Bellows and Ackley submit amendment to bill to help local business

On Tuesday, Sen. Shenna Bellows, D-Manchester, and Rep. Kent Ackley, C-Monmouth, proposed an amendment to LD 1788, “An Act To Eliminate Online Burn Permit Fees for All Areas of the State,” to allow vendors of private burn service software to charge municipalities for its use.

“We should allow owners of a business like Warden’s Report to charge for their time and investment in making it safer and easier for our communities to burn when appropriate,” said Sen. Bellows. “We should celebrate entrepreneurs who build a better mouse trap – or in this case a better burn permit system – not ban them for charging for their product.”

LD 1788 was sponsored by Sen. Jim Dill, D-Old Town, and Sen. Dill formally presented Sen. Bellows’ and Rep. Ackley’s amendment to the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee during a work session on the bill on Tuesday. By eliminating online burn permit fees, more people will be able to access burn permits, increasing safety for local communities and helping forest rangers and their municipal fire partners to identify “friendly” smokes.

“Accessible and affordable burn permits are just plain common sense. Having a low bar to apply reduces the risk of uncontrollable fires and reduces the amount of paper pushed on our local fire departments,” said Rep. Ackley.

In 2018, Sen. Bellows worked with Sen. Tom Saviello, R-Wilton, on legislation to allow burn permits to be obtained online through software obtained from a private company, including Warden’s Report, a technology developed by West Gardiner resident Gary Hickey II. Hickey developed Warden’s Report because he questioned the inefficiencies and safety of the state system and designed a better way to issue and track the permits.

The bill next faces votes in the Maine Senate and House.