In business, you are only as good as your word.

If you tell a supplier you’re going to pay them, you’d better pay them — or you’ll never receive that product again. If you treat your employees and customers well, they’ll keep coming back.

Your reputation is directly tied to your brand, and in a state as small as Maine, keeping you reputation intact is critical.

These rules apply to government as well. Amidst shifting priorities and well-intentioned legislation, regulations can change without notice and businesses are the ones left paying the price.

Less than two years ago, LD 401, An Act to Preserve State Landfill Capacity and Promote Recycling, became law. Now unless you follow the Legislature closely or are directly impacted by the solid waste management industry, you may not have noticed.

It was an excellent example of how good policy in Maine is crafted. Members of the Legislature, the Department of Environmental Protection, business owners, advocates and stakeholders worked to negotiate a compromise agreement. It passed with bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Janet Mills.

In summary, this legislation set new recycling targets to ensure we can meet our ambitious and much-needed sustainability goals. And it even obligated the DEP to review the progress of this law in 2024, rightly building in the future opportunity to examine this issue on an appropriate timeline.

It also statutorily compelled one of our small businesses to invest nearly $2 million dollars of its own capital.

ReSource Waste Services of Lewiston, which operates a facility that processes and recycles construction and demolition debris, is upgrading its facility with a new processing line and state-of-the-art equipment to meet these recently mandated targets. They were proud to build this capital project into their business plan and knew that achieving higher recycling rates and new products that can be beneficially reused is a win-win situation.

But now it seems that some in the Legislature want to reverse course and go back on their word.

Proposed language in a new bill, LD 1639, would undermine the bipartisan work that just happened and result in ReSource Waste Services going out of business. The closure of that facility would lead to lost revenue and jobs, and would disrupt export market opportunities for Maine products.

Not only is that bad policy, its bad for our environment and our economy.

You see, ReSource Waste Services is not only a facility that helps to recover products that would otherwise be discarded into landfills; it also is a backbone of Maine’s export mulch market (by providing economical back-hauls for delivery trucks), and is a strong community and economic partner in Lewiston and beyond.

They also create a product called “fines.” These fines are used for daily cover and shaping and grading at landfills, reducing the need for landfills to use virgin soils. Fines are also a component in how the state can address PFAS — a problem we need all hands on deck to manage.

Solid waste policy is extremely dynamic, regional, and essential for Maine people and municipalities. The Lewiston facility has been an essential part of the region’s complex solid waste management system, assisting the state of Maine and the larger New England region in their ambitious efforts to meet recycling goals. That work must continue.

I don’t for a minute doubt that lawmakers are carefully considering the matters in front of them and weighing the consequences. I’m grateful for their time, their energy and commitment to public service. But on behalf of businesses in Maine, I’d like to encourage them to keep their word and consider the benefits that come from a stable, predictable regulatory environment.

Ultimately, if state policymakers don’t keep their word, it gets harder and harder to retain and recruit all businesses in Maine.

Dana Connors of Gray is president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.