Alliance for Democracy’s Defending Water in Maine rallys and speaks for enhanced home rule and rights of nature

Maine is considering a state-level bill, LD 1028, “An Act to Enhance Municipal Home Rule Statues”, which would legally allow Maine cities and towns to adopt and enforce ordinances stating that corporations are not people, and denying them constitutional personhood rights. The bill got a public hearing in front of the Maine legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government on Wednesday, April 29, preceded by a rally in front of the State House in Augusta, at which Emily Posner, Defending Water in Maine organizer, spoke.

Water extractors claim the bill paints the state as “bad for business,” but supporters disagree, saying it reaffirms community rights to control what goes in within their borders.

You can see video from Portland, Maine’s WCSH-6 tv at www.defendingwaterinmaine.org/media. To read more, visit this page on the Defending Water in Maine webpage

Emily Posner was also one of a trio of speakers addressing water protection issues in New England at a forum sponsored by the Environmental Leadership Program and held on April 27 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Emily spoke about the work she’s done in Maine, linking it to international struggles to protect water by localities and often by marginalized populations.