AUGUSTA — As lawmakers on the Legislature’s budgetary committee grilled the chief of the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday on whether the state would receive federal waivers to make some of Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed Medicaid reductions legal, a member of the audience was eager to talk. LePage. The governor raised his […]
Maine Legislature
Posted inLocal & State
Environmental groups outline opposition, support for upcoming initiatives
AUGUSTA — A coalition of environmental advocates on Thursday presented its list of priority bills that the Legislature is slated to address during the abbreviated session. Several of the proposals could be contentious, including a bill to reform the Land Use Regulation Commission, the state agency that oversees development in the unorganized territories. The group, […]
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Lawmakers poised to gut Maine voter ID bill
AUGUSTA — A bill that threatened to reignite last year’s heated debate over voting rights appears to be heading to the legislative attic, at least for another year. Lawmakers on the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee on Wednesday tabled a voter identification bill and expressed willingness to gut the proposal and replace its language with […]
Posted inLocal & State
Local lawmakers divided on LePage address
AUGUSTA — Local lawmakers had a mixed reaction to Gov. Paul LePage’s State of the State address that focused on some policy initiatives that are currently under debate and several others that remain light on specifics. The governor spent much of his approximately 50-minute speech focusing on his proposed cuts to the Department of Health […]
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Legislative committee green lights new Maine anti-bullying bill
AUGUSTA — After the Legislature’s Education Committee voted unanimously to pass a new anti-bullying bill, Marc Mutty of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland reached out and shook the hand of the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Terry Morrison, D-South Portland. It was a brief exchange, an easily overlooked moment. But to Morrison, who is openly gay, […]
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Maine Democrats urge LePage to bag combative tone during State of the State address
AUGUSTA — Democratic lawmakers on Monday launched a volley of pre-emptive rhetoric against Gov. Paul LePage, urging the governor to shelve his combative tone during his State of the State address. The news conference was unusual given that the minority party typically waits until after the State of State to respond to an address that […]
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Maine lawmaker introduces bill challenging Citizens United decision
A Portland lawmaker has joined the growing list of those challenging the U.S. Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision by submitting a proposal that would ban unlimited corporate and union campaign contributions to candidates. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jon Hinck, D-Portland, is identical to a Montana law that was recently affirmed by that state’s a […]
Posted inLocal & State, Op-Eds, The Franklin Journal
Political Pulse: School choice, State of the State mark busy week for LePage
Nuggets from the notebook while waiting to see details of the education and energy proposals Gov. Paul LePage will unveil this week … The LePage administration is often tight-lipped about its unreleased policy initiatives. However, there have been some clues about what the governor will talk about on Monday, when he announces a new education […]
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Constitution: LePage can’t close schools
AUGUSTA — The LePage administration on Friday was forced to reframe comments the governor made at a Lewiston forum when he said he would close public schools if the Legislature didn’t ratify the cuts in his Department of Health and Human Services budget. The governor’s comments came Thursday night at the Green Ladle during his […]
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Battle over MaineHousing, McCormick heats up
AUGUSTA — As Republicans and their advocates ratchet up the pressure on MaineHousing Director Dale McCormick, two Democrats have withdrawn their support for a bill that would allow the quasi-governmental agency’s board of directors to fire her. Reps. Paul Gilbert, D-Jay, and John Tuttle, D-Sanford, on Thursday removed their co-sponsorship of a bill that would align […]