Editorial Roundup: New England
Hearst Connecticut Media. June 22, 2023.
Editorial: Sen. Murphy is right about housing as CT’s ‘biggest economic liability.’ But the session is over now
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy’s Tweet on Monday was right on the mark when it comes to attracting more people to live in Connecticut.
“Connecticut’s housing shortage is our biggest economic liability and local rules making it hard to build new housing are hurting us,” he opined.
We couldn’t have said it better. In fact, it’s been our drumbeat on these pages for years now. But Murphy should have started banging the drum about it when it mattered during the state legislative session. Waiting until the session was over is like campaigning after Election Day. It won’t help change results.
Meanwhile, a CT Insider analysis of IRS migration data suggests that Connecticut leaders need to be cautious in reading current trends. The state was in freefall in losing population before the pandemic hit in 2020. The subsequent trend of New Yorkers who crossed the border to buy Connecticut homes seemed like an unexpected windfall during dark times.
But crunch those numbers. In Year Two of COVID, 87,000 people either moved to Connecticut or claimed it as a primary residence. But nearly as many left, leaving Connecticut with a net gain of about 500 people. That hardly an “Escape from New York” narrative.
Numbers don’t lie, but they do fib. We’ll never get a count that’s 100% accurate because there’s a hefty percentage of dual residencies, and residents will continue to claim the primary state as the one without income taxes (that would be the likes of Florida). There’s also the matter of Connecticut hosting so many college students who claim their childhood addresses instead of temporary ones, which makes the “primary residence” data wobbly.
The pandemic tilted the scale in other ways. As many people embraced the opportunity to work from home, they seized opportunities to remain in Connecticut jobs while moving to “home offices” outside of the state.
But Connecticut needs to stop getting hung up on Florida. There will always be people who can’t resist the impulse to chase the sun, many as they near retirement age and venture for snowbird states that lack estate or inheritance taxes. That doesn’t mean Connecticut should take the bait and overhaul its tax laws. New Hampshire remains the only state in the Northeast that lacks such taxes.
Instead, Connecticut should embrace shifts within the state. Litchfield County picked up citizens, which seemed unlikely before the pandemic. New Haven County, meanwhile, saw a considerable surge in movement from Fairfield County (4,100 people).
What this all means is that Connecticut’s character is changing. But state leaders need to be more proactive in trying to lure more residents from future generations. The downward trend of the pre-pandemic years will inevitably return if we don’t create more housing in Connecticut. Otherwise, it’s like trying to sell cars while standing in front of an empty lot.
Towns leaders who are resistant to affordable housing are likely relieved that nothing really changed in 2023. It’s gambling to count on global events such as pandemics to nudge population shifts. If Connecticut is serious about future growth, Murphy and his peers need to lead the way instead of complaining when it’s too late.
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Portland Press Herald. June 18, 2023.
Editorial: Maine must act now to make the most of offshore wind
The state can take critical steps this month to back an industry that promises both clean energy and good jobs.
The Gulf of Maine, running from Cape Cod in the south to Nova Scotia in the north, has tremendous potential for wind power. Its development will play a major role in any plan that effectively moves the U.S. toward meeting its clean energy goals and staving off the worst of the climate crisis.
How best can our state to capitalize on this monumental and necessary transition – and protect Maine’s natural resources while doing so?
Some pretty good answers now sit before our elected officials.
One bill under consideration would require the state to purchase wind power produced offshore in the Gulf of Maine while mitigating the impact on ocean life and the lobster industry. Another would set standards for the creation of a port where offshore wind technology could be built and deployed.
Together, they would give Maine an opportunity to become a key player in an incredibly promising industry, with our own communities and their workers reaping the benefits.
If Maine doesn’t work to secure this, someone else will. To transition from fossil fuel to clean energy, the U.S. is going to have to produce a lot more electricity – enough to run all our lights and gadgets, our vehicles and heating systems.
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Bangor Daily News. June 18, 2023.
Editorial: Too many people get guns who shouldn’t. LD 22 can help.
Redundancy is not always a bad thing. Sometimes, it is good to have a backup plan or extra safeguards to make sure a system works as it should.
That is how we approach LD 22, a bill being considered in Augusta that would create a new Class D crime for people who “knowingly or intentionally” sell or transfer firearms to others who are legally prohibited from having them (a first offense would be a civil violation and subsequent offenses would be Class D crimes).
As bill sponsor Sen. Anne Carney, a Democrat from Cape Elizabeth, explained to members of the Maine Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee in April, the proposal stems from a recommendation of Maine’s Deadly Force Review Panel.
That panel looks at deaths and serious injuries resulting from the use of force by members of law enforcement, and has found that some of the people in these situations have used firearms against others or responding law enforcement officers despite being prohibited from having guns under federal and state law.
“In the January 2022 report, the panel asked the Legislature to pass legislation that would prevent access to firearms by people already prohibited from having them,” Carney told the committee.
A report from Maine Public last week illustrated the scope of the problem, citing several recent examples of prohibited users, including accused murderer Joseph Eaton, who obtained guns before allegedly killing four people at a home in Bowdoin — his parents and two family friends — and shooting three strangers on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth.
Federal and state law has long prohibited certain individuals from possessing firearms, including people who have committed certain crimes and people subject to mental health or domestic violence orders. And yet, far too many of these so-called prohibited persons are able to obtain guns and sometimes commit violent crimes. This is both a human tragedy and a policy failure, and it does not need to be a foregone conclusion.
Laws are not going to stop all criminal behavior, but that is not a reason to ignore obvious ways that they can be improved or better enforced. LD 22, as amended, would be such a step to better enforce existing restrictions.
We aren’t alone in this recognition. Sheriffs across Maine agree.
“Maine’s 16 sheriffs are elected officials representing Democrats, Republicans, and independents,” Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce testified on behalf of the Maine Sheriffs’ Association. “Many bills do not offer the potential for all parties to agree. LD 22, however, has all sheriffs in agreement that this bill makes good sense.”
Several health care professionals also testified in favor of the bill.
“If it has been determined that an individual has been prohibited from owning a firearm then impeding the transfer of firearms to these prohibited persons only makes sense,” Mary Tedesco-Schneck testified on behalf of the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Critics like the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine have called this proposal redundant. We call it a sensible step in state law to ensure that a longstanding federal prohibition is actually followed. Redundancies are built into all kinds of systems in order to ensure they work as they are supposed to. So why not this one, to take an extra step to try to keep guns out of the hands of people who American society, through our laws, have long determined shouldn’t have access to them?
All sorts of crimes are illegal at both the federal and state level. And all sorts of prohibited people are still able to access firearms, which are sometimes used in crimes. This law won’t stop those illegal transfers and sales completely, but it will make such exchanges harder here in Maine and give state enforcement more teeth. That is a modest and worthwhile step.
Sensible, balanced action to address gun violence is both needed and possible. This bill is one small piece of a complicated puzzle, but it offers a collaborative building block for the future. It should be passed by the Legislature, signed by the governor, and would serve as proof that action can in fact be taken to address gun violence while continuing to respect lawful gun owners.
Prohibited persons by definition are not lawful gun owners, and people who knowingly provide them with guns aren’t operating within the law, either. Given the ways that existing laws are circumvented, it makes good sense to build in some legal redundancy with LD 22.
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Boston Globe. June 20, 2023.
Editorial: Beacon Hill would be right to repair ‘right to repair’ law
Federal government bans enforcement of 2020 law
Three years ago, Massachusetts voters affirmed that car owners should be able to get their cars repaired anywhere they want. A 2020 ballot question, which passed with 75% of the vote, updated the 2012 “Right to Repair” law to include telematics, which refers to vehicle data transmitted wirelessly. Such data can help auto repair shops diagnose and fix problems — but only if they can access it.
The intent of “Right to Repair” laws is to force carmakers to give vehicle data not only to their affiliated dealerships but also to independent repair shops, so that consumers can choose where to get their car serviced. The telematics ballot question was pitched as a way to update that law as technology evolved, since today’s cars have more wireless features. For example, wireless technology can tell a dealership when a car’s brakes are failing, let a driver start a car remotely, or automatically call 911 after a crash.
In recent years, manufacturers of everything from cell phones to tractors have sought to box out third-party repairers, by refusing to share data or spare parts. The right-to-repair campaign reflected the widespread consumer backlash against such restrictions, which stifle competition and may even lead to extra waste when it’s easier to junk old devices than fix them.
But the Massachusetts law remains in limbo due to litigation and the federal government’s cybersecurity concerns.
Despite that, the will of the voters is clear. The best way forward would be if the Legislature can find a way to rewrite the law to address cybersecurity fears while keeping the basic policy intact.
After the 2020 election, a coalition of auto manufacturers sued to block the ballot question from going into effect, and it remains tied up in court. Attorney General Andrea Campbell began enforcing the law June 1, 2023, despite the ongoing litigation. But on June 13, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wrote a letter, filed in the US District Court case, forbidding car manufacturers from complying.
NHTSA’s assistant chief counsel for litigation and enforcement, Kerry Kolodziej, wrote that open access to vehicle telematics, with the ability to remotely send commands to a car, creates a safety hazard, since a hacker could potentially manipulate vehicle systems like steering or brakes. “A malicious actor here or abroad could utilize such open access to remotely command vehicles to operate dangerously, including attacking multiple vehicles concurrently,” Kolodziej wrote. “Vehicle crashes, injuries, or deaths are foreseeable outcomes of such a situation.” The letter said any system with open telematics would be considered to have a safety defect and could not be sold under federal law.
Massachusetts’ US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey wrote to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and NHTSA’s deputy administrator asking them to reverse that decision. “NHTSA sent the June 13 letter with no warning, circumventing the legal process, contradicting a judicial order, undermining Massachusetts voters, harming competition and hurting consumers, and causing unnecessary confusion by raising this novel view two weeks after enforcement of the law began,” the senators wrote.
Campbell’s office voiced similar concerns, with First Assistant Attorney General Pat Moore saying the federal agency“ declined the opportunity to express, and prove, its concerns at trial, choosing to weigh in only by letter two years later.” “We look forward to NHTSA’s explanation of precisely what has changed, and we will then evaluate our next steps,” Moore said in a prepared statement.
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Boston Herald. June 20, 2023.
Editorial: Instead of banning plastic bags, why not recycle?
Cities and towns across Massachusetts started banning plastic bags around 2015, and environmental organizations won’t be happy until residents in all 351 are lugging home groceries in paper or reusable bags.
“The Commonwealth is behind where it should and can be when it comes to reducing plastics,” said Lydia Churchill of Environmental Massachusetts. “Nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute our environment and threaten our wildlife for hundreds of years.”
Agreed.
Though estimates differ on how long it takes a plastic bag to decompose – 20 years or 500, no one wants to see them litter the landscape, or wind up damaging marine life in our oceans.
But what happened to the recycling option?
A visit to mass.gov leads to the “how and where to recycle” page. It says: “Most supermarkets and numerous other retailers accept plastic bags and wraps for recycling at no cost. Visit the Wrap Recycling Action Council to find a nearby drop-off location.”
A click from there leads to plasticfilmrecycling.org, one more click and you’re at bagandfilmrecycling.org. Here it notes that “Store drop-off programs have been the primary means of recovering clean and dry bags, film, and wrap for more than 20 years. Retailers usually consolidate the material with other film like pallet wrap at their distribution centers and then sell the material to companies making products like composite lumber, bags and film, containers, crates and pallets.”
Type in your zip code, and up pops a list of stores to drop off your plastic bags. The site notes that you should confirm first, in case anything has changed in the store’s policy.
Why hasn’t this option been as touted as outright bag bans?
Banning items deemed harmful for the environment comes with the imprimatur of planet-friendly progressives, hence the move to do away with plastic bags altogether.
As State House News reported, representatives from ten environmental organizations gathered last week on Beacon Hill to promote bills that would ban the distribution of plastic shopping bags at retail stores statewide.
The Joint Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources heard more than 40 bills last week designed to limit single-use plastic consumption.
The bills encourage shoppers to use their own reusable shopping bags but stores could sell recycled paper bags to customers for ten cents. Stores would remit five cents from each paper bag purchase to the state, and all revenue would fund environmental projects in the municipality where the bag was purchased.
Paper bags are OK – for now. Walmart has been including them in its bag-bag across several states. Paper bags are popping up on hit list, because, as CNN reported, they are carbon-intensive to produce.
So we’ve probably got that to look forward to.
For now the state is looking at bans over recycling.
Should the state ban single-use plastic bags, establishing a unified standard would be important, according to Bill Rennie, vice president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. The standard should include a reworked fee per bag, he said.
“Paper bags cost significantly more per unit to produce, purchase and ship into the Commonwealth, meaning the cost for retailers and our customers significantly increases,” Rennie said.
As always, consumers will be left holding the bag.
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