AUGUSTA — Advocates say that a Republican’s bill would help the state address a looming shortage of home health care workers. Assistant House Minority Leader Ellie Espling’s bill would direct the state Department of Health and Human Services to increase reimbursement rates for home-based care services. Her bill is set for a public hearing Monday. […]
Maine Legislature
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Bill would restrict foraging for wild berries, vegetables on private property
PORTLAND (AP) — Get off my lawn, and out of my blueberry bush. That’s the message in a proposal before a Maine state house committee that would restrict foraging for wild, edible vegetables, fruits and funguses on private property. Republican Sen. Thomas Saviello made the proposal which, as currently written, would prohibit the harvest of […]
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Proposal would bar Maine from charging minors with prostitution
AUGUSTA — With strong backing from groups as diverse as the Roman Catholic Church and the Maine Women’s Lobby, legislators are weighing whether to block police and prosecutors from charging anyone under 18 years of age with engaging in prostitution. “Minors who are charged with prostitution are not criminals but rather victims themselves,” said Oami […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Legislature's transportation panel moves along Real ID bill
AUGUSTA — A bill to make Maine comply with federal identification standards is gaining key committee support. Two state senators want Republican President Donald Trump to issue an executive order repealing the standards, which they say jeopardize privacy. The Legislature’s Transportation Committee on Friday voted 12-1 in favor of an amended version of the bill. […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine ID bill gets key committee support
AUGUSTA (AP) — A bill to make Maine comply with federal identification standards is gaining key committee support. Two state senators want Republican President Donald Trump to issue an executive order repealing the standards, which they say jeopardize privacy. The Legislature’s Transportation Committee on Friday voted 12-1 in favor of an amended version of the […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage wants King, Collins to support GOP health plan
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage threw his support on Thursday behind the American Health Care Act, releasing letters asking U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins to back it and lending a prominent voice to the endangered national Republican health care plan. LePage has spent considerable time in Washington, D.C., lobbying members of Congress to […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Paul LePage says merging transportation, turnpike agencies could nix tolls
GORHAM — Gov. Paul LePage believes a merger between the Maine Turnpike Authority and the Maine Department of Transportation would benefit residents by leading to the elimination of most tolls. The Portland Press Herald reports LePage made the remarks before approximately 150 people at a town hall meeting held in Gorham on Wednesday. The Republican admitted […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
State funds sought to house female veterans in Augusta
An Auburn Democrat is seeking a one-time $150,000 state allocation to help the Betsy Ann Ross House of Hope begin providing housing for female veterans and their children at the Augusta property it has been working on for months. State Rep. Bettyann Sheats told colleagues this week that Maine has “done a wonderful job caring […]
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Gov. Paul LePage to testify against national monument
In this Aug. 4, 2015, file photo, the Wassataquoik Stream flows through Township 3, Range 8, Maine, on land owned by environmentalist Roxanne Quimby, the founder of Burts Bees. Maine Gov. Paul LePage has asked Republican President Donald Trump to undo Democratic former President Barack Obama’s designation of a national monument and give back the […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web, Uncategorized
Jared Golden offers bill to help officers with post-traumatic stress
AUGUSTA (AP) — A police office diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder could have an easier time accessing worker’s compensation under a Democrat’s bill. The bill would create a presumption that a first responder’s diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder came about from their job. The presumption would be taken as true unless proven otherwise. Assistant House […]