AUGUSTA — With controversy over State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin as backdrop, lawmakers on the Legislature’s Taxation Committee voted unanimously to make changes to the state’s tree growth tax program. The legislative panel on Thursday advanced a bill that would increase legal requirements for landowners to grow and harvest timber for commercial use. The amended bill, […]
Maine Legislature
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LePage set to unveil domestic violence proposal
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage on Friday held an event designed to bring awareness to domestic violence. The gathering in the State House Hall of Flags was a public service event. However, the governor also foreshadowed some upcoming initiatives he says will strengthen the state’s domestic violence laws. The details are expected to be released […]
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Questions mount over Maine treasurer’s property-tax breaks
AUGUSTA — Questions lingered Thursday over whether State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin improperly used a longstanding conservation law to obtain property-tax breaks. Such inquiries could soon come from the Georgetown Board of Selectmen. Board Chairman Geoffrey Birdsall said Thursday that no resident in the small coastal town had complained that Poliquin’s 12.3-acre waterfront property was included in a […]
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Lawmakers give LePage partial DHHS budget deal
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on the Legislature’s budget-writing committee said Thursday they have submitted a preliminary bipartisan plan to Gov. Paul LePage that would address the immediate budget shortfall at the Department of Health and Human Services. The agreement would plug an identified $120 million shortfall at DHHS by rolling part of LePage’s budget proposal into […]
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Maine lawmakers hope to zap tax evading software
AUGUSTA — Some Maine lawmakers are hoping to outlaw so-called zapper software that allows businesses to skim sales-tax revenues from customers while hiding it from tax officials. The software is a modernized method for a business to manipulate its sales records so that only a portion of actual sales taxes are reported. Zappers have been increasingly […]
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Pingree meets with LePage to discuss DHHS budget waivers
AUGUSTA — U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said Tuesday that she could empathize with the Legislature and Gov. Paul LePage as they attempt to plug a $220 million budget gap at the Department of Health and Human Services. However, Pingree, who met with the governor privately Tuesday morning, continued to assert that a portion of LePage’s […]
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Maine lawmakers consider bill to loosen gun laws on state grounds
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on Monday began reviewing a bill that would allow state employees to leave guns locked in their cars as long as they have a concealed weapons permit. The bill is designed to amend a hotly debated bill passed last year. That bill, LD 35, allowed private workers to keeps guns stowed in […]
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Tension rises over Maine bill tackling unemployment insurance fraud
AUGUSTA — A controversial bill that would increase the penalties for unemployment fraud and the qualifications to receive out-of-work benefits is meeting stiff resistance from worker advocates. The proposal, LD 1725, was presented by the Department of Labor, which argued that an increase in unemployment claims has been accompanied by an increased possibility of fraud. […]
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Legislature’s watchdog agency to review MaineHousing expenditures
AUGUSTA — The Government Oversight Committee on Friday directed the Legislature’s watchdog agency to scrutinize some expenditures at the Maine State Housing Authority, also known as MaineHousing. The panel voted unanimously to have the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability quickly review a list of vendors that MaineHousing has paid over the past five […]
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Feds confirm high hurdle for DHHS cuts; LePage officials prepared to take case to D.C.
AUGUSTA — The federal agency that will decide whether some of Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed Medicaid cuts qualify for waivers to make the reductions legal reaffirmed Thursday that the exemptions face long odds. In a written response to the Democratic leads on the Legislature’s budgetary committee, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services confirmed […]