Yikes! File this under the ‘be careful what you ask for’ category:
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=244442&ac=PHnws
A Maine state legislator thinks that everyone should be charged for rescue services, in direct oppostition to the sentiments of the National Association for Search and Rescue (see previous post), which thinks that no one should be charged.
So, an actual bill payer (the state of Maine) thinks it would be a fine idea to charge for SAR, based on the the legislator’s analysis of the actual costs involved, and having to pay the bills with real dollars. NASAR thinks all the money should just come from….well, they never really have said where they think the money should come from. I can only assume, from reading their material, that they think all the costs of SAR should come from the public coffers, i.e. taxpayers.
Up in Maine, State Representative Thomas Saviello adds a twist to his logic: people who have paid some funds to the state, like a hunting or fishing license fee, would get SAR for free. Those who haven’t paid a state fee can buy a card from the state, the Maine Rescue Card.
It’s right there in L.D. 510, a bill sponsored by Saviello now winding its way through the Maine Legislature. Its intent: to boost sagging revenue for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife by creating the Maine Rescue Card.
“It’s like a AAA card, only for the woods,” Saviello explained Wednesday.
If Maine passes that law, what’s to stop them from moving right into the marine rescue business? Just pay the state $50/yr, and you get free on the water towing.
Yippee!
