Gov. John Baldacci traded in his gas-guzzling SUV Friday for a more environmentally friendly sedan to set an example in these energy-conscious times.
Baldacci was chauffeured in a mid-size Chevrolet Impala to lunch in Brunswick, said spokesman Lynn “Kip” Kippax.
“That’s one way the governor can show he’s interested in saving gasoline,” Kippax said. The Chevrolet Suburban SUV that Baldacci normally rode in is parked behind the Blaine House and “has been retired until further notice” Kippax said.
According to a government Web site, a 2005 Impala is expected to get an estimated 21 miles per gallon in the city and 32 mpg on the highway. By contrast, the same vintage four-wheel-drive Suburban would get an estimated 15 mpg city; 19 highway.
Baldacci was riding in a Suburban when it crashed 18 months ago.
Before Baldacci, Gov. Angus King was urged to trade in a minivan for a Ford Explorer at the recommendation of Maine State Police, who are charged with driving the governor and are responsible for safety. Former Gov. John McKernan rode in an Oldsmobile sedan.
Since the price of gasoline jumped by 30 cents last week, Baldacci has been soliciting suggestions and mulling ways to respond, including urging conservation, Kippax said.
Some people in Maine have called for suspension of the state gas tax, which rose in July from 25.2 cents per gallon to 25.9 cents. But no formal recommendation has reached the State House and Baldacci has no plans to lift the tax, Kippax said.
A portion of that money is used to operate the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and funds 63 percent of the Maine State Police, Kippax said. It also pays for bridge and road maintenance.
Despite recent hikes in gas prices, Maine’s attorney general has not brought charges of price-gouging against any oil dealers or service station owners, said Assistant Attorney General Francis Ackerman, who oversees the antitrust division at that office.
Unlike many states where laws specify the percentage a price can increase before it is considered gouging, Maine’s law is non-specific. Maine’s law is more difficult to apply and is more multifaceted, Ackerman said.
Maine’s Unfair Trade Practices Act says “unconscionable prices are actionable,” Ackerman said. “What that means depends on the facts of the situation.”
It also is criminal in Maine to profit unjustly or unreasonably from increases in the price of necessities when there appears to be no justification for it, Ackerman said.
Prosecution under the statutes have been rare, he said. Not even during Maine’s 1998 Ice Storm was there a complaint filed in Maine courts.
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