AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage makes less than any governor in America, but don’t feel too sorry for him. He said Thursday he pays more in income tax than he earns from his $70,000-a-year salary as the state’s leader. But a spokesman, Peter Steele, said he was referring to his tax bills before he became […]
Maine Legislature
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine bill would allow police to add red lights to vehicles
AUGUSTA — A bill presented before the Legislature’s Transportation Committee would permit police in Maine to use 50 percent red lights when pulling over motorists instead of traditional blue lights. Police say the transition is based on multiple studies that have found that the human eye can see flashing red lights better during the day […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine legislators consider voter ID bills
AUGUSTA (AP) — Legislators are considering bills that supporters say protect election integrity and critics say make voting harder. One bill would allow those without a photo ID to cast a provisional ballot and have their vote counted if photo ID is presented within five days. Republican Rep. Brad Farrin said voter IDs for non-drivers […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage says Orono lawmaker should resign over referendum work
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday that the Democrat who co-chairs the Legislature’s taxation committee should resign for his work on a 2016 ballot initiative that added a new tax on high-income earners to fund education. It came after the Maine Republican Party issued a news release accusing Rep. Ryan Tipping of Orono of a […]
Posted inLocal & State
Electricity program staff paid by supplier
AUGUSTA — For the first time in 16 years, the staff of Maine PowerOptions appeared before lawmakers Thursday to answer questions about how the quasi-state program brings together hundreds of municipalities and school districts to help them buy electricity. The hearing followed an investigation by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting last month that […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
LD 56 aims to nip litter problem caused by mini-liquor bottles
PORTLAND — The increasing popularity of miniature liquor bottles known as “nips” has caused lawmakers in Maine to propose a new way to help keep the state’s roadside gutters and ditches clean. The Portland Press Herald reports a bill pending in the Legislature would require retailers to collect a 15-cent bottle deposit on the small […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Eric Brakey stands up for students who lobby for pet hedgehogs
AUGUSTA — Some Maine sixth-graders are pushing state lawmakers to pass a bill that would make it easier for residents to keep hedgehogs as pets. Maine and eight other states currently restrict or ban the tiny, quill-covered creatures, which can carry salmonella. The students asked a legislative committee on Tuesday if the state could ease restrictions […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Libertarians take fight to become political party to Legislature
The long and complicated creation of the Libertarian Party in Maine is now moving into the hands of the Legislature, which will consider a bill this year that would grant permanent party status. Let’s catch up on the background. Through a nonprofit, Libertarians launched a drive in early 2015 to collect 5,000 registrants, the first […]
Posted inLocal & State
Gov. Paul LePage says Maine needs a new form of government
AUGUSTA — Maine needs “to start taking a hard look at other forms of government,” Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday. “There’s so much gridlock in government that our government no longer works,” the governor told Bangor-based WVOM radio during his regular weekly broadcast. “I’m one of the ones who believes that the two-party system is […]
Posted inLocal & State
Gov. Paul LePage pressures Legislature to provide money to regulate marijuana
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage on Monday ordered the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations to take over rule-making authority for marijuana regulation and told bureaucrats not to spend any money on it. LePage said in his order that “no employee or department of the Executive Branch may use funds for the purpose of […]