Articles by Mal Leary
Maine to receive $49 million more in revenue than expected, but budget problems remain
AUGUSTA, Maine – Lawmakers got some good news from the revenue forecasting committee Monday: Over the rest of the two-year budget cycle they can expect about $49 million more than was forecast earlier this year. The bad news is this is well short of what is needed to bring the ...
POLL QUESTION
LePage stands by position that any borrowing needs to have voter approval
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage says he has not changed his position that any bond issued by any state agency needs to be approved by voters at referendum. LePage said he is shocked at a vote by the legislature’s Appropriations Committee to kill a bill requiring an advisory referendum ...
Maine DHHS shortfall now projected at $82.5 million
AUGUSTA, Maine — After weeks of intensive review of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid payment records, the agency is projecting a budget year 2013 shortfall of $82.5 million, down from the original $89 million. “It certainly is good news,” said Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, co-chairman of the ...
Let’s balance the budget before taking on more bonds, LePage says
AUGUSTA, Maine — Members of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee will meet this week to consider bond proposals for dozens of programs and projects costing hundreds of millions of dollars but Gov. Paul LePage says it’s too early to even look at borrowing, given the state’s financial status. “I want them ...
Maine labor comissioner pledges fast implementation of new unemployment fraud law
AUGUSTA, Maine — Labor Commissioner Robert Winglass says his agency is gearing up to implement the new law on unemployment fraud, expressing his belief that fraud is worse than many believe. “I think there are more than perhaps are being credited, more people who are abusing the system,” he said ...
State revenues $35 million over estimates, surplus expected
AUGUSTA, Maine — With three quarters of the budget year complete, revenues are $35 million over estimates and Finance Commissioner Sawin Millett says his pessimism is fast being replaced with optimism that the state will end the budget year with a revenue surplus. “March was a good month, up $13.5 ...
LePage tells New York City audience about his goals to reduce Maine taxes
AUGUSTA, Maine – Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday that he wants to further overhaul Maine’s tax policy to include a flat 4 percent personal income tax and lower the corporate income tax rate. “In the state of Maine that is exactly what we are trying to do, to go down ...
Transportation Committee split about using Highway Fund money for Maine State Police
AUGUSTA, Maine — The immediate issue was funding $36,000 from the Highway Fund for part of the cost of a forensic chemist in the state police crime lab, but it triggered a far broader debate in the Legislature’s Transportation Committee over use of the fund for purposes outside of roads ...
POLL QUESTION
Panel rejects LePage move to eliminate MPBN funding
AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee voted unanimously late Thursday night to reject Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to eliminate all state funding for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, saying the issue had become a “political football.” Several committee members spoke at a late Thursday night work session about the service ...
Agreement on LePage’s supplemental budget still elusive
AUGUSTA, Maine — Members of the Appropriations Committee met Friday into the night and all day Saturday approving some spending items but still have several major budget issues to resolve in the governor’s supplemental budget, from eliminating income taxes on pensions to rewriting the general assistance laws to reduce costs. ...
POLL QUESTION
Lawmakers fear LePage’s new Office of Policy and Management will be too powerful
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to create a new Office of Policy and Management, with expanded investigatory powers, is generating bipartisan concern among lawmakers. “This is a big difference and maybe there should be [concern],” said Sen. Roger Katz, R-Augusta. “Very few entities or individuals are allowed to ...
Senate rejects bill requiring pre-approval for small group insurance rate increases
AUGUSTA, Maine — Senate Republicans have quashed an effort to require state approval before health insurance rate hikes take effect in the small group market, which is made of small employers. By a 19-16 vote, the Senate rejected a measure that would have required small group health insurance rate increase ...
Hearing focuses on LePage’s proposed tax changes
AUGUSTA, Maine — A joint public hearing of the Legislature’s Taxation and Appropriations committees Wednesday on Gov. Paul LePage’s tax proposals sparked concern over how to pay for the changes and what their actual effect would be on certain groups of taxpayers. Albert Dimillo, a retired corporate tax director and ...
POLL QUESTION
Online lottery sales, meant to draw in younger gamblers, draw opposition
AUGUSTA, Maine — Legislation allowing the Maine State Lottery to sell tickets on the Internet drew strong opposition from the network of stores of all sizes that get a commission from the state to sell the tickets. The grocery and convenience stores, along with Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway, say ...
LePage takes step toward eliminating personal income tax
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage says his proposal to eliminate taxes on pension income in the proposed supplemental budget is another step toward his goal of eliminating the state personal income tax by the time he leaves office. “That’s what I would like to do,” he said in an ...
New rule would make it easier to outlaw drugs in effort to get ahead of ever-changing compounds
AUGUSTA, Maine — For years lawmakers have faced emergency bills to make some new hallucinogenic drug illegal under state law. Under a proposal before the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, such drugs could be quickly outlawed through department rules rather than waiting for state lawmakers and federal officials ...
New database match finds 350 potential unemployment fraud cases on first try
AUGUSTA, Maine — Mainers seeking to cheat the unemployment compensation system are up against yet another tool to catch them, a state computer match with the national database of newly hired workers that found 350 cases of potential fraud on its first use. “We have been using the state new ...
Computer problem extended MaineCare payments to ineligible recipients; budget figures in doubt
AUGUSTA, Maine – A computer problem that allowed at least 19,000 Mainers who were not eligible for Medicaid to receive benefits has thrown state budget assumptions into doubt and may extend the current legislative session while the situation is addressed, state officials said Tuesday. “We had people who were no ...
Backlog of child porn cases growing in Maine
AUGUSTA, Maine — Members of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee are determined to find additional funding for the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit after hearing the backlog of child pornography cases continues to grow. “This is my absolute top priority,” said Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Livermore Falls, ...
Emergency budget bill proposed to close $5M shortfall this budget year
AUGUSTA, Maine — Leaders of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee are proposing an immediate emergency bill to take care of the nearly $5 million revenue shortfall for the budget year that runs out June 30. “We feel we should take care of this now so we can move on to the ...
Glenburn art teacher killed in Friday morning collision in Bangor
Harvard student asked to leave bar for ‘bad behavior,’ not drunkenness
LePage blasts teachers union for endorsing same-sex marriage question
Reporting crime
A people’s revolt in Bar Harbor
Old Town football coach steps down
Perakslis helps UMaine beat Albany; Binghamton next in America East tournament
Orono baseball shuts out archrival Old Town for ninth straight victory
Stony Brook knocks out UMaine to win America East tournament
Aroostook businessman expands company out of home with hit mobile app 7 Little Words
Former CEO of MaineToday Media Richard Connor sued over $250,000 in loans
Small idea launches major project in Hampden
Diversity predicts export success, MIT professor tells Maine audience
New, old methods combine to deter scrap metal thefts in Aroostook
Gary Allan talks with the BDN leading up to Bangor concert
Out of the ashes, Central Street’s garden grows
Mid Coast Actor’s Studio provides new forum for classic plays
Signs lead artist to opportunity
Bangor Daily News
Account
Start a blog
Post News
Post Events
See it. Fix it.
Subscribe