Legislating Sears Island's fate begins anew.

Our Maine legislature begins the biennial rite of submitting, considering and voting on bills, and setting agency budgets - legislation on many if not all facets of life in Maine, including the lives of wildlife on and around Sears Island.

The Transportation Committee is where the Sears Island action is focused. The Committee has before it SP 21 "Joint Order, Authorizing the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation To Report out a Bill Concerning the Sears Island Planning Initiative." (1 page pdf) Submitted by Committee Chair Sen Dennis Damon, it appears to ask for the Transportation Committee to formally "report out a bill" to the greater legislature, and for the Committee to be prepared to have it returned by the legislature for amendment. (Text of SP 21 below)

124th Maine State Legislature

SP 21 Joint Order, Authorizing the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation To Report out a Bill Concerning the Sears Island Planning Initiative

"the House concurring, that the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation, having received the "Final Report and Recommendations for Implementation of the Sears Island Planning Initiative" of the Joint Use Planning Committee, is authorized to report out a bill to the First Regular Session of the 124th Legislature relating to Sears Island. The bill reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation must be referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation for processing in the normal course in accordance with the Joint Rules of the 124th Legislature."
[End of SP 21.]

So what does it mean? Who is going to blink? Damon? Baldacci? Mazurek? Sierra Club? CLF?  A clash of titans looms on the horizon.