REPORT OF THE 1984 MAINE
REPUBLICAN PLATFORM COMMITTEE
PREAMBLE
The Maine Republican Party enthusiastically endorses the policies and achievements of President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush, and we support their reelection. We especially appreciate their efforts in revitalizing the American economy and reducing the growth of government spending and taxing.
We congratulate ourselves on our good fortune in being represented by the outstanding Republican leadership team of Senator William Cohen, Congresswoman Olympia Snowe and Congressman John McKernan. We pledge our support to these and our state, county and local representatives, in whom we take great pride.
Independent spirits that we all are, we commend this platform for the consideration of all Maine voters.
We are the party of Maine ’s future.
I. FOREIGN POLICY AND DEFENSE
The Maine Republican Party believes that the American Government should pursue a strong, credible foreign policy and maintain our military preparedness to prevent confrontations that lead to war. At the same time, we urge our government to explore new avenues for peace and international understanding without sacrificing our vital national interests. We live in an age where nuclear weapons pose a threat to the existence of our planet, and we urge a resumption of the strategic arms negotiations. We support the steps being taken by Maine ’s Republican Congressional delegation to relax the tensions between the super powers and to reduce the nuclear arsenals of both the United States and the Soviet Union Maine Republican Party reaffirms its strong commitment to a mutual, balanced, and verifiable reduction in nuclear weapons, consistent with the philosophy enunciated in the “mutual guaranteed build-down” proposal.
II. FISCAL POLICY AND TAXATION
A. ECONOMIC RECOVERY
1. The Maine Republican Party commends the leadership of President Ronald Reagan for bringing about a national economic recovery, including lower inflation, interest rates and an increasing job market.
2. We support a federal balanced budget by constitutional amendment to control the rising federal deficit which threatens our nation’s economic future.
B. TAXATION
1. The Maine Republican Party supports fair and equitable tax policies at the federal, state and local levels of government, which we believe are necessary to restore a healthy tax climate for economic growth and job development.
2. We encourage further study of the federal flat tax concept as an alternative to the income tax system.
3. We support elimination of property tax inequities and oppose further overburdening of the local property tax base.
4. We call upon the State Legislature and Governor to bring ’s state income tax into full conformity with the federal income tax for all Maine individual and business taxpayers.
5. We support a reduction of the state’s bonded debt by limiting annual authorization of new bonds to 90% of those retired, in order to regain the AAA rating for state bonds.
6. We support the repeal of the state unitary tax which discourages business and job development in Maine .
7. We support the protection of the Maine taxpayer from inflation by the indexing of the state and federal income tax.
8. We support reduction of excessive state and federal spending.
III. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Maine Republican Party believes that a strong and healthy economy requires a free enterprise system which encourages individual initiative, attracts capital investment, and rewards hard work. An improved relationship between Maine government and the private economic sector is essential for the creation of new, permanent jobs and economic growth and prosperity for people. We are concerned that is losing businesses and jobs because of economic disincentives created by the policies of state government. We are also concerned about the emerging “two Maine ’s” problem presented by regional economic disparity. We therefore urge Maine ’s leaders of business, labor and state government to work together to propose constructive solutions to improve Maine ’s economic climate.
A. MAINE INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS
1. The Maine Republican Party supports a more aggressive promotion of Maine industries and products, as well as an expanded use of the Maine identification label (logo).
2. We encourage the development of new industrial and commercial opportunities, including native business enterprises that employ Maine people. Such development, however, should be compatible with the promotion of our environmental resources and tourist industries.
3. We support a more vigorous promotion of tourism in the State of Maine by the private sector, with state financial support.
B. TRANSPORTATION
1. A balanced public and commercial transportation system of roads, rail, air and sea is vital to the economic growth and stability of our state.
2. We support the development of Maine ’s water and airport facilities and the restoration of our highway and railroad infrastructure, including the deep port facilities at Eastport, Searsport and Portland, plus the continued development of Canada-to-Canada transportation across Maine
3. We support the continuation of the dedicated user fund for highway funding.
C. LABOR AND MANAGEMENT
1. The Maine Republican Party salutes the outstanding work ethic and high productivity of the Maine worker.
2. We endorse equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex or non-job-related factors.
3. We support reform of the workers’ compensation system to reduce the high costs to employers, to promote safety in the workplace and to eliminate abuses in the system by workers and employers. We oppose the creation of a state-subsidized workers’ compensation insurance program.
4. We support the resolution of the high cost of the workers compensation system by a panel of employees and employers, those directly involved.
5. We support continued conformity of the state minimum wage to that of the federal minimum wage.
6. We believe private businesses, labor groups and government should mutually establish voluntary programs, whenever possible, to help retrain unemployed workers who have become displaced by our changing economy and industrial base.
7. We support job classification of Maine state contract bids utilizing the wage rate structure of the local community in which the work is taking place.
IV. ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, AND NATURAL RESOURCES
A. ENERGY
1. The Maine Republican Party supports reasonable efforts and programs to promote the conservation of energy in our state and nation.
2. We support continued research and development of alternative renewable energy sources, subject to environmental and economic considerations, to reduce our dependence on imported oil.
3. We recognize the immediate need for existing nuclear powered energy, but we remain concerned about the safety and economic aspects of nuclear power. While we recognize the significance of the Maine Yankee Power Plant to the State of Maine, emphasis should be placed on the development of economically competitive energy sources for the future. We support strict controls on low-level nuclear waste disposal and oppose the use of our state as a regional disposal site.
4. We support a shared responsibility by the private and public sectors to plan for sufficient power generation to meet ’s energy needs.
B. ENVIRONMENT
1. The Maine Republican Party supports the preservation of our prime farmland and natural resources through property tax valuation based on actual current use.
2. We support a cautious and safe use of federal and state-approved chemicals for agricultural and forest lands, and we encourage the development of practical alternatives.
3. We support an energetic and sensible approach to eliminating pollution of our land, water and air, with special attention to the problem of acid rain.
4. We call upon the Department of Environmental Protection to meet its statutory responsibilities in a fair and timely fashion.
5. Maine’s forest lands must be protected as a prime renewable resource, and we believe forest fire detection and suppression is a state responsibility, to be paid entirely from the state’s General Fund.
6. We support adequate funding for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and we recommend the Department be reimbursed from the General Fund for nonrelated activities, such as search and rescue, drug raids and enforcement of environmental laws.
7. We support the protection of our wildlife and livestock through the control of predators and the further development of wildlife preserves.
V. HUMAN SERVICES
A. EDUCATION
1. The Republican Party believes that our children are the future of our state and nation. Education should be a collective effort of the family, school, community and state to assist the development of each student’s individual talents and abilities.
2. We Support increased emphasis on reading, writing, math, science and language and education in basic Western traditions, including self-government, citizenship and free-enterprise economics.
3. We abhor the past practice which has permitted illiterate students to be promoted and graduated. We support minimum standards for students and teachers.
4. Recognizing that the future is now, we support the development of computer literacy and skills.
5. We believe the family, community and state must begin to recognize the importance and professionalism of Maine’s teachers by:
a. Upgrading the training of teachers through our University System;
b. Upgrading the certification and recertification requirements of teachers and administrators; and
c. Upgrading the salary levels to attract talented young people to the teaching profession and to retain our best, experienced teachers in the classroom.
6. We expect the responsible exercise of authority and leadership from the administrators of Maine’s school systems.
7. We urge that the “1978 School Finance Act”, be corrected to stop the shifting of school funding responsibility from the state level onto the local school unit, the property taxpayer.
8. We believe Maine’s vocational-technical schools are an integral part of Maine ’s future, but have been woefully neglected. We endorse a prompt reversal of this policy of neglect.
9. We wholeheartedly support the “slot program” to guarantee the opportunity for Maine citizens to gain admission to out-of-state medical, dental and veterinary schools.
10. We call for an independent, comprehensive and professional evaluation of the University of Maine system, with special emphasis on competitiveness of faculty salaries, tuition rates, capital needs, and administrative structural effectiveness.
11. We believe state government must end the current practice of diverting state funds from Maine’s public school systems: local schools, regional vocational schools and the University system.
B. WELFARE
1. The Republican Party believes that those who are unable to provide for themselves should be assisted by private, community and government resources in an effort toward helping them become self-supporting, productive citizens with dignity and pride.
2. We support municipal workfare programs for local welfare recipients whenever possible.
C. HEALTH
1. The Maine Republican Party supports an educational and informational program about the abuses and dangers of alcohol and drugs. We recognize the need for a strong preventive educational plan, including the education of women as to the dangers of fetal alcohol syndrome which is one of the three major causes of birth defects and mental retardation.
2. We support a catastrophic illness protection program through the private health insurance system.
3. We support a comprehensive and objective study to determine alternative methods for providing optional health care insurance plans at different prices to the consuming public.
4. We believe social security disability recipients are entitled to an impartial review hearing before their disability benefits may be terminated.
D. ELDERLY
1. The Maine Republican Party supports home health care programs and other forms of assistance to enable our elderly citizens to remain in their homes.
2. We believe it is the duty of the state through local government to defend those elderly citizens living on fixed incomes against increasing taxation and costs of living.
3. We recommend that health care insurance companies make available an impartial insurance analyst to assist citizens with questions of medical coverage, such as cost comparisons and sufficiency and/or possible duplications among different insurance programs.
E. CHILDREN
1. The Maine Republican Party strongly supports the tradition that parents assume full responsibility for the care and protection of their children.
2. We support stronger penalties for persons convicted of child abuse.
3. We support educational programs in all schools regarding nutrition, sex education, child abuse and drug and alcohol abuse.
4. We believe state government should exercise greater responsibility in the administration of existing health and welfare programs for children, including the manner in which government budgets, regulates, evaluates and organizes such services. The Maine Republican Party supports the improvement of state services to children which provide for their safety when in the care of others, child care assistance and decent, affordable, safe and sanitary housing.
5. We favor emergency services to temporarily assist and support adolescent children who have run away from their families, have been forced out of their homes or have experienced pregnancies.
6. We support President Reagan’s expanded tax credits for child day care expenses.
VI. GOVERNMENT REFORM
A. GOVERNMENT REGULATION
1. The Maine Republican Party supports the streamlining and simplification of needless and expensive government regulation.
B. LOCAL CONTROL
1. The Republican Party supports the Reagan Administration’s attempt to restore decision-making authority to state and local governments, including the block grant revenue sharing program.
2. We believe public assistance programs should be administered by local government, as much as possible, rather than by state bureaucracies or special district agencies.
C. CRIME AND JUSTICE
1. The Maine Republican Party believes that a well-trained law enforcement establishment and an independent, competent judiciary is necessary for an orderly society and promotion of justice.
2. We support bail reform to deny pre-trial release to criminal defendants who are likely to commit other major crimes awaiting trial.
3. We encourage the funding of adequate correctional facilities to eliminate the possibility of reduced criminal sentences solely because of inadequate space.
4. We support the rights of victims of crime and recommend that restitution be paid by the offender whenever possible.
5. We support increased funding for investigation and prosecution of drug trafficking.
6. We support the vigorous enforcement of drunk driving laws including the reasonable use of road blocks.
7. We support an increase in half-way house rehabilitation programs for juvenile offenders.
8. We support an increase in the number of trial judges to guarantee speedy justice in civil and criminal cases.
9. We call for the establishment of a non-partisan nominating commission for the purpose of recommending qualified judicial nominees for gubernatorial appointment.
D. CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES
1. The Maine Republican party rejects discrimination and reverse discrimination based on race, sex, age, creed, handicap, religious beliefs or ethnic or national origin.
2. We urge the adoption of the state Equal Rights Amendment.
3. We oppose legislative or bureaucratic regulation of guns and reaffirm our belief in the constitutional right of the people to keep and bear arms.
VII. MAINE VETERANS
1. Continue strong support for the Veterans Administration Center at Togus with emphasis on additional beds and outreach activity.
2. Improvement and expansion of the Maine Veterans Home and Maine Veterans Cemetery with proper funding.
3. Support for the Vietnam Veterans centers at Bangor and Portland.
4. Passage of legislation to create rural health clinics under the Veterans Administration for the Veterans of rural Maine .
5. Upgrade care of aging veteran population in Maine and step up activity in the support of care and treatment of female veterans.
6. Support the creation of jobs and educational benefits for all veterans in the Pine Tree State .
7. Emphasis on special role of veterans in the nation.
Source: Copy of the printed platform at the Maine State Law Library.