THE WORST BILL

In every legislative session, bills are introduced that are ill-timed or poorly conceived or just plain silly. Occasionally, a bill comes along that is all those things.

Such a bill this session is LD 2180. This piece of legislation stands out because, in addition to its obvious flaws regarding timing, conception and common sense, it has the added characteristic of taking something Maine already does quite well and finds a way to do it worse.

“An Act to Provide Funding for Conservation Education” would set aside 10 permits of the 3,000 up for grabs in the annual moose lottery. Instead of being apportioned by chance, those 10 permits would be auctioned to the highest bidders. The proceeds from this auction would be used to send Maine kids to summer camp. Although this would add to the number of would-be moose hunters disappointed by bad luck in the lottery, it might be seen as a sacrifice for a worthy cause.

Maine hunters already make this sacrifice. The Legislature in 1993 passed a bill that sets aside five moose permits for an auction. Last year, the winning bids ranged from $9,252 to $11,000 and more than 300 Maine kids got to go to camp.

The difference is that in the current auction, all of the proceeds, plus the $25 nonrefundable entry fee, go to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for its conservation education program. Under LD 2180, the 10 permits would be handed over to an intermediary that would conduct the auction and split the proceeds 50-50 with the state.

This intermediary is not specified in the bill; it is defined only, and at great length, as a national organization engaged in a wide range of firearms-related activities. The crafting of the definition, and the word out of the State House, makes it clear that this intermediary is intended to be the National Rifle Association.

The NRA is a fine organization; among other things, it is a strong advocate and an effective educator for firearms safety. Individuals are free to support the NRA to whatever extent they wish. The NRA, however, also is a lobbyist for its causes at the federal and state levels, it is politically active in advocating for legislation and candidates it supports and in opposing legislation and candidates it does not support. It is inappropriate that a public resource – the moose that belong to all the people of Maine – be used to benefit any such organization. It also baffling why the state would split the proceeds of an auction it has proven itself capable of conducting quite effectively without an intermediary.

The only excuse for this misguided bill would be that it was the work of inexperienced legislators. But this bill is the work of some of the state’s most experienced legislators. Its author is Sen. John Martin. Its Senate co-sponsors are that body’s two leaders, Richard Bennett and Michael Michaud. Its House sponsors include Majority Leader Patrick Colwell and Minority Leader Joseph Bruno. The depth of experience these lawmakers possess is absent here.

In addition to its other flaws, this bad idea also is late – it is an after-deadline bill that has no place is a short session supposedly devoted to emergencies and unfinished business. LD 2180 will get a hearing before the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee this week. The committee should give it the quick rejection it deserves.