AUGUSTA — A bill that would allow concealed weapon permit holders to bring their handguns into the State House and nearby areas has won approval from the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. The panel voted 7-4 last week to pass an amended version of LD 692, a bill sponsored by Rep. Dale Crafts, […]

Here is a list of highlights sponsored by tri-county lawmakers in bills 751 through 850. * Rep. Stephen Wood, R-Sabattus, has a bill that would require school districts to report legal disputes between districts and parents of students in special education programs to the state Department of Education. LD 775 also requires the DOE chief […]

AUGUSTA — Francisco Gonzalez is a supervisor at the DeCoster-owned Quality Egg farm in Turner. He says he works between 70 and 80 hours a week. Gonzalez said Friday that he was asked by management to tell the Legislature’s Labor Committee about his positive work experience at the plant. The Lewiston resident said he was […]

AUGUSTA — Bill Fournier’s testimony to the Legislature’s Labor Committee on Wednesday was slow and deliberate. As the former Auburn police officer described the gruesome scene he encountered at an Auburn tenement in 1984, Fournier’s words emerged intermittently, as if stopping to steady themselves from the emotions that still rock the former cop 27 years […]

AUGUSTA — A bill designed to upgrade the water quality standard for the lower Androscoggin River appears to be heading toward a compromise. Originally LD 154 set out to reclassify the lower Androscoggin River from C status to B status. Environmental groups say reclassification will ensure that the river keeps moving toward ecological recovery and […]

Business groups and law enforcement organizations are responding coolly to several efforts to ease state restrictions on concealed weapons. The Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee heard nine bills Monday dealing with firearms. Six were related to concealed weapons permitting and included proposals that would increase the number of places where permit holders can […]

AUGUSTA — A campaign-trail panacea to Maine’s health care costs came under fire Tuesday from the state’s largest business advocate and insurance providers. The Maine State Chamber of Commerce, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and other groups said a slate of proposals that would allow Mainers to purchase insurance across state lines would have […]

Here is a list of highlights sponsored by tri-county lawmakers in bills 651 through 750. * Rep. Dale Crafts, R-Lisbon, proposed banning personal watercraft on Allen Pond in Greene. LD 653 died after the House and Senate voted it down this week. * Crafts is sponsoring LD 658, which proposes changes to the state’s concealed […]