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 […]

AUGUSTA — The joint committee charged with making Maine’s regulatory environment more hospitable to business has released a draft version of a bill that stands in stark contrast to the initiatives originally proposed by Gov. Paul LePage. Although some of the governor’s initiatives are included in LD 1, many of his more controversial ideas have […]

AUGUSTA — The Maine House on Thursday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a ban on bisphenol-A, known as BPA, a chemical used in some children’s products. Representatives voted 145-3 to phase out BPA and include it as a priority banned chemical in the state’s Kid-Safe Products law. The vote follows weeks of controversy surrounding BPA. […]

AUGUSTA — A bill clarifying that the mandatory minimum 100-mile distance between casinos in Maine will be measured by road miles, not air miles, moved closer to law Thursday following a unanimous vote in the House. The bill is significant to the $165 million Oxford County casino. Developers of that project, Black Bear Entertainment, say […]

AUGUSTA — A bipartisan group of lawmakers is backing a bill that would award a “welcome home bonus” to soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The proposal is modeled after a similar law in Massachusetts, where soldiers from conflicts dating back to World War II receive a cash payment for their service. The Maine bill […]

AUGUSTA — Attorney General William Schneider said Wednesday that his office won’t rule until May 1 on whether Darryl Brown, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, has a conflict of interest under state law. The May 1 date corresponds with the deadline the AG’s office has to respond to an inquiry by the federal […]