AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on the Legislature’s Transportation Committee will consider a bill Tuesday that allows police to test drivers for operating under the influence of marijuana or, more precisely, the plant’s active ingredient, THC. The bill calls for a blood-level limit that’s modeled on alcohol blood-level limits now set in Maine law and would allow […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Brakey bill targeting Clean Election law fails in committee
AUGUSTA — A Maine legislative committee has rejected a proposal to ask voters whether they want to repeal the state’s Clean Election law. The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted 9-1 Wednesday against Republican Sen. Eric Brakey’s bill. Brakey wants to put a measure on the ballot this November to ask voters whether they want […]
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Maine committee rejects right-to-work bill
AUGUSTA — A legislative committee has rejected a bill that would prohibit Maine employers from requiring employees to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment. The House Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee voted 7-6 against Republican Rep. Larry Lockman’s so-called right-to-work bill on Wednesday. Democrats were joined in opposing […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Energy bill to fix funding typo easily passes Maine House
AUGUSTA — A controversial bill to fix a typo that could be worth roughly $38 million to the Efficiency Maine Trust sailed through the House of Representatives Wednesday on a 138-1 vote. Assistant House Majority Leader Sara Gideon’s bill, LD 1215, which inserts the missing “and” into the 2013 energy bill that included funding directives for […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislators wrestle with cost of repealing income tax
AUGUSTA — It would mean a lot more money in Mainers’ paychecks, but critics of Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to eliminate the income tax say the cost is simply too high for the state to bear. During a public hearing Tuesday on the governor’s bill, which would ask voters to ratify a constitutional amendment banning […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Junk food ban: Maine lawmakers endorse food stamp restriction
AUGUSTA — A bid to prohibit the purchase of junk food with food stamps in Maine came out of a legislative committee Monday afternoon with a positive recommendation — twice. In an unusual series of events, Republican Sen. Roger Katz’s bill, LD 526, heads to the full Legislature after having been approved twice by the […]
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Committee approves task force to study hayride safety in Maine
AUGUSTA — A bill meant to regulate farm amusement rides, like the haunted hayride that ended in the death of an Oakland teenager last October, has been turned into a task force that will study the issue of farm amusement ride safety in Maine. On Monday, the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted […]
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LePage not confident that right-to-work bill will pass
AUGUSTA — Maine Republicans are making another push to pass right-to-work legislation, but even Gov. Paul LePage acknowledged Monday that the effort faces tough odds. LePage said on the WVOM’s George Hale and Ric Tyler show that his administration will fight just as hard as he has before, but he doesn’t “hold a lot of hope” […]
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Maine Republicans part of national effort for campaign disclosure
While Republicans in Congress continue to smother proposals for campaign finance transparency, statehouse Republicans from Maine to Montana are moving in the opposite direction. Some Republican state legislators are pushing back against the free-spending super-PACs and secretive independent groups that have been transforming U.S. politics into a proxy war among the super rich. “When somebody’s […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine Legislature votes to ban fertilizers near lakes
AUGUSTA — A bill designed to protect Maine lakes by banning the use of fertilizers containing phosphorus or nitrogen near shorelines is headed to Gov. Paul LePage after near-unanimous support in the House and Senate. LePage vetoed a similar bill last year when it was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jeff McCabe of Skowhegan. The Legislature […]