During the past two years, the Maine State Legislature has been operating in a divided government. The Senate was controlled by Republicans, the House by Democrats, and Gov. Paul LePage is a Republican. Every piece of legislation has to be handled by all three of these entities, and that means the past two years had plenty of negotiations, many failed bills and quite a few dramatic headlines. However, lawmakers also passed many substantive bills into law that will positively affect Maine.

I am proud to say that Senate Republicans took the lead on many of them, sponsoring good bills and shepherding them through to passage, while others helped to strengthen legislation that they did not sponsor.

For example, Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, knew that without strict penalties, proposed legislation to ban the use of welfare dollars to purchase lottery, tobacco, and alcohol would not be effective. So he took the lead in negotiating a compromise to pass this long sought-after ban, and put teeth into the law to actually deter people from abusing their benefits in this way. That law passed, and Mainers in need and Maine taxpayers will both benefit.

Senate Republicans also took the lead in making sure Maine’s drug crisis was addressed. My colleague, Sen. Scott Cyrway, R-Benton, a DARE officer, has made fighting drugs and the damage they cause to society his life’s work. As a member of the Legislature he has continued this work and, this year, one of his major pieces of legislation increased penalties for drug dealers who import dangerous drugs into Maine.

That is important, as they are the criminals bringing that poison into this state and they should be punished for doing so — sending a message to others that if you come to Maine to deal drugs, you will be dealt with harshly.

The Legislature also unanimously passed a multi-pronged approach to addressing the drug crisis, increasing funding for enforcement, treatment and education.

Additionally, my colleague, Sen. Andre Cushing, R-Hampden, sponsored legislation to strengthen Maine’s opioid prescribing law. It is a staggering fact that four out of five heroin addicts start with prescription opioid medications. Making it tougher for people to abuse these medications will help stem the flow of people turning to heroin.

During the 2016 legislative session, Senate Republicans were also the driving force behind important funding initiatives for education, such as legislation by Sen. Rod Whittemore, R-Skowhegan, to assist towns hit hard by mill closings.

We also passed measures to help industry in the state. I was pleased to sponsor a bill that will return $3 million to local employers who are heavy energy users, and my colleague, Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, sponsored an initiative to provide sales tax relief to agriculture, aquaculture, and wood harvesting industries.

We also ensured that Maine’s tax code is in sync with the federal code, which not only simplifies the tax code, but also lowers taxes.

The bills I mention here are only a small example of what was passed in 2016, and I did not even talk about the legislation we were successful in stopping (which is often even more important than passing new laws), but I hope this gives people some idea of what we accomplished for the people of Maine — lower taxes, a further reformed welfare system and more money going to the initiatives that truly need it.

Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon Falls, is the Maine Senate Majority Leader.

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