As the 125th Legislature’s final session winds down, votes flow out of the State House like Maine rivers during the spring thaw. Here are quick takes on three recent “no” votes in the Legislature:

LD 1882

A decision on whether Maine will hold presidential primaries in 2016 will have to wait at least another year.

The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted 12-1 Monday to replace Senate President Kevin Raye’s bill to schedule presidential primaries with a resolve that calls for further study, the results of which are due by the end of this year.

Between now and then, Maine will elect a new Legislature and the U.S. will elect a president, so any momentum for a primary will likely dissipate between now and the report’s due date.

A quick review of February’s Republican Party caucus fiasco — and a sideways glance at the economic benefits of New Hampshire’s primary — should be all the study needed.

Legislators on the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee did all Maine voters a disservice by sidestepping the primary question. In so doing, they clearly showed their allegiance to a system that rewards party operatives and penalizes “Average Joe” voters.

LD 1727

The House appropriately banished LD 1727, “An Act To Ensure That the Public Is Duly Informed When Certain Juvenile Crimes Are Committed,” by a 122-14 vote Monday.

The misguided proposal would have allowed police, as a public informational service, to identify people age 16 or older when they are apprehended, but before charges are finalized.

It’s astounding that a measure so contrary to long-held Constitutional principles and with such overtly stigmatizing implications could survive Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee scrutiny and make it to a floor vote.

Nevertheless, the vast majority of Maine lawmakers displayed a basic understanding of the underpinnings of the Bill of Rights by rejecting what would have been a lunge toward “police state” public policy.

In speaking against the bill, Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, skillfully summarized the stakes when she said, “It is absolutely wrong to put a scarlet letter on a teenager even before they’ve been charged or found guilty. No doubt these are serious crimes, but it’s inappropriate to broadcast the information until after the prosecutor’s findings of whether there is enough information to charge the juvenile with a crime.”

LD 849

Surprising State House observers, the House on Tuesday voted 72-61 against LD 849, a Republican-backed measure that would have incrementally reduced the state’s income tax rate and required that surplus revenue — rare though it might be — be returned to taxpayers.

House members who voted against LD 849, which passed in the Senate and will now return there for further deliberation, merit praise for resisting the temptation to enact a give-away that might have helped curry voters’ favor during campaign season.

Sagely, a majority recognized that tinkering with Maine’s tax code for short-term political gain would further compromise an already flawed taxation system and drop a festering mess into the laps of the 126th Legislature.

Lawmakers genuinely interested in revamping Maine’s tax code to reflect fairness and 21st century economic realities should commit to a comprehensive overhaul during the first session of the 126th Legislature, when there will be enough time to assess all implications of reform.

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