Outgoing State Treasurer Dale McCormick has made a name for herself by pushing major corporations to be more responsive to their shareholders and to be more forthcoming about the costs and consequences of, for instance, climate change. Fortunately, David Lemoine, a former state representative who takes over as treasurer next month, plans to continue this activism.

She takes on such corporate titans, the treasurer says, because corporations need to be more open and honest with their shareholders, which include the state of Maine. She gained notoriety, and respect, for getting into a war of words in May with the CEO of Exxon Mobil, Lee Raymond, when he refused at the company’s annual meeting to answer her question about how the company accounts for climate change liabilities on its balance sheet. As a result of that exchange, Maine has filed a resolution with Exxon Mobil requiring that time be set aside at the company’s annual to allow shareholders to ask questions of the board of directors.

Maine has also signed onto resolutions that would require Exxon Mobil to nominate at least two directors with expertise in the oil and gas industry (no current board members have this background) and to require the company to assess how it will comply with the Kyoto Accord, which will go into effect in February and require companies to cut their greenhouse gas emissions in other countries.

Maine’s treasurer manages three trusts worth $24 million, not much by corporate standards. Still, because of the efforts of treasurers in a handful of states, companies are changing their tone. In response to a resolution filed repeatedly by the state of Connecticut, American Electric Power, the country’s largest electricity generator, undertook an assessment of its emissions and its ability to meet potential new regulations. The three-member subcommittee that reviewed these issues concluded that the company could meet the proposed rules while managing the potential economic impact.

“Regulators, investors, legislators, government officials, customers, and other stakeholders need to have a clear idea of what AEP is doing to control emissions efficiently, and why it has adopted its chosen approach,” the company wrote in its report. “While the company has been open in its actions to date, we believe that efforts to make its actions transparent and understandable to stakeholders will be critical going forward.”

Former state Rep. Lemoine looks forward to continuing to push for that transparency. “Part of the job of managing the public trust is to use those resources for the public good,” he said recently.

Maine’s money should be in good hands.