MEXICO — Gov. Paul LePage fielded questions on energy and education costs, and how to properly govern the state during a town hall meeting Tuesday night at the Mountain Valley Middle School auditorium. LePage spoke on four “basic issues” he is making a priority in Augusta: reducing the income tax, reforming welfare by strengthening the […]
Paul LePage
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Gov. Paul LePage turns awards lunch into political speech
NEWRY — Gov. Paul LePage used a state tourism conference’s typically light-and-happy awards ceremony as a political platform Tuesday, calling for everyone in the room to pass the word that current ballot initiatives — including raising the minimum wage — will have a catastrophic effect on the state. “(Tourism is) a great industry; it’s a […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Land trusts fire back at Paul LePage’s plan to tax them
AUGUSTA — A bill unveiled Tuesday by Gov. Paul LePage is the second attempt in a year to allow land held for conservation to be taxed, and an official from a top conservation group said while it wouldn’t apply to a large share of land, it’s a “slap in the face of land trusts.” It’s […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage wants to tax land held for conservation
Gov. Paul LePage plans to introduce a bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday that would remove the property tax exemption for land held for conservation or public access by 2017. With less than a month to go before the legislative session’s scheduled end and this being a significant policy change, the bill probably won’t go far in 2016. But it’ll touch off […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage promotes veteran hiring
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage took new steps Thursday to promote the hiring of veterans in Maine, particularly by state departments and agencies. LePage introduced to the Legislature a new bill, LD 1658, which would give military veterans preference when applying for government jobs, in the form of guaranteeing them an interview if they meet […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislature kills Gov. Paul LePage’s immigrant status bill
AUGUSTA — A proposal by Gov. Paul LePage to force municipalities to share information about immigrants was killed by House Democrats in a rare parliamentary maneuver practically before it saw the light of day on Tuesday. Republican Rep. Ellie Espling, the House minority leader, said she was furious with the move. LD 1652, which was […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage wants to raise law enforcement salaries
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage says his state needs to raise the wages of law enforcement officers to bring them in line with other states in New England. LePage has crafted a bill to provide pay increases for some law enforcement workers as a recruitment and retention tool. The proposal increases salaries by 12 to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage wants to suspend drug dealers’ driver’s licenses
Gov. Paul LePage has introduced a bill that would suspend the driver’s license of convicted drug dealers. LD 1647 would require a six-month suspension of the driver’s license of anyone who is convicted of violating the federal Controlled Substances Act. If a person convicted of trafficking or furnishing illegal drugs does not have a driver’s […]
Posted inMaine
Ben Chin says he’s honored to be on Paul LePage’s ‘wanted list’
Lewiston activist Ben Chin on Friday called Gov. Paul LePage’s “wanted” poster of the Maine People’s Alliance leader a baseless “arts and crafts project.” At a town hall meeting in Bath on Thursday night, the governor had unveiled three “wanted” posters targeting Chin, Matt Schlobohm of the Maine AFL-CIO and Nick Bennett of the Natural […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage battles hecklers at Bath town hall
BATH — In the latest in his series of Town Hall-style forums, this time packing the seats at Morse High School March 10, Gov. Paul LePage tackled a slew of issues facing Maine, and questions from local residents. Responses from the audience, which the often-controversial governor faced from the Montgomery Theater stage, ran the gamut […]