State House News
LePage withholding support for energy bill, wants wind rules changed
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage is withholding support for a compromise bill being worked out by the Legislature’s Energy Committee that’s aimed at expanding Maine’s natural gas infrastructure, boosting funding for energy efficiency, directly lowering businesses’ electricity costs and making it more affordable for residents to abandon oil heat. ...
Lawmakers push off pay-freeze bill until 2014
AUGUSTA, Maine — State lawmakers Wednesday iced a bill that would have docked lawmakers’ pay if the Legislature failed to reach a budget agreement and Maine government shut down. Despite saying they favored the concept, offered by state Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, members of the State and Local Government Committee ...
POLL QUESTION
Democrats continue support of school ranking system to replace controversial A-F scale
AUGUSTA, Maine — The prospect of creating a new school ranking system to replace the one unveiled by the Department of Education earlier this month advanced to the full Legislature on Wednesday without any Republican support. Democrats on the Education Committee banded together in support of LD 1540, An Act ...
House sustains sixth LePage veto, 2 more await override votes
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage’s sixth veto withstood a House override vote Wednesday and will stand. After minimal discussion, the House voted 88-55 in favor of overriding LePage’s veto of LD 387. That tally fell short of the two-thirds majority necessary for an override, thereby sustaining the veto. All ...
Maine tax overhaul would raise sales tax, cut almost all income-tax deductions
The bill helps solve a current state budget shortfall of more than $800 million that lawmakers are trying to close as the end of the state’s fiscal year approaches on June 30.
Brunswick lawmaker says ‘backroom politics’ is plaguing base redevelopment bill
BRUNSWICK, Maine — After failing to gain committee favor by a single vote, a prospective bill to give Brunswick and Topsham direct appointments to the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority board of directors now will have to win approval during a floor argument in the House of Representatives. The bill, LD ...
LePage pledges $44,000 for suicide prevention training for all Maine teachers
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage pledged $44,000 from his contingency fund Tuesday to support one of the most emotional bills presented to lawmakers this session. LD 609, An Act to Increase Suicide Awareness and Prevention in Maine Public Schools, won unanimous support at the committee level and in both ...
Republican amendments on Medicaid expansion rejected
AUGUSTA, Maine — House and Senate Democrats on Tuesday continued to reject Republican efforts to separate an expansion of Medicaid from a plan to pay $484 million in Medicaid debt to Maine hospitals. The debate was the same in the House and the Senate. Minority Republicans wished to detangle the ...
Early voting amendment clears first Senate hurdle
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Senate on Tuesday gave its approval to a measure that would trigger a statewide referendum on whether to allow towns and cities to offer their residents the chance to cast ballots officially in advance of Election Day. The Senate voted 24-11 in favor of sending ...
LePage veto: Ban tobacco in Maine entirely, or not at all
AUGUSTA, Maine — A bill to “simply outlaw tobacco altogether” would make more sense than piecemeal bans on smoking, Gov. Paul LePage said Monday as he vetoed a bill to outlaw smoking on public college campuses. “I firmly believe Maine people are responsible enough to make their own decisions concerning ...
LePage hopes to eliminate income tax by end of second term
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage said Monday he hopes Maine has no state income tax by the end of his second term if he’s re-elected next year. “The fact that we have an income tax at all is a massive disadvantage,” LePage said during an afternoon session on tax ...
Maine Senate approves bill that links Medicaid expansion to hospital debt repayment
AUGUSTA, Maine — For the third time in a week, Democrats in the Legislature prevailed Monday on a vote to link an expansion of Medicaid eligibility in Maine to a plan to repay the state’s Medicaid debt to its 39 hospitals. After lengthy debate, the Senate voted 20-15 in favor ...
Effort to change early voting in Maine kept alive by House vote
AUGUSTA, Maine — An effort to allow residents who vote early to place their ballots directly into a ballot box or voting machine rather than seal them in signed envelopes and submit them to a municipal clerk survived an initial vote Monday in the Maine House. The House voted 90-50 ...
Will a new class of dental professionals improve oral care in Maine? Dentists, lawmakers disagree
AUGUSTA, Maine — Dental professionals across the state are watching a bill making its way through the Legislature that they say could decrease the quality of dental care in the state and make it more difficult for patients to get procedures completed. Others, however, argue that LD 1230, An Act ...
Silenced by legislators at budget talks, LePage says Mainers are being played for ‘patsies’
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Senate chairwoman of the budget-writing committee on Sunday declined to allow Gov. Paul LePage to address the panel about a fast-approaching deadline the Legislature faces so the Department of Health and Human Services doesn’t run out of money for payments to care providers. The exchange between ...
LePage: State will run out of money for DHHS bills June 10
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s health and human services commissioner said Friday her department only has enough money to pay its bills through June 10. That’s 20 days before her department’s accounts would be replenished by a new state budget. Commissioner Mary Mayhew included the news in a letter sent Friday ...
LePage vetoes bill calling for Internet sales tax study
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage vetoed his sixth bill of the legislative session Friday afternoon. LD 319 directed Maine Revenue Services to review Maine’s conformity with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which is an agreement among several states and retailers, and to report back to the Legislature’s ...
If more people are on Medicaid, why are Maine hospitals giving away more care for free?
The financial health of Maine’s hospitals has landed at the center of State House debate this spring as lawmakers tussle over whether Maine should expand its Medicaid program under the federal health care reform law. The issue came to a fore this past week as debate erupted over a Democratic ...
Democrats kill bills that would have given rights to fetuses, changed abortion requirements
AUGUSTA, Maine — Two abortion-related bills and a third giving legal rights to fetuses, which drew more than six hours of public testimony Thursday, were rejected Friday by a majority of lawmakers on the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee. For the most part, Democrats said little during the work session before seven ...
Liquor, hospital debt and Medicaid expansion headed for vote — all in one bill
AUGUSTA, Maine — A sharply divided legislative committee voted Thursday to support a Democratic proposal that ties an expansion of Medicaid to Gov. Paul LePage’s top priority of the legislative session: paying back Maine’s $484 million debt to its 39 hospitals. The Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted 7-5 ...
Man accused of killing Glenburn teen denied bail, has received death threats, attorney says
Kyle Dube arrest, murder charge surprising to some who know him
Man linked to Boston bombing suspect killed by FBI in Florida
Nichole Cable’s friends, family attend accused killer’s emotionally charged court appearance
Guest Post: “I’m about ready to name my daughter Revolution.”
How to humble a wing nut
Help Maine charter schools succeed before adding more
Bucksport’s Wood enjoying the professional cage in MMA bouts
Tommy Lawrence pitches UMaine baseball to victory in first America East tournament game
Garcia sorry after ‘stupid’ Woods fried chicken jibe
Live updates: UMaine baseball vs. Stony Brook at America East Championship
Messalonskee’s Dexter, South Portland’s Richards key first-year contributors for USM baseball team
Bangor veteran of World War II exemplifies the way life should be
It’s hard to keep secrets from a friend who is clairvoyant
Federal agencies eye return to restored historic Custom House in Portland
