Rep. Roy goes rogue

I just don't understand this.

Apparently Milford Representative Richard Roy (D-119th) took it upon himself to cut a deal with the pesticide lobby that may prevent the legislature from enacting any new laws to limit or regulate pesticide use during this legislative session.

Much to the surprise of fellow legislators.

Jane Bradley at CT News Junkie has a detailed write up:

Health-protective pesticide legislation topped Connecticut environmentalists’ wish list for the current legislative session until Environment Committee co-chairman Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, struck a surprising deal with industry.

In return for a pledge from the pesticide lobby not to roll back existing pesticide laws, Roy single-handedly promised that the Environment Committee would not raise any new pesticide bills this year.

Environment Committee co-chairman Sen. Ed Meyer, D-Guilford, was blindsided when Roy announced the deal with the pesticide lobby.

“I was not a party to any agreement to stop any pesticide legislation in 2011,” said Meyer. “I have expressed concern that he did this unilaterally.”

Now, maybe I don't get the intricacies of the process up in Hartford, but wouldn't it at least be polite to notify the co-chair of the Environment Committee before you cut a deal like that?

Especially considering that this year, for the first time in decades we have a governor who won't automatically veto a bill that even has a whiff of industry regulation, despite the fact that it may directly affect the health of our state's children.

Yet, for whatever reason Dick Roy felt it necessary to quickly curtail any talk of additional protective regulation of the pesticide industry. Roy's thinking that the pesticide lobby would have even a snowflake's chance in hell of rolling back current regulations falls flat given the new governor.

And Roy didn't even call for public hearings before making his unilateral decision:

“The agreement was that we would not attempt to expand the ban if they would not attempt to repeal the law,” said Roy, who admits that he held no public hearings before cutting the deal. “I made the agreement with the lead pesticide lobbyist to take a year off on pesticides because passage of the law banning pesticides on school grounds was so contentious.”

“I think Representative Roy made a deal with the pesticide interests because he thought he was protecting the pesticide ban,” said Dr. Jerry Silbert, executive director of the Watershed Partnership. “We’re concerned that he didn’t let the people who would like to be his allies know that he was making the deal.”

Mr. Roy, I ask you, is it too late for you to accept responsibility for your mistake and take back your "deal" with the pesticide lobby? Would you consider that we, as voters and party supporters (as well as citizens of this state) might want to at least have the opportunity to speak up regarding the current state of affairs before putting off the conversation for another year?

Would that be too much to ask?