AUGUSTA — A bill that would have opened records on industrial hazardous waste and mercury emission control plans was vetoed by Republican Gov. Paul LePage on Earth Day.

Under current law, the plans are protected as “trade secrets.”

The bill, LD 1821, would have upheld the current requirement for government agencies to acknowledge a request for public records within five days, but would have added language to interpret no response to a request as a denial 10 days after the request.

It was approved by the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee and was unanimously enacted by the full Legislature. The veto will be one of dozens lawmakers are expected to address when they reconvene May 1.

LD 1821 would have set in place an appeal process in the courts to gain access to the public records.

LePage cited several reasons for vetoing the measure, including that it did not go far enough to overhaul the state’s Freedom of Access Act as it pertains to the working papers of lawmakers and the governor’s office.

Current law protects the working papers of lawmakers but makes public the working papers of the governor.

LePage wrote that the bill “nibbles around the edges of the law without addressing real flaws in it.”

He said the bill would do nothing to protect the government against nuisance requests or overly broad requests for information.

A bill recommended by the Right to Know Advisory Committee that would have addressed such so-called nuisance requests was rejected by the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee early in the session.

In the veto letter, LePage cited his own experience with FOAA, noting special-interest groups were using the law to attack him politically.

“They request years of all communications between my office and certain commissioners, my personal grocery bill and other fishing expeditions that are not about a transparent government,” LePage wrote. “Instead, they are about trying to cripple the operations of my office with thousands of hours of staff time and creating a distraction from doing the people’s business.”

But supporters of the changes, including members of Maine’s environmental community, said LePage had overlooked important changes that would have made the government more transparent and responsive. They said the measure would have allowed important disclosures that affect people’s health.

“This is a troubling veto of a bill that would provide more public information about toxic pollution that may be occurring in communities across the state,” said Pete Didisheim, senior director of advocacy for the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

He said a pollution permit application for one of the state’s largest sources of mercury emissions, Dragon Cement and Concrete in Thomaston, is pending and its control plan would be of important public interest.

“Mercury emissions is a serious problem and Maine people have a right to understand what the major mercury sources are,” Didisheim said.

He said the LePage administration, despite its promise of greater transparency, had been notoriously slow and obstructive on public records requests.

“We also have been waiting almost six months for information from the governor’s office, and his promise to be the most transparent governor has not held up, as they simply have not processed FOAA requests that the people of Maine have a right to submit,” Didisheim said.

The bill also would have added a seat to the Right to Know Advisory Committee for someone with expertise in technology.

The governor also vetoed LD 1809, a bill that would have permitted water and sewer districts to hold meetings electronically. That bill was intended to clarify whether a government agency is allowed to meet by phone or other electronic means. 

sthistle@sunjournal.com