Posted inMaine, sj-web

Legislature still has work to do after state budget passed

AUGUSTA (AP) — Work hasn’t ended yet for Maine lawmakers after the legislative season ended in a theatrical budget squabble and a three-day government shutdown. In coming weeks and months, lawmakers still smarting from the budget will have to come together to deal with a pile of unfunded and vetoed bills, bonds, and the rollout […]

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Posted inMaine, sj-web

Police say GOP lawmaker's car wasn't vandalized

AUGUSTA (AP) — Capitol police say it appears there was no intentional damage to a car belonging to one of two Republican lawmakers who claimed their vehicles were vandalized. The two lawmakers claimed their cars were damaged after House Republicans torpedoed a compromise budget, causing the state government shutdown on Saturday. Republican Gov. Paul LePage […]

Posted inMaine, sj-web

Analysis: How the shutdown ended, and what's next

Good morning from Augusta, where we have a budget and have gone from constant action to no action in the State House. Weary reporters are still trying to adjust. But there’s a lot that didn’t make our stories from the long weekend. Here are some of them: The impasse popped out of existence like a […]

Posted inMaine, sj-web

Gov. Paul LePage ends shutdown by signing $7.1B budget bill

AUGUSTA — In the wee hours of Independence Day, Maine’s government shutdown ended, after lawmakers and Gov. Paul LePage reached a budget compromise that none of them liked but all of them could live with. The $7.1 billion spending plan wiped out the voter-approved surtax on high earners but still delivered an additional $162 million for education while barely […]

Posted inMaine, sj-web

Maine shutdown: Lawmakers to vote on budget deal

9 votes short of ending a shutdown. #mepolitics https://t.co/842As1xhIK — Chris Cousins (@Storytiller) July 3, 2017 Updated 1:59 p.m.: AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine’s partial government shutdown stretched in to its third day Monday with state employees and union activists calling for Republicans to support a budget compromise that could end the stalemate. The state Legislature failed […]

Posted inMaine, sj-web

Paul LePage says he wants a budget, not more delays

AUGUSTA (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage urged lawmakers to put aside “petty egos” and send him a budget on Sunday as a legislative panel sought common ground on a proposal promoted by House Republicans who torpedoed the previous spending bill. LePage posted a Facebook video in which he chastised Republican Senate President Michael Thibodeau […]

Posted inMaine, sj-web

GOP lawmakers say they have budget plan to end shutdown

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Coverage of Maine’s budget impasse (all times local): Updated 7:35 p.m. Maine leaders say a bid to end the state’s government shutdown will wait until morning. House Republicans say on Saturday their new budget proposal can win the approval of Republican Gov. Paul LePage and end the stalemate. The proposal is […]