Maine’s GM Bill Threatened by N.H. Lawmakers
Legislation (H.B. 660) in Maine that would require food manufacturers to label products containing genetically modified (GM) ingredients is reportedly in jeopardy after New Hampshire lawmakers voted 12-8 against a similar labeling bill. Although Maine’s law passed earlier this year with broad bipartisan support, it can take effect only if five contiguous states pass similar laws. “I was not surprised,” said the New Hampshire bill’s sponsor Maureen Mann (D-Deerfield) in a news article. Evidently, while a subcommittee that spent the summer working on the bill recommended its approval, members of New Hampshire’s House Environment and Agriculture Committee expressed reservations about the measure, citing difficulties with enforcement because food labeling is a federal matter.
According to sources, unlike in Maine, the vote in New Hampshire broke along party lines, with Republican committee members largely opposing it. Democrats have a 42-vote majority in the New Hampshire House, while Republicans have a two-seat advantage in the Senate.
“It became more partisan in New Hampshire,” said Rep. Lance Harvell
(R-Farmington), the lead sponsor of the Maine bill. “It definitely makes things
a lot tougher for our side.” According to Harvell, industry groups that oppose
labeling laws were better prepared in New Hampshire than in Maine and
Connecticut, the first two states to pass such legislation. Despite the vote, the
New Hampshire bill is not dead, and it will be considered by the full House
during the next legislative session. See Portland Press Herald, November 13,
2013; TheWireNH.com, November 14, 2013.
Issue 504
