AUGUSTA — After several weeks of bitter partisan rancor and maneuvering, the Maine Senate Monday passed a bill containing sweeping changes to the state’s health insurance laws. The 24-10 vote broke mostly on party lines with three Democrats voting to support the GOP bill. The legislation essentially repeals and rewrites most of Maine’s insurance laws […]

AUGUSTA — A bill that increases constraints on doctors and other health care providers while requiring pharmacies to check  photo IDs when dispensing opioid-based painkillers got an initial hearing before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Monday. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jon Hinck, D-Portland, is modeled after a Washington State law that’s […]

Here is a list of highlights sponsored by tri-county delegation lawmakers in bills 851-950. * Rep. Margaret Rotundo, D-Lewiston, has a bill that would consolidate the state’s three college boards into one higher education panel. LD 982 replaces the boards at University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System and the Maine Maritime Academy.  […]

AUGUSTA — A legislative committee Friday shot down a child labor bill that would have allowed employers to pay workers under age 20 a “training wage.” The panel’s vote against LD 1346 was unanimous and came without discussion. The controversial proposal had drawn the ire of labor advocates, who said the bill devalued young workers […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]