AUGUSTA — The fate of a 1,500-slot-machine facility planned for Lewiston’s former Bates Mill No. 5 will likely be in the hands of voters this November. Despite proponents’ hopes that the downtown project would receive direct approval from the Legislature, the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee on Friday voted to recommend that the proposal go […]
Maine Legislature
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine House passes insurance bill in first vote
AUGUSTA — The Maine House of Representatives today gave initial approval to a Republican bill containing sweeping changes to the state’s health insurance laws. The bill now moves to the Senate. The 76-72 vote broke directly on party lines. The decision followed a lengthy partisan debate during which Democrats blasted Republicans for fast-tracking a proposal […]
Posted inLocal & State
Lawmakers rework insurance bill as rancor ensues, House vote looms
AUGUSTA — Amid a partisan melee that had the Maine Republican Party ripping into one of its own members, a legislative panel on Wednesday spent the afternoon reworking a Republican bill containing sweeping changes to the state’s health insurance laws. The GOP has fast-tracked the bill despite objections from Democrats and health advocates who said […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine GOP health insurance overhaul slips through House
AUGUSTA — In a 76-72 vote that broke along party lines, Republicans in the Maine House of Representatives gave initial approval to a fast-tracked bill containing sweeping changes to the state’s insurance regulations, adding a provision that will allow out-of-state insurance companies to sell lower-cost plans here. Democrats were outraged. During a lengthy floor debate, […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Gambling bills before Maine lawmakers
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The sponsor of a bill to authorize three casinos in Maine, subject to a competitive bidding process, says the Legislature has an opportunity to lead rather than follow on how gaming develops in the state. Democratic Rep. Linda Valentino of Saco told the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee on Wednesday that […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine House passes bill allowing towns to opt in to big-box law
AUGUSTA — The Maine House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow municipalities to opt in to the state’s Informed Growth Act law. The House voted 90-59, mostly along party lines. Twelve Democrats voted with the Republican majority. Current law requires developers of so-called big-box retail projects to commission independent studies weighing […]
Posted inLocal & State
Panel scraps controversial changes to bottle bill
AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s Environmental Committee on Monday ditched several proposals that would have made significant changes to Maine’s 35-year-old bottle bill. The committee unanimously passed one omnibus bill that deals primarily with fraud issues within the state’s bottle redemption law. It rejected two of the most controversial bills that proposed exempting larger containers from […]
Posted inLocal & State
GOP pushes surprise insurance overhaul through committee
AUGUSTA — Republican lawmakers in Augusta have long expressed a desire to overhaul how insurance is purchased in the state. On Friday, the GOP took an unprecedented, and surprising, step toward fulfilling that wish. In a move that infuriated Democrats, seven Republicans on the Legislature’s Insurance Committee approved a bill that would repeal existing state […]
Posted inLocal & State
Divided panel advances amended DeCoster bill eliminating workers’ right to unionize
AUGUSTA — In a close vote that saw one Republican scramble back to the fold, the Legislature’s Labor Committee backed an amended bill Friday that would eliminate workers’ right to unionize at the DeCoster-owned Quality Egg farm in Turner. One Republican, Rep. Frederick Wintle, R-Garland, earlier in the day had sided with Democrats in an […]