AUGUSTA — Proposals by Republican Gov. Paul LePage to hike the salary of the next governor to $150,000 a year, increase pay for lawmakers and reduce members of the Legislature appeared poised for defeat Thursday. Lawmakers on the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee split along party lines in a 5-5 vote after unanimously voting […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Eight Dems support Gov. Paul LePage’s anti-monument bill
AUGUSTA — Rural Democrats in the Maine House of Representatives broke ranks on Thursday to narrowly endorse Gov. Paul LePage’s bid to block the president’s authority to designate a national monument in the North Woods region. The bill is likely to face constitutional challenges and is a largely symbolic missive toward the family of Roxanne […]
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Bill to terminate rapists’ parental rights heads to governor
AUGUSTA — The Maine Senate has passed bill designed to make it easier for victims to strip their attackers of parental rights to children conceived as a result of rape. State law says a man convicted of rape can be stripped of parental rights to children conceived during the crime. But Sen. Bill Diamond, a […]
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GOP lawmakers want to tie spending plan to alternative minimum wage
AUGUSTA — Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee dug in their heels Wednesday against any new spending this year with one caveat: If Democrats support an alternate minimum wage proposal to the one that will appear on the November ballot, maybe the GOP will come to the negotiating table. Wednesday’s discussion came a day after […]
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Democrats propose spending $43.8 million of state surplus
AUGUSTA, Maine — Democrats in the Maine Legislature on Tuesday proposed spending $43.8 million on already-approved bills as Republicans stood divided on spending anything at all. It comes as legislators decide whether to spend or save $55 million in projected surplus revenues after Gov. Paul LePage decided not to submit a revised budget in 2016. […]
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Maine House OKs addiction program funding
AUGUSTA — The Maine House of Representatives has given initial approval to a bill that would make grants available to substance abuse pilot programs in the state. The programs would include those run by local governments, county governments and regional jails. The grants would cover programs that divert low-level drug offenders into community-based treatment and […]
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Paul LePage wants to grow governor’s pay, shrink Legislature
Two bills unveiled by Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday would raise his successor’s salary and shrink the Maine Legislature by about a third in 2018. The Republican governor’s bills were referenced to a legislative committee on Tuesday, but they may not go anywhere, if only because they were introduced in the waning days of the 2016 session. It’s scheduled to end on […]
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Maine Legislature has to clear 280 bills by April 20
As the Legislature nears its supposed adjournment date, there are signs that the tension is mounting as numerous bills create a bottleneck headed into consideration by the full Legislature. This week marks scheduling changes for the House and Senate, which met only twice weekly for most of the session and then moved to three times […]
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Legislature has bill that aims to restrict painkiller prescriptions
AUGUSTA — The Legislature is poised to pass a bill sponsored by Gov. Paul LePage that would put the state on the front line of a national movement to monitor and restrict opioid painkillers. The Republican’s bill would limit prescriptions to seven days for acute pain and 15 days for chronic pain, and cap dosages at […]
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Maine House OKs bill to force Paul LePage to issue housing bond
AUGUSTA — A top Democrat’s maneuver to force Gov. Paul LePage to issue a voter-approved housing bond passed the Maine House of Representatives Monday, but stiff Republican opposition could bode badly for the bill. The $15 million bond was backed by 69 percent of voters in November, but LePage’s office says he’s holding it up […]