AUGUSTA (AP) — The state ethics commission says it will keep investigating a Democratic lawmaker who didn’t return roughly $2,600 in unspent public campaign funds for two months. The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/2mf3hxH ) reported that Rep. Dillon Bates ended up returning the funds after the commission contacted him 11 times between December and February. […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bill would make state comply with federal ID standards
AUGUSTA (AP) — A Maine-issued driver’s license won’t be enough to board a domestic flight next year without legislative action. A public hearing is scheduled Tuesday for a bill that would have the state comply with federal requirements that have raised privacy concerns in past years. The state Secretary of State’s office says compliance could […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Lawmakers may OK chest tattoos for people who prefer death to resuscitation
AUGUSTA — A proposal before the Legislature would allow Mainers who don’t want emergency medical care to get a “Do Not Resuscitate” tattoo on their chests to indicate their wishes. The measure would prohibit “emergency medical treatment providers from starting resuscitation on a person when an order not to resuscitate is presented in the form […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Rep. Bruce Poliquin urges Maine to comply with Real ID law
U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, speaks at the Auburn Fire Department’s 9/11 service Sept. 11, 2016. AUGUSTA — U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin is pressuring Gov. Paul LePage and the Legislature to quickly change state law to avoid what he calls a “dire situation” regarding the state’s noncompliance with federal Real ID rules. In a Friday […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislators approve $29 million spending package
AUGUSTA — The Legislature has enacted a $29 million spending package that would increase the rainy day fund and expand access to drug treatment. Legislators in the House and Senate on Thursday approved the supplementary budget and sent it to Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Lawmakers will continue to hold hearings on the governor’s separate $6.8 […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine House votes against investigating Ryan Tipping
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers in Maine voted against an effort to investigate a Democratic legislator’s employment for a ballot campaign committee. Assistant House Republican Leader Ellie Espling said the House Ethics Committee should investigate whether Rep. Ryan Tipping’s employment violated legislative ethics rules. The House voted 77-64 against Espling’s motion. Tipping is the taxation committee’s House […]
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Sen. Amy Volk introduces bill to boost engineering education
AUGUSTA — A Maine state senator says the southern part of her state might face a shortage of engineers and the Legislature should consider opportunities to reverse the trend. Sen. Amy Volk, a Republican from Cumberland, has introduced a proposal to tackle the issue. Her bill would require the University of Maine System to study […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Higher education leaders to address Legislature
AUGUSTA (AP) — The leaders of Maine’s higher education institutions are set to address the Legislature. Maine Maritime Academy President William Brennan is scheduled to speak first during a joint session of the Legislature on Thursday. The heads of the University of Maine System and the state’s community college system will speak afterward. The University […]
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Democratic lawmakers get heat for backing tipped minimum wage
Kathe Jewett, 68, a waitress at Howard Johnson’s in Bangor since it opened in 1966, speaks to patrons, works in the restaurant shortly before it closed in 2016. AUGUSTA — Eight Democrats in the Legislature are supporting proposals to restore the tipped minimum wage for servers phased out by a 2016 minimum wage referendum, drawing […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine scrambles to fix driver's licenses to comply with federal law
AUGUSTA — Mainers will be grounded next year if legislators don’t update driver’s licenses to comply with federal requirements. State and federal representatives are scrambling to fix the situation, which stemmed from fears over a 12-year-old federal act that critics say would create a national database of personal information. But states are starting to comply […]