AUGUSTA — Republicans’ efforts to make Maine a so-called “right-to-work” state failed, again, on Monday with a 21-14 vote against the concept in the Senate. LD 489 was already on life support following a 90-52 House of Representatives vote against it last week. The bill would have prevented organized labor unions from collecting representation fees […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bill allowing assisted suicide in Maine fails in Senate
AUGUSTA — The concept of allowing terminally ill patients to end their own lives under a doctor’s supervision hit a roadblock Monday when the Senate voted 18-17 against it. The bill, LD 1270, would allow physician-assisted suicide in Maine but only with a range of caveats, including that the patient has to take lethal drugs […]
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Maine House rejects Sawicki’s unvaccinated rights bill
AUGUSTA — The Maine House has rejected a bill that aims to outlaw the discrimination of people who choose not be vaccinated. The Democratic-controlled House voted 102-42 against Republican Rep. David Sawicki’s bill on Monday. It faces further votes. The bill would amend the Maine Human Rights Act to ensure that people who forgo vaccinations […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine lawmakers could vote on budget bill Tuesday
AUGUSTA — House Speaker Mark Eves said Monday that he will attempt to move the state budget forward this week by calling for a vote on a compromise budget bill. Eves spokeswoman Jodi Quintero said in communications with reporters on Monday that amendments to the budget are being drafted by the Revisor of Statutes office […]
Posted inMaine
Maine Democrats block right-to-work bill in the House
AUGUSTA, Maine — The House of Representatives on Friday defeated the latest bill designed to make Maine a “right-to-work” state. The bill, LD 489, was defeated in a 90-52 vote, with a handful of Republicans joining majority Democrats in rejecting the bill. It was the latest effort by State House Republicans to weaken unions by preventing […]
Posted inMaine
LePage renews push to end Maine’s ‘death tax’
AUGUSTA — As the top party officials at the State House continued their ongoing negotiations on a two-year budget for Maine, Republican Gov. Paul LePage on Friday renewed his push to do away with the state’s estate tax. LePage and his conservative allies call the tax paid on inheritances valued at over $2 million a “death […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Lawmakers send puppy sales bill to Paul LePage
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers have sent a bill to Gov. Paul LePage’s desk that would prohibit new pet shops in Maine from selling dogs and cats born in out-of-state breeding operations. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 21-14 to give the bill final approval on Thursday. Under the bill, new pet shops would only be able to sell […]
Posted inMaine
House GOP: Immigrant welfare sticking point in Maine budget
AUGUSTA – How much Maine spends helping poor and unemployed immigrants is emerging as a key sticking point in state budget negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature. A top Republican budget-writer and one of the four House lawmakers in the minority on the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee said conservatives are looking to cap current […]
Posted inMaine
Legislature overturns onslaught of LePage vetoes
AUGUSTA — Nearly as fast as Republican Gov. Paul LePage can sign veto letters, lawmakers are overturning those vetoes. It’s putting LePage on pace for another entry in Maine’s political record books: the most overturned governor in state history. The Maine House of Representatives on Tuesday overrode 11 of LePage’s vetoes and the House and […]
Posted inMaine
Democrats, Republicans blame each other for failed budget talks
AUGUSTA — Less than 24 hours after a budget deal seemed nearly complete, the path toward a compromise in the divided Legislature was foggier than ever, once again raising the likelihood of a government shutdown. A two-year, $6.7 billion spending plan passed with bipartisan support in the budget-writing Appropriations Committee last weekend but did not […]