AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine Attorney General Janet Mills is convening a group to talk about improving the home foreclosure process. The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee was presented with several different proposals during the last legislative session to address the foreclosure process in Maine in various ways. Mills was asked to review the process and to report […]
Maine Legislature
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
State sandwich legislation is one of 401 ’emergency’ bills to be considered
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers will have a heavy load of bills to consider when they return to Augusta in January, ranging from mundane adjustments to county commissions to a measure that would make lobster rolls the official state sandwich. The 401 new bill titles that have been proposed include an attempt to outlaw sexual contact between clergy […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Congress likely to give shutdown workers back pay
WASHINGTON (AP) — A partial government shutdown enters its fifth day, with Congress convening for a session that promises no progress in breaking the impasse but will at least offer back pay to furloughed federal workers. The GOP House is scheduled Saturday to vote on legislation backed by the White House and congressional Democrats that […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Garrett Mason: Maine cannot afford more health care debt
There have been many moments since I first took office back in 2010 when I have felt tremendous pride in this state, but few compared with what happened recently at Central Maine Medical Center. Surrounded by cheering hospital patients, employees and civic leaders, Gov. Paul LePage presented CMMC with a ceremonial check for more than […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine conservation group issues environmental scorecard for Legislature
AUGUSTA — A bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers shared the limelight Thursday as Maine Conservation Voters released its annual scorecard on legislative voting records Thursday. Maureen Drouin, MCV’s executive director, said the last lawmaking session produced “mixed results” for Maine’s environment. MCV is a nonpartisan organization that works to make the protection of Maine’s environment […]
Posted inLocal & State
LePage says he won’t issue supplemental budget in 2014
Maine Gov. Paul LePage speaks during a recent event at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. LePage has said repeatedly he will not present state lawmakers with a supplemental budget in 2014. AUGUSTA — If Maine lawmakers are expecting to work on a supplemental state budget in 2014 they are going to have to go […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine Democrats want to keep trying to expand Medicaid
More coverage: LePage sparks debate over expanding Medicaid AUGUSTA — Maine Democrats say they’ll reintroduce a measure in January to expand Medicaid coverage to more low-income residents under the federal health care overhaul. Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves of North Berwick and Assistant Democratic Leader Anne Haskell of Portland on Tuesday called on Republican Gov. Paul […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Lawmakers looking to trim exemptions from Maine tax code
AUGUSTA — Eliminating any of the state’s tax exemptions and credits will be politically challenging but may be necessary to avoid further cuts to municipal revenue sharing, Maine lawmakers said Monday. A special group of lawmakers, state officials and economists that’s been tasked with examining the state’s tax breaks, exemptions and credits to come up with […]
Posted inLocal & State
Increased violence at Maine’s psych hospital prompts reform
AUGUSTA — Of the 92 people in state custody who were found “not criminally responsible” for crimes, 18 have been charged with at least one count of murder. That’s more than 20 percent of the state’s so-called “NCR” population, while less than 2 percent of those serving time in Maine prisons have been convicted of […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine ride program still off target as passengers, drivers and agencies struggle
AUGUSTA — The state’s struggling non-emergency ride program has made some marginal improvements but is nowhere near where state officials or those who depend upon it and volunteer for it would like. Lawmakers on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday revisited issues that started with the $40 million program after the state […]