AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage said he’d work to ban the sale of 50-milliliter alcohol containers if the Legislature passes a widely supported bill to extend the state’s bottle deposit law to include the so-called “nips.” The Republican governor’s threat came the same day that the Maine Senate voted 32-3 to approve the bill. It […]
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Paul LePage says selling drugs used in fatal overdoses is manslaughter
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, center, speaks to reporters at a news conference accompanied by Kellyanne Conway, an advisor to President Trump, far left, and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, right, after a meeting to discuss the state’s efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, Wednesday, May 10, 2017, at the State House […]
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Bill attempts to force Paul LePage to release housing bonds
AUGUSTA — Maine housing developers and affordable housing advocates hope lawmakers roundly support a Republican’s bill to release $15 million in bonds for senior housing that voters approved two years ago. Republican Sen. Roger Katz’s bill awaits a vote in the Democratic-controlled House, which next convenes Tuesday. Supporters have been waiting weeks for action on […]
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Garrett Mason has plan to block southern Maine casino
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers in Maine are considering an unprecedented legislative move to block a casino vote. The Press Herald reports that Republican Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason and Democratic Rep. Louis Luchini are working to block the citizen initiative. Mason and Luchini say the language in the ballot question misleads voters. The pair says casino […]
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Push for new Equal Rights Amendment vote in Maine sputters
AUGUSTA — Gender equality is up for debate again in the Legislature and again, it could face a rocky road. On Thursday, the House passed a resolution that could lead to a change in the Maine Constitution guaranteeing equal rights between the genders but only by a slim 78-65 margin. The vote was purely partisan, […]
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Maine Dems, GOP compromise on minimum wage for tipped workers
AUGUSTA — Maine Democrats have lined up to support a Republican’s bill to tweak the voter-approved minimum wage increase, while the parties are at odds over a measure to eliminate a new tax on the state’s highest earners. Supporters are cheering a legislative committee’s 11-2 vote Wednesday to recommend the minimum wage bill, which would […]
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Terry Hayes agrees to LePage’s demand on state bonding RFP
AUGUSTA — State Treasurer Terry Hayes said on Wednesday she had reached an agreement with Gov. Paul LePage to avoid delaying road construction projects and imperiling thousands of jobs. Hayes said she is giving in to LePage’s demand to reissue a request for a company to serve as the state bonding agent but only after construction […]
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Kellyanne Conway, Paul LePage, Tom Price discuss opioid epidemic
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, left, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, center, and Kellyanne Conway, an advisor to President Trump, conduct a meeting to discuss the state’s efforts to fight the opioid epidemic Wednesday, May 10, 2017, at the State House in Augusta. The meeting includes relatives of those struggling with addiction […]
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Maine Senate kills college voter verification bill
The Senate killed a Republican bill on Tuesday that would have increased scrutiny on voting college students in Maine. Five Republicans helped Democrats kill a bill from House Minority Leader Ken Fredette, R-Newport, that would have made cities and towns verify the residence of voters registered at a college dormitory. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap’s […]
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Analysis: Does Maine have $150 million of unspent federal cash?
House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, this week unveiled her wide-ranging Leveraging Investments in Families Today bill, which aims to expand and enhance social service programs with federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant money that she says has gone unspent. Republican Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday that Gideon and the Democrats are wrong about the availability of the […]