Under the Dome

Bill would close gun show loophole

On Monday, the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee is scheduled to take up a bill sponsored by Rep. Anna Blodgett, D-Augusta, that would require sellers at gun shows to perform instant background checks on customers, something licensed firearms dealers in retail settings are already required to do.

A parent of one of the students killed at Columbine High School nearly 10 years ago was in Augusta last week to speak during the bill’s public hearing. Tom Mauser of Littleton, Colo., said some of the guns used during the massacre were purchased at gun shows.

Unless the legislation is unanimously voted down by the committee, it will be taken up for debate by the full Legislature in the coming weeks.

Red or white?

Legislation proposed by Sen. Deb Simpson, D-Auburn, would allow for special license holders to import up to 12 cases of wine annually and allow wine-makers to ship up to 50 cases out to customers per year.

The bill establish a pair of new permits, one for “wine connoisseurs” and one for “specialty wine” producers. Each permit has an annual fee.

Farm wineries would also be permitted to ship their products out-of-state as long as they comply with those states’ laws, according to the measure.

A public hearing for the proposal is scheduled for Monday before the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Tax free?

Rep. Meredith Strang Burgess, R-Cumberland, wants you to shop tax free this Columbus Day weekend, according to a bill she submitted that will receive a public hearing on Tuesday.

The bill directs that Maine sales tax be suspended for the October holiday weekend in 2009 and asks Maine’s Bureau of Revenue Services and the Maine Merchants Association to make recommendations about establishing two tax-free weekends beginning in 2010, based on data collected during the Columbus Day trial, according to the measure.

Animal welfare

Legislation submitted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources would allow the department to suspend or revoke licenses of pet shops, animal shelters or kennels without district court permission, as is the practice now.

The measure, which is up for a public hearing before a legislative committee on Wednesday, would require the department to hold an administrative hearing, as defined by state law, before suspending or revoking any licenses.

The commissioner would also be permitted to investigate complaints concerning animal control officers and suspend or revoke their state-issued certification, according to the bill.

Copy the Story Link