Gay rights amendment dealt fatal defeat

AUGUSTA (AP) – A proposed constitutional amendment seeking to ban same-sex marriages in Maine is dead for the session following a Senate vote Wednesday.

Supporters said the amendment would have bolstered Maine’s statute that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. But opponents saw no need to add the language to the state Constitution.

The amendment would have needed a two-thirds vote of approval in the House and Senate in order to be sent on to voters. On Tuesday, representatives denied the bill even a majority vote of approval as they rejected it 88-56.

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Baldacci joins labor, legislative leaders in Social Security plea

AUGUSTA (AP) – Gov. John Baldacci joined Maine’s top legislative and organized labor leaders Wednesday in opposing federal privatization plans for Social Security.

A State House news conference was held as petitions circulated throughout Maine carrying the same message in opposition to President Bush’s privatization proposal.

Baldacci, a Democrat, said Social Security is “a basic and secure set of benefits for retirees” that “must be preserved.”

He joined Senate President Beth Edmonds and House Speaker John Richardson, who are also Democrats, Maine AFL-CIO President Ed Gorham and several citizens’ groups who defended the program.

A nonbinding resolution up for a legislative vote, sponsored by more than 40 lawmakers, calls on Congress to replenish money it borrowed from Social Security and look for solutions to the program’s solvency problems while ensuring it will continue.

Bush opposes increasing payroll taxes to cover a shortfall facing Social Security. The Social Security Administration’s nonpartisan chief actuary, Stephen Goss, said in late May that the nation faces budget challenges in less than four years if Congress does not change it.

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Lawmakers give emphatic OK to milk fees

AUGUSTA (AP) – A bill authorizing fees on milk vendors to help strengthen Maine’s dairy industry has been sent to Gov. John Baldacci for his signature after winning overwhelming House and Senate approval. Under the assessment’s structure, consumers should not have to pay the fees.

The proposal would assess fees of about 5 cents per gallon of milk when the basic price of milk falls below set limits for two consecutive months.

Seen as a safety net for Maine’s dairy industry, the fees could generate $4 million a year.

Robert Wellington of dairy cooperative Agri-Mark said the program will be particularly helpful in the coming months when milk prices paid to farmers are expected to drop dramatically. Wellington said the bill creates an “innovative agriculture solution.”

The proposal passed 118-15 in the House and 33-0 in the Senate.