AUBURN — A bill to strengthen Maine’s six-year-old network of county jails was scheduled to return to lawmakers Thursday, two days after Gov. Paul LePage vetoed the measure and described its state-county partnership as “doomed to failure.” “The bill masquerades as a fix to the Board of Corrections system, but it is nothing more than […]
legislature
Posted inMaine
LePage offers last-minute bills for MDEA and nursing home funding
AUGUSTA — In a last-minute move Wednesday, Republican Gov. Paul LePage offered two bills — to fund drug-enforcement expansion and to raise reimbursement rates for nursing homes — for the Legislature to consider when it reconvenes Thursday to take up a long list of veto-override votes. One of the bills being offered by LePage would […]
advertisement
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislature prepares to take up LePage vetoes Thursday
How the Legislature is voting on vetoes. AUGUSTA — Dozens of bills spiked by Gov. Paul LePage will get another shot this week when lawmakers return to Augusta on the heels of a session filled with partisan wrangling that will continue into the November elections. On Thursday, the Democratic-controlled Legislature will consider at least 46 […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage vetoes raise questions about role of government
Our View: Veto overrides best for public health, access AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage’s use of the veto pen will make for a busy day for lawmakers on Thursday, reigniting a debate about whether the governor’s endgame judgment of bills is obstructionism or leadership. LePage has racked up a record-breaking 163 vetoes during his first […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage allows drug overdose antidote bill to become law
AUGUSTA — Maine will expand access to a potentially life-saving drug antidote, after the bill went into law Tuesday without Gov. Paul LePage’s signature. The new law allows family members of addicts to be prescribed naloxone, which blocks the brain receptors that opiates latch onto and helps the body take in air. The law also lets […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage blasts Democrats for rejecting legislative proposals
AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage is blasting the Democratic-controlled Legislature for blocking his measures to overhaul the state’s welfare programs and change the work permit process for minors this session. In his weekly radio address, the Republican governor called it “shameful” that Democrats would rather defeat his administration’s proposals than do what is right for […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage vetoes nine bills
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage vetoed teacher evaluation rules that have been under development for more than two years as well as a bill that calls for a redo of controversial large-scale metallic mineral mining rules amid a crop of nine new vetoes issued Friday afternoon. Education proponents said LePage’s veto of the teacher evaluation […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislative failures to become Maine campaign issues
AUGUSTA — Maine Democrats have fallen short so far in their attempt to expand Medicaid under the federal health care law this year, and Republicans didn’t get their wish to overhaul welfare programs, either. But that won’t stop them from trying to transform those failures into successes on the campaign trail as they now return […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
$50 million bond package goes to LePage
AUGUSTA — A package of six bond bills totaling $50 million sailed through the Legislature on Thursday night en route to consideration by Gov. Paul LePage and voters on the November statewide ballot. The build-up to the end of the legislative session in recent days has focused on Republicans and Democrats reaching consensus on an […]