Gov. Paul LePage and Republicans in the Maine Legislature delivered their signature piece of legislation last week, a collection of red-tape cutting measures designed to make Maine more “business friendly.”

Yes, it was a compromise piece of work, supported in the end by Democrats as well.

But there is no doubt that the impetus for cutting rules and regulations came from the Republican side of the aisle.

LePage said the new law is a “good down payment” on the reforms he thinks are really needed to improve the state’s business climate.

But the relationship between business and government remains fuzzy and complex, which will forever frustrate philosophical purists and libertarians who feel government simply needs to get out of the way.

Three days later, the Maine Senate abandoned its capitalistic course by passing a bill authorizing the state to purchase a leaky landfill, a problem private industry created that Maine’s taxpayers must now solve.

The bill authorized the state to acquire and run the Dolby Landfill, which for decades received sludge and other paper-making wastes from the mills in Millinocket and East Millinocket.

The Senate was left in an unhappy predicament when Brookfield Asset Management, which now owns the two idled mills, said it would dismantle and sell the mill equipment if the state didn’t act.

The landfill is a major obstacle to Brookfield’s efforts to sell the mills to a Hong Kong investment firm that has expressed interest in re-opening them.

The landfill is near the end of its useful life, and the new owner doesn’t want to buy the unknown liability of a future cleanup.

One Democratic legislator wrongly called the deal “corporate blackmail.”

We call it recognizing reality.

There is only one possible buyer for the plant, so the state doesn’t have much of a bargaining position. It’s either take over the landfill or risk losing several hundred jobs in a hard-pressed area of the state.

But the situation also shows the need for regulation and enforcement, otherwise known as “red tape,” to protect the state’s taxpayers.

The Legislature also crossed that fuzzy philosophical line last year when it chose to buy 233 miles of Maine railroad track from the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway for $20.1 million.

The company said it was losing $4 to $5 million annually operating the line between Madawaska and Millinocket.

But the poorly maintained tracks also served 22 Maine manufacturing companies which employ 1,722, again in an economically disadvantaged part of the state.

The state could have cut those manufacturers loose, forcing them to rely on more expensive truck transportation.

Instead, the Legislature studied the issue and determined it was better to buy the line than to risk losing the jobs and putting thousands of trucks on secondary highways.

So, the state’s taxpayers now own an unprofitable railroad line, all in the name of preserving jobs and lending a helping hand to Maine businesses.

As last week’s legislation showed, there are things the state can do to encourage business.

But, in reality, having a healthy economy requires a partnership between government and industry.

rrhoades@sunjournal.com

The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.

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