Gov. Paul LePage added his name to the growing list of lawmakers who support moving Maine away from the presidential caucus system and toward a primary. LePage said during a radio appearance on WVOM that moving to a primary would come with a cost to the state, but that the cost is worth it. “I was absolutely amazed and […]
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Bill would make it easier to strip rapists’ parental rights
AUGUSTA — The Maine Senate will consider a victims’ rights bill that supporters say would 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. […]
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Gov. Paul LePage proposes restrictions on prescriptions for addictive meds
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage proposed Wednesday to place strict new limits on the prescription of addictive opioid painkillers and benzodiazepines. The bill comes amid a prolonged effort at the local, state and national levels to curb a drug addiction epidemic in Maine and elsewhere. Sponsored by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Andre Cushing, R-Hampden, […]
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Legislature considers bill making heroin possession a felony
AUGUSTA — A bill that would let prosecutors seek felony charges in possession cases involving heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl and more than 14 grams of cocaine is gaining support. The Portland Press Herald reports that members of the Maine Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted 8-4 Monday in Augusta in favor of the bill. […]
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Gov. Paul LePage proposes bill to stop estate tax
AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage is introducing legislation to eliminate the tax that Mainers pay when they inherit large estates. Under current law, estates valued at nearly $5.5 million are exempt from the estate tax, which is triggered when the ownership of a property transfers as a result of death. The Legislature last year […]
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Maine Senate cans bill allowing brewers to sell beer ‘to-go’
AUGUSTA — A bill that would have allowed Maine craft brewers to more easily sell their products to go was squashed like an aluminum beer can under foot by the state Senate on Tuesday. At issue is whether businesses that make beer should be allowed to sell it more easily from a brewing facility without […]
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Bills meant to bolster services and access for Maine vets get hearings
AUGUSTA — A slate of bills aimed at helping more Maine veterans get access to the services and benefits available to them are set for public hearings at the State House next week. The bills, all the result of recommendations from a special legislative commission that worked over the summer to review the state’s Bureau […]
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Clean Elections head warns funds may run out
AUGUSTA — The state’s publicly funded campaign finance system that was backed by Maine voters could run dry after lawmakers repeatedly took money from it for other initiatives. The Portland Press Herald reports that Jonathan Wayne, executive director of Maine’s ethics commission, told the Legislature’s budget-writing committee Tuesday that lawmakers have taken nearly $12 million […]
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Bill would give protection order option to human trafficking victims
AUGUSTA — A Maine senator says a proposed law would make it easier to issue protection from abuse orders for victims of human trafficking. Sen. Amy Volk, a Cumberland Republican, says protection orders in the state can be filed against family, household members or a dating partner. She says abusers do not always meet the […]
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$73 million state surplus expected: GOP wants it in savings
AUGUSTA – It looks like an uptick in state tax revenue will put Maine’s two-year budget more than $70 million in the black, and Republican Gov. Paul LePage said the money should go into the state’s savings account. LePage also urged state lawmakers to resist finding new ways to spend the increased revenue, as he […]