AUGUSTA — Mayors from four Maine communities said Tuesday that Gov. Paul LePage’s efforts to force them to cut spending have created a standoffish relationship and that more progress could be made if LePage would collaborate instead of dominate. Furthermore, the mayors of Portland, Westbrook, Saco and Augusta said that LePage’s continuing assertion that taxpayer […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine lawmakers call for LePage to release bonds
AUGUSTA — A group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers are calling on Gov. Paul LePage to stop holding voter-approved bonds “hostage” to advance his political agenda. Republican Sen. Roger Katz and eight other lawmakers unveiled a bill on Tuesday that seeks to force the governor to release bonds for land conservation projects that he says he’s […]
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LePage wants more timber cut; Lawmakers want bonds released
CUMBERLAND — Gov. Paul LePage on Monday reiterated that he will not authorize roughly $11.5 million in voter-approved conservation bonds unless the Legislature approves a new plan to cut more timber on public land and use the new revenue to pay for heating assistance programs. Details were limited, but in a memo sent to lawmakers […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage to promote tax plan in Machias, Belfast this week
AUGUSTA — Republican Gov. Paul LePage is heading to Eastern Maine this week as he continues his tour to tout his tax plan. LePage will hold town hall meeting 6 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast. The event is being held in the Walsh Wing conference room. At 6 p.m. Wednesday, […]
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LePage bill would void attorney general’s authority over new laws
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage has drafted a bill to strip the attorney general of authority over the rulemaking process used by state agencies to implement laws approved by the Legislature. LePage has criticized judgments by Attorney General Janet Mills that some regulations he wanted were illegal. Rather than accept his lawyer’s legal advice, the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage, New England governors discuss energy costs
HARTFORD, Conn. — New England’s governors met Thursday to update their long-term energy strategy that increasingly relies on natural gas and efforts to build more pipelines. The region has limited natural gas pipeline systems, which are reaching maximum capacity, said Gordon van Welie, president and chief executive of the region’s power grid, ISO-New England. System reliability […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
LePage to lead trade mission to Japan, China in October
AUGUSTA — Republican Gov. Paul LePage will lead a trade mission to Japan and China this fall. LePage will travel to Tokyo and Shanghai with a group of Maine businesses and educational institutions in October to attract investments to Maine and highlight the state’s exports. LePage said in a statement that the group will educate […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
LePage says raising state’s minimum wage will hurt elderly
PORTLAND — Gov. Paul LePage told a Portland audience Tuesday morning his reason for submitting a bill to prohibit municipal minimum wage increases in places like Portland and Bangor, which are considering such a proposal, is because higher mandated minimum wages anywhere in Maine would harm older residents. “The reason for that is that raising […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage starts work on bill to eliminate Maine income tax
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is drawing a line in the sand on killing Maine’s income tax. In a letter sent to legislative leaders from both parties on Monday, LePage revealed that he’s filed preliminary paperwork on a bill (LR 1983, “Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Eliminate the Income Tax,”) to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage willing to compromise but not on income tax
During nearly 40 minutes at the microphone, LePage said that if he and the Legislature can’t agree on a tax reform package by July 1, when a new two-year budget takes effect, he’ll push for a statewide referendum in November 2016 that asks Mainers if they want to eliminate the income tax. “If it doesn’t […]