AUGUSTA — Legislation that would eliminate the tax that Mainers pay when they inherit large estates is running into opposition from Democrats. The Maine House on Tuesday has cast an initial vote to reject the bill. The party-line vote was 77 to 65. Under current law, estates valued at nearly $5.5 million are exempt from […]
politics
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 […]
advertisement
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Mental health service providers concerned about proposed MaineCare rate changes
AUGUSTA — Providers of mental health services are facing major changes in how much they are paid for services they offer to thousands of mentally ill Mainers who rely on publicly funded MaineCare health insurance. Preliminary proposals by a consultant hired by the Department of Health and Human Services to examine its rate structure include […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislature dealing with a crowded agenda
AUGUSTA — The 2016 session’s end is in sight for the Maine Legislature, with a month to go until scheduled adjournment. The year started with deep contention between lawmakers and Gov. Paul LePage, the Republican who easily weathered an impeachment effort in January and has railed against lawmakers at town hall-style meetings across the state […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
State budget panel hears bill to increase trooper pay
AUGUSTA — Trooper Dane Wing said he was giving up his lifelong dream of following in his grandfather’s footsteps by being a Maine State Police trooper. Wing, who serves with Troop C out of Skowhegan, told the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee he simply couldn’t afford to keep working for the state and was resigning Monday […]
Posted inMaine
State will not expedite new lead standards
AUGUSTA — In a letter to lawmakers this week, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control said his agency would not move quickly to implement lower blood-lead standards. CDC Director Ken Albert said the state would pursue a months-long process to implement the new standards, which will trigger interventions for children who test […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Gov. Paul LePage to hold town hall meeting in Mexico
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage has announced he will hold his next town hall on Tuesday, March 22, in Mexico. The event will take place at Mountain Valley Middle School, 58 Highland Terrace, from 6 to 7 p.m. The meeting is open to the public. “The town hall meeting will focus on (LePage’s) vision for […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Two Riverview administrators resign
AUGUSTA — Two key leaders at Riverview Psychiatric Center have resigned, according to Daniel Wathen, the courtmaster who oversees the state-run mental hospital in Augusta. Riverview Superintendent Robert “Jay” Harper has notified state officials that he will leave his position in the coming weeks for personal reasons, according to Wathen. In addition, Riverview Clinical Director […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
DHHS tightens coverage of services for mental illness and disorders
AUGUSTA — Providers of mental health and adult disability services are scrambling to understand pending changes from the Department of Health and Human Services that could cut or interrupt services for thousands of consumers and change payments for service providers. According to multiple sources in the mental health service provider sector, the issue came to […]
Posted inOp-Eds
West Coast comes late to primary circus
There’s a not-insignificant part of the United States known as the West Coast. It includes such prominent states as California, Oregon and Washington. These states have yet to hold a single presidential primary or caucus. But at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, this population center of 50 million-plus souls was informed that the […]