A bill that would make force feeding birds illegal will have a public hearing before the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee on Wednesday.

Sponsored by Rep. Alan Casavant, D-Biddeford, the measure is directed at those who fatten the livers of geese and ducks for pté de foie gras, a specialty food item.

The bill may face no opposition. As of 2006, according to the Portland Press Herald, no one in Maine makes foie gras.

Also on Wednesday, the committee will work on solving the estimated $5 million shortfall in the state’s milk subsidy program. Last week, more than 100 dairy farmers pleaded with lawmakers to preserve the program, which is on the budget-balancing chopping block.

Money talk

Another busy week lies ahead for members of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. They are slated to hear budget testimony from the Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Education, among others.

Maine Education Commissioner Sue Gendron is scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other state commissioners to learn more about the distribution of federal stimulus money.

Gendron will appear before the Appropriations Committee on Thursday afternoon to brief legislators on that meeting.

Bag tax

Sen. John Nutting, D-Leeds, will go before the Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday to present a bill that would require stores to charge 10 cents per plastic bag used by customers.

Nutting said his bill would help the environment by reducing the number of plastic bags in circulation and the consumption of oil, which is used to produce them.

The money would go into the state’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Loan Fund, which lends money to projects that reduce the production of solid or hazardous waste.

Delayed

The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee postponed a vote on a bill that would allow police to force drivers involved in accidents with “serious bodily injury” to take blood-alcohol tests, regardless of probable cause.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. James Schatz, D-Blue Hill, said he is trying to protect the rights of victims, not infringe on anyone’s constitutional rights.

Opponents of the bill, including the Maine Civil Liberties Union, say that’s precisely what it would do. It’s scheduled for a committee vote on March 4.

-Rebekah Metzler

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