Gov. Paul LePage said in a Tuesday radio appearance that he’ll veto legislative leaders’ $4.8 million proposal aimed at fighting Maine’s drug crisis. The Republican governor railed against the proposal in perhaps his strongest terms on WVOM, making the dubious claim that the sponsors “put the names of the companies that will get the money” […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage to claim immunity against Mark Eves’ suit
PORTLAND — Gov. Paul LePage plans to claim immunity against a lawsuit brought by House Speaker Mark Eves over actions that led to the rescinding of a job offer, his lawyer said. A procedural filing by lawyer Patrick Strawbridge contains the first glimpse of the governor’s defense, saying a motion to dismiss the lawsuit would raise […]
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Analysis: This legislative session to be more about politics than policy
The gridlock of split majorities in the House and Senate and a veto-happy governor means the 2016 legislative session will center more on politics than on policy. It’s often said lawmakers accomplish little of consequence during the second session of each two-year legislature because they are too busy positioning for the next election. With three […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage gives ‘gift’ to Republicans, snubs Tom Saviello
AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage has delivered Christmas gifts to most Republicans in the Legislature. But his goal apparently wasn’t to spread holiday cheer. WMTW-TV reports that the Republican governor sent copies of an illustrated book, “If You’re Riding a Horse and It Dies, Get Off.” The author describes it as a “humorous allegory […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislators want to use settlement to pay for drug agents
AUGUSTA — Leaders in the Maine Legislature have proposed funding most of a $4.8 million package aimed at curbing the state’s drug epidemic with money gained in a settlement with a Wall Street ratings agency. The funding mechanism is supported by Attorney General Janet Mills, the Democrat who controls the money, but Gov. Paul LePage, a […]
Posted inLivermore Falls Advertiser, Maine
Sen. Tom Saviello offers Medicaid expansion bill to fight addiction
AUGUSTA — Hoping to tap readily available federal funding that could help fight Maine’s heroin addiction crisis, a pair of state GOP lawmakers is again proposing legislation to expand Maine’s Medicaid system. Sen. Tom Saviello, R-Wilton, who has previously supported an expansion of the state and federally sponsored health insurance program for low-income families and […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. Pau. LePage quietly releases Land for Maine’s Future report
For months, as you know, LePage blocked the sale of nearly $11.5 million in voter-approved conservation bonds administered by the Land for Maine’s Future program. LePage weathered months of criticism for the move, but largely defused the issue earlier this month when he suddenly decided to release the bonds. Still hanging out there was an […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
AG won’t investigate Paul LePage in Good Will-Hinckley spat
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage won’t face a criminal investigation for threatening to withhold funding from a nonprofit that hired House Speaker Mark Eves, said Attorney General Janet Mills and another Democratic prosecutor in a Tuesday letter. But that letter to three legislators who are pursuing impeachment charges against LePage — Reps. Jeffrey Evangelos, I-Friendship, Ben […]
Posted inMaine, Nation / World, New England, sj-web
Governors ask Congress to expand opiate treatment options
MONTPELIER, Vt. — The six New England governors are urging leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives to expand the types of medical practitioners who can prescribe drugs to treat opiate addiction. In a Tuesday letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and minority leader Nancy Pelosi, the governors ask the House leaders to support the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Analysis: Why conflict is very likely in the 2016 legislative session
The question going into the January legislative session is whether that rift will block hopes of any effective legislative action in a four-month session that will open and close with the specter of November legislative elections enshrouding the State House dome. LePage spent the final weeks of this year’s session vetoing nearly every bill that […]