AUGUSTA — In what could be a blow to public access to State House proceedings, a Lisbon lawmaker is questioning whether legislative committee meetings should continue to be recorded and archived. Streamed online, the public meetings of the Legislature and its standing committees are available to anyone with an internet connection. The sessions are also […]
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Posted inLocal & State
Maine Speaker Mark Eves calls for sanctions after secret meeting
AUGUSTA — House Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, on Tuesday called on the state’s attorney general to take action over a closed-door meeting of a newly formed blue ribbon commission on public education. At least four lawmakers in leadership roles in the Republican and Democratic caucuses at the State House participated in the breakfast meeting […]
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Maine public education task force holds 1st meeting in secret
More coverage: Maine Speaker Mark Eves calls for sanctions after secret meeting Gov. Paul LePage says he’s out of the education commission What the education panel discussed at Monday’s closed meeting AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage and a handful of state lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, convened a secret meeting Monday morning of a legislative […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Local & State
Maine lawmakers continue practice of meeting behind closed doors
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee thumbed their noses at Maine’s open-meeting law Thursday, taking their deliberations behind locked doors after being challenged by the Sun Journal on the matter. The committee was meeting to debate proposed Department of Health and Human Services rule changes that could result in the […]
Posted inLocal & State
Requests for help obtaining public records in Maine on a steady uptick
AUGUSTA — Maine people are interested in what their governments are up to. That’s the upshot of a new report issued by the state’s ombudsman for opening meetings and public records. In 2015, there were 416 inquiries about public meetings and public records handled by Brenda Kielty, a lawyer with the Maine Attorney General’s Office. […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine Legislature shields staff salaries from Open Checkbook disclosure
AUGUSTA — State employees working for the Maine Legislature have had their salary and benefits information shielded from a state-operated, public database that provides the same information on all other state workers. While the salary information for partisan and non-partisan employees at the Maine Legislature remains public information, officials have been unable to explain exactly […]
Posted inLocal & State
Transparency advocates question secret budget deal
AUGUSTA — Legislative leaders on both sides of the political aisle Tuesday defended a $6.7 billion state budget and tax bill crafted largely in secret negotiations between party leaders, saying they ran out of time to follow a more public process. Changes to a budget bill that was previously approved on a 9-4 bipartisan vote […]
Posted inOxford Hills
Selectmen approve town manager’s contract in emergency meeting
OXFORD — Selectmen extended Town Manager Michael Chammings’ contract for five years during an emergency meeting Tuesday evening. There was little public notice of the meeting and no minutes were recorded, as required by Maine law. The contract, which was released to the Sun Journal through a Freedom of Access Act request, indicates that Chammings is […]
Posted inLocal & State
Ethics bill passes Maine House with broad support
AUGUSTA — A bill that aims to ensure all state employees follow the same set of ethical standards was approved with little debate and broad bipartisan support in the Maine House of Representatives on a 134-13 vote Thursday. The bill, LD 6, is the result of a document-shredding scandal at the Maine Center for Disease Control […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Auburn councilor files FOAA requests with city, Mayor LaBonte
AUBURN — A question of how Mayor Jonathan LaBonte and another city councilor obtained contract information regarding L/A Arts, which City Councilor Tizz Crowley said was not shared with her, convinced Crowley to file a formal Freedom of Access Act request for that document. Crowley said she filed the request with acting City Manager Howard […]