The Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously Thursday against Sen. John Nutting’s legislation that would have deducted hospital spending for advertising from the amount the state owes the institutions in MaineCare reimbursements.

There was no committee discussion before the vote.

During a public hearing on the bill held Wednesday, a representative of the Maine Hospital Association explained that MaineCare and Medicare policy already prohibits hospitals from using payments for advertising.

Nutting said he wanted to make the point that while hospital officials were complaining about being owed state funds, they were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertisements.

Maine hospitals are owed more than $400 million in state and federal funds for MaineCare services rendered in recent years.

Animal fighting bill dies

Lawmakers in the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted 8-2 against a bill that would have banned animal fighting paraphernalia and make it a felony to watch a dogfight or cockfight fight during a work session Wednesday.

Seven states have a ban on animal fighting gear, according to the Human Society of the United States.

Animal welfare advocates who testified at the public hearing said even though there have been no recent cases of animal fighting in Maine, the bill, sponsored by Rep. Dick Wagner, D-Lewiston, would act as a preventative measure.

But many committee members said Wednesday they agreed with dog trainers who expressed concerns that legitimate training devices, such as treadmills and bite sticks, would be considered illegal if the bill passed.

“I don’t believe (the proposal) is specific enough,” said Rep. Mike Lajoie, D-Lewiston.

Rep. Stephen Hanley, D-Gardiner, said passing the bill would be like outlawing knives in an attempt to eliminate knife fights.

“This bill seems like a solution looking for a problem,” he said.

– Rebekah Metzler

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