a unanimous vote. Senate Chairman Carol Kontos defends that outcome, noting that no one spoke in opposition at the public hearing and, besides, sometimes the fresh corn at the supermarket isn’t priced, either.

A few more quibbles. There are 3,000 bills before the Legislature; the tiny public hearing notices are hard to find and harder to read. Lawmakers are sent to Augusta to serve the public interest; lawmakers should not have to be reminded 3,000 times that’s why they’re there. And, except for those who graze while they shop, corn that turns out to be $5 an ear can be left at the checkout counter. Try regurgitating a full tank of gas.

As for the timing, Rep. John Martin, a staunch opponent and, incidentally, a convenience store owner, says it couldn’t be worse. “Here we are, considering raising the gas tax and we vote to take the price off the pump. Why are we trying to look like we’re hiding something?”

So now the Gassing Game goes to Gov. King. He’s concerned about the impact on consumers; though still undecided, a veto is possible. Given his long-standing opposition to gambling, that would be a good bet.