SUN JOURNAL • May 31, 2020
Richard Bennett’s guest column (May 24) “Avangrid versus the people of Maine” is dead wrong. Lawmakers in Maine, whether sitting as an elected state Legislature or as citizens (“electors”) initiating legislation, have no authority to act in violation of Maine’s Constitution or to exceed the parameters of initiative rights laid out in the Constitution. Bennett’s “… right for self determination in a citizens’ initiative…” is not without limits. The proposed NECEC transmission line (in full compliance with Maine law) was subject to lengthy and rigorous PUC, DEP and LUPC scrutiny. All three of these impartial state agencies approved the project after multiple public hearings and with strict conditions that protect Maine ratepayers and the environment. ~ Orlando Delogu, professor of law, Portland