Presented by Sen. Trey Stewart

Hi everybody, this is Trey Stewart, the Republican Leader in the Maine State Senate. I hope your weekend is going well. For years now – and this is my fifth term in the Legislature – you’ve heard us give a response on the radio that has historically been called the Weekly Republican Radio Address, usually in response to something that the Governor has put out.

I’ve often questioned whether it matters, whether anybody cares or whether it’s actually moving the needle at all; and so what I’d like to do going forward with this time is instead of just nitpicking or pointing out obvious flaws in what the current administration is doing or something bad that happened in state government this week — of which there are many examples we could easily point to. Instead, what I want to do is use this time to paint a picture for folks that are listening and watching about state government can and should like under different leadership – specifically under Republican control of state government.

So that’s what we’re going to do going forward. We’re going to use this opportunity to put forward what the Republican vision is for the State of Maine, and I hope that you’ll join us along this journey.

The first thing I want to talk about with you all is the business climate and what’s happened here in the State of Maine with regard to our economy. The good news is there were some positive things that occurred in the last year, and they were done specifically with Republican support and Republican leadership on those issues. Namely, two important bills that were passed that my Republican colleagues and I worked very hard on to change some of the tax structure here in Maine.

These were tax credit bills. What that means is that if companies in the State of Maine do the things we need them and want them to do with regard to employing people, hiring Maine people, creating opportunities, particularly in rural areas, they receive credit on their taxes over a number of years, specifically 20 years.

This was a big deal in northern Maine for two major potato processing facilities that employ and will continue to create jobs for hundreds of Maine people in Aroostook County. That got across the finish line with a lot of broad bipartisan support – and then a reauthorization of an existing tax credit called the New Markets Tax Credit. You may have even heard of this program a little bit as it relates to the federal government and some of the federal programs they have to spur economic growth.

Now the thing is, we could have done a lot more. Republicans know that, I know that and we have pushed hard over my tenure here to lower our tax rate overall so that everybody can experience lower taxes.

States compete: There are 50 different laboratories of democracy around the country. The ones that do the best and are the strongest economically are the ones that have a lower burden on their people in terms of their tax liability.  We could be the next one that starts to lower our taxes and move in the right direction; and I’m positive when that happens, we’re going to start seeing more and more economic activity as people know how to spend their money better than the government does.

Another thing that’s really important when states are competing is what the regulatory environment looks like in that state. Here in Maine, we love to burden our businesses with all kinds of regulations; and as a result, it’s hard to come to Maine to set up shop, or expand, or create new jobs and opportunities — so we need to get a handle on this. Governor LePage did a great job of that when he was Governor, and we need to get back to that sort of model of business as it relates to state government.

Finally, energy costs are through the roof in Maine. You probably saw the recent reports indicating that we have the highest year-over-year increases in energy costs in the country, and it’s frankly our own doing. We’ve elected politicians who are more focused on handing out benefits to their lobby friends than they are on bringing down the cost of energy here in the State of Maine and looking at what’s in the best interest of the ratepayers.

So, if you, your family or your business care about these things — if you want to see:

• Maine have a better tax environment;
• A better regulatory system to operate and grow under;
• More jobs and opportunity here;
• More people get off of welfare and back to work;
• Lower energy costs,

these are all things Republicans, specifically Legislative Republicans, are laser focused on.

I look forward to talking about these subjects and many others as we move along with our Republican vision series that we’re going to be putting forward — both on the radio and on the internet — and I look forward to talking with you to make sure we are focused on the things that matter most to Maine people.

That’s our commitment to you. Thanks for listening and I hope you have a great rest of your weekend.

Senator Harold “Trey” Stewart III represents District 2, which includes communities in Aroostook and Penobscot counties. He is the Senate Republican Leader and a member of the Legislative Council.

Text edited for clarity and brevity.