An Act to Create Guidelines to Promote Good Science in Rulemaking (2004)
This sneaky bill sounded reasonable, but was really intended to slow the process by which laws are enforced, and perhaps open rules to litigation. Maine’s rulemaking process is already a slow and deliberate one that allows significant public input and requires agencies to explain the basis for the rule. If rules are substantive, they have to be approved by the Maine Legislature. LD #942 required state agencies to provide upon request a list of the “primary sources” of information used in reaching a decision. That would have imposed added paperwork to understaffed agencies, and created a tool to slow the process further – a tool that only insiders would know about.
