AUGUSTA (AP) — Eliot Cutler wants to get rid of annual car inspections. Shawn Moody envisions broadening business tax breaks. Libby Mitchell wants to give business more say on environmental regulations. Paul LePage promises an audit of the state’s rules and regulations.

Asked by The Associated Press for programs that need to be cut, Maine’s five gubernatorial candidates all have targets in mind if elected, especially as Maine’s regulatory climate has come under heavy criticism during the campaign as too burdensome to business and detrimental to job growth.

Businessman and independent candidate Moody was the most specific when asked about needed changes. He called Maine’s $25,000 cap on depreciation of the cost of business equipment a “disincentive” to businesses, and wants the limit to conform with the federal cap of $250,000.

Moody also wants to allow businesses to carry forward to the next year their losses to offset gains, as federal law permits. And he’d like changes to the state’s site location law to lower costs and remove burdens for small businesses that want to expand.

Fellow independent Cutler plans to appoint a “Grim Repealer” to scour every state regulation so those that keep businesses from growing can be rubbed out. In a similar vein, Republican Paul LePage promised “a red tape removal audit” to tag rules that block new job opportunities.

Independent Kevin Scott agreed that regulations are time-consuming and costly.

“When it takes a dairy farmer 10 months to get a ‘water runoff’ permit for his farm and he has been operating a dairy on family land for over four generations, something is wrong with the system,” Scott said.

Mitchell, the Democratic candidate, said she would resist any efforts to roll back environmental protections, but said businesses should be allowed to innovate to meet state environmental protections as long as they are in line with standards set by the state. “My administration will be more concerned with what comes out of the smokestack than how it gets there,” Mitchell said.

The Legislature has already taken action to snip red tape for wind-power projects by streamlining and speeding up permitting, but its unanimously approved 2008 law is now encountering some public criticism.

Asked if the state is putting too much emphasis on wind power, most candidates agreed that government shouldn’t pick favorites when it comes to developing alternative forms of clean power.

“The 2008 law should be reviewed to ensure that wind power is not being given an unfair advantage over the development of other alternatives,” said Moody.

LePage said biomass, wind, cogeneration, nuclear, solar, tidal and hydro all offer great potential for lower costs as a more diverse, local energy source, but added, “Ultimately, decisions must be made on price so we avoid rate hikes that Maine seniors and families cannot afford.”

Mitchell said she’s open to reviewing the 2008 law to make sure it includes adequate environmental safeguards. Moody said it should be reviewed to make sure wind doesn’t get preferential treatment. And Scott agreed that the state’s “pro-wind position” should be given a second look.

Cutler, a former White House energy adviser, called the 2008 law “an important framework for the informed siting of good wind power projects, but we need to continually evaluate the law to make sure it is working as intended.”

All five of the candidates expressed an openness, to varying degrees, toward long-term power-purchasing contracts with Canada.

“Purchasing power from Canada remains an option, but doing so must not detract from our ability to generate renewable energy here in Maine,” said Mitchell.

LePage wants the state to capitalize on its advantage as an energy corridor to tap into new power sources to provide at-cost power in Maine. “I will work to secure access ramps along the transmission corridor to further enhance Maine’s energy choices,” LePage said.

Cutler said long-term contracts “can be an important tool in obtaining lower-cost electricity for Maine customers, whether that energy comes from Canada or not. I would be willing to consider a long-term contract for Canadian power” with appropriate consumer safeguards, he said.

Cutler has proposed a Maine Energy Finance Authority that would access tax-exempt capital to partner with Maine businesses and energy entrepreneurs to acquire or develop sources of low-cost power in Maine.

Moody said he favors Canadian power purchases as well as aggressive development of renewable, indigenous power sources. “If cheaper power is available from Canada, we need to pursue it and negotiate the best deal we can for Maine people and businesses,” said Moody, adding that reducing our dependence on outside energy sources is also worth exploring.

Scott believes the state should continue with alternative energy research and development, “but not at the cost of securing lower-priced, green energy that is already developed and available in Canada.”