AUGUSTA — A legislative committee voted Thursday to move forward with a bill that would seek a moratorium on rule changes that could cut millions of dollars to agencies that provide services to children with autism and their families. The Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee voted 6-5 along party lines to block a Maine […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine Senate blocks plan to move psychiatric patients to prison
The Maine Senate likely doomed Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to house violent psychiatric patients at the Maine State Prison after opposing it by just one vote on Wednesday. The Republican governor’s proposal drew heat from advocates as a violation of patients’ civil rights after it was announced in February, but it’s a response to issues […]
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Judge mulls Libertarian case to become a Maine political party
PORTLAND — The question of whether Libertarians will be recognized as an official political party in Maine is in a federal judge’s hands after the conclusion of a case against the state Tuesday in Portland. At issue is a lawsuit by the nonprofit Libertarian Party of Maine Inc. that challenges Secretary of State Matt Dunlap’s […]
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Michael Heath wants referendum on gay rights protection
PORTLAND — An anti-gay activist said Wednesday he’s ready “to shout to the world that we’re on the side of human dignity” and begin a petition drive for voter signatures in Maine in support of an initiative to remove references to sexual orientation from the state’s Human Rights Act. The Secretary of State’s Office said ‘s […]
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Hayride victim Cassidy Charette’s family disappointed by state report
AUGUSTA — The family of an Oakland teen who died in a hayride accident in 2014 said they were disappointed with the findings of a legislative working group that was set up to examine ways to regulate farm amusement rides. Cassidy Charette, 17, died Oct. 11, 2014, when a trailer she was riding on in a […]
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DEA considers changing marijuana classification
In a lengthy memo to lawmakers, the Drug Enforcement Administration said it hopes to decide whether to change the federal status of marijuana “in the first half of 2016.” Marijuana is currently listed under the Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning that for the purposes of federal law, the drug has “no […]
Posted inMaine
State budget bill faces stiff GOP resistance in Maine House
AUGUSTA — Lacking the two-thirds support necessary to overcome a possible Gov. Paul LePage veto, an $11 million supplemental state budget appeared all but dead late Tuesday. The measure, which among other things would boost the pay of state law enforcement officers and workers at two state-run mental health hospitals, gained a strong 30-4 vote in […]
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Report: Maine has no capacity to regulate hayrides
UPDATE: Hayride victim Cassidy Charette’s family disappointed by state report AUGUSTA — A new report from the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office says there’s little the state can do to improve safety when it comes to farm hayrides in the Pine Tree State. The report from a working group set up in 2015 to review regulations for […]
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Overhaul of Maine tree growth tax credit chopped down by committee
AUGUSTA — Legislation designed to dramatically overhaul Maine’s tree growth property tax credit program fell largely on deaf ears Monday as lawmakers on the Legislature’s Taxation Committee unanimously rejected the proposal offered by Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Among other provisions in the bill, LD 1632, is one that would have excluded from the program, which […]
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Budget deal makes it out of committee despite GOP resistance
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on the Appropriations Committee on Monday voted out two versions of a supplemental budget, with House Republicans again bucking the rest of the committee on new spending. The committee voted 8-4 in favor of an approximately $11 million spending plan. The funding would apply to bills that have already won passage. Legislators […]