AUGUSTA — Approximately $600 million earmarked for Maine infrastructure projects is held up in an arcane dispute between Gov. Paul LePage and State Treasurer Terry Hayes over a contract with lawyers hired to work on a bond sale set for June. The latest spat involving the Republican governor and state bonding has been simmering since […]
Maine Legislature
Posted inLocal & State
Maine bill aims to prohibit female genital mutilation on minors
AUGUSTA (AP) — A Republican’s bill would make performing female genital mutilation on a minor a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Under federal law, a five-year prison sentence is possible. Republican Rep. Heather Sirocki’s bill also would make it a crime for a parent or guardian to consent to or permit […]
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LePage: Lawmakers who pushed for time zone change need therapy
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, testifies during a House Natural Resources subcommittee oversight hearing on the Antiquities Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) A proposal that would put Maine and perhaps much of New England into a new time zone is crazy, Gov. Paul LePage said in a […]
Posted inLocal & State
Legislators to debate bill to standardize teacher pay
A core priority of Gov. Paul LePage’s proposals to reform Maine’s public education system will face its first big public test this afternoon at the State House when a bill to create a statewide teachers contract is introduced to the Legislature’s Education Committee. LD 864 would establish a single contract for all public school teachers, as well as […]
Posted inLetters
A winning solution for energy
As a public school teacher and concerned citizen of Maine, I was disappointed to learn of the LePage-appointed Maine PUC commissioners’ decision to phase out net-metering for roof-top solar. According to two surveys taken in 2016, more than 60 percent of Mainers support net-metering. Contrary to what Gov. LePage purports, solar arrays, in addition to […]
Posted inLocal & State
Legislative hearing explores allowing guns on college campuses
AUGUSTA — Higher education leaders say campuses would be less safe if lawmakers pass a Maine Republican’s campus carry bill. The bill wouldn’t let public universities, community colleges and Maine Maritime Academy regulate possession of handguns on their campuses. Maine allows concealed carry without a permit for those over 21 years old and has exceptions […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine House votes to allow more groceries open on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter
AUGUSTA — The Maine House of Representatives narrowly endorsed a bill on Tuesday that would roll back state “blue laws” to allow small grocery stores to open on Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. The chamber passed the bill after a 79-66 vote in which 64 Republicans joined 11 Democrats to vote against a call to kill the bill, […]
Posted inLocal & State
Rep. Frances Head sponsors bill to recoup naloxone costs
AUGUSTA — A bill introduced in the Legislature would make people who receive repeat doses of a life-saving opiate overdose antidote pay for it. Gov. Paul LePage’s bill, sponsored by Rep. Frances Head, R-Bethel, would make municipalities, counties and contracted first responders recoup the costs of administering naloxone or other opiate overdose antidotes from those […]
Posted inLocal & State
Bill would release $15 million in voter-approved Maine bonds
AUGUSTA (AP) — A Republican’s bill aims to release $15 million in bonds for senior housing that voters approved two years ago. Lawmakers have accused Republican Gov. Paul LePage of refusing to release the bonds while Maine seniors struggle to find affordable housing. Republican Sen. Roger Katz’s bill is set for an initial vote in […]
Posted inLocal & State
Legislature considering 3 bills that would affect Maine health care workers
In the next decade, Maine will need an additional 1,602 registered nurses, 475 nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and 2,474 direct care workers — those who provide long-term, hands-on care to seniors and people with disabilities. For a small, aging state, that’s a lot of people. Indeed, nurses and direct care workers are among the fastest growing […]