Easing the Laws on Dangerous Drugs, Defending the Guard, Holding ICE at Bay, and the Augusta Red Coats – Legislative Scouting Report for April 24

The Maine legislature will meet Thursday for the third session day in a row. Thursday’s calendar is light in both chambers; however, on the agenda there are several noteworthy bills to keep an eye on as well as a resolution showing how bans on militia training and weapon seizures without due process are tyrannical.

Representative Lydia Crafts’ (D-Newcastle) LD 1779 “An Act to Make the Possession of Under 2 Grams of Certain Schedule W Drugs a Class D Crime” will be referred to the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee for a public hearing. First, it should be noted that only class “C” crimes and above are considered felonies. This would make possession of under 2,000 milligrams (2 grams) of heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, fentanyl and other drugs a misdemeanor offense. Current felony weight for these drugs is 200 milligrams. According to research, 2 grams of fentanyl is enough to kill 1,000 people. The public hearing for this bill should not be missed.

“An Act to Strengthen the Maine Clean Election Act” from Assistant Majority Leader Lorrie Gramlich (D-Old Orchard Beach) would expand the Maine Clean Elections Program. New offices that would be able access taxpayer funds for their campaigns would include district attorney, sheriff and county commissioner. Even if this bill increasing the elections on which public funds could be spent were not to pass, out-of-state billionaires like George Soros would still be able to spend tons of money on Maine district attorney races through financing independent expenditures either for or against candidates — as he did in Cumberland County two years ago.

Another bill worth tracking is LD 1259, “An Act to Enhance Public Safety in Maine by Defining the Relationship Between Local and Federal Law Enforcement,” from Representative Ambereen Rana (D-Bangor), which would prevent state and local law enforcement from working with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The bill is potentially very controversial and many from the law enforcement community will weigh in on it. Which is why it is interesting that the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, which has many retired Republican law enforcement officers serving on it, is punting the bill to another legislative committee.

That committee will most likely be either the Judiciary Committee or the State and Local Government Committee. The Judiciary Committee is heavily composed of Democrat lawyers and the State and Local Government has three Democrat members who are relatively recent immigrants. One of them, Deqa Dhalac (D-Portland) attempted to launch the Office of New Americans legislation last year, but failed. That’s why Governor Janet Mills had to slip it into her budget instead.

Either of these committees is much more likely to be friendly to an anti-ICE bill than Criminal Justice. That’s how Augusta Democrats strategize on where draft legislation gets the optimal public hearing.

The only Divided Report of note that is scheduled to be considered on Thursday is LD 265 “An Act to Prohibit the Maine National Guard from Combat Deployment Absent an Act of the United States Congress.” This bill was proposed by retired Senior Navy Chief Representative Ben Hymes (R-Waldo) and is known nationally as a ‘Defend the Guard’ measure — others like it have been introduced in state legislatures all over the country. Simply put, it would prevent the deployment of the Maine National Guard into an active-duty combat without a formal declaration of war by the United States Congress.

Since 2001, the AUMF or Authorization of Military Force, has shifted the war-making power from the Legislative Branch (Congress) to the Executive (President of the United States). The Defend the Guard bill hopes to be a catalyst to return war-making powers to Congress, which is their constitutional home. The bill has faced opposition from the Maine National Guard and National Guard supporters who are concerned about federal funding if LD 265 were to pass. It may be a source of passionate floor debate.

Representative Dan Sayre (D-Kennebunk) has submitted “JOINT RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE THE SEMI-QUINCENTENNIAL OF THE BATTLES OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD” to recognize the shot heard ’round the world. It’s a solid resolution praising one of major labor pains in the birth of our nation. My favorite part of this resolution is:

“WHEREAS, local militia volunteers, distinguished by the term “Minutemen,”
having been notified through the night of the approaching soldiers, fought British forces
on the Lexington Green and at the North Bridge in Concord, protecting their munitions
from seizure and harrying the British forces throughout their retreat to Boston.”

I’d like to thank Rep. Sayre for submitting a resolution that shows without question that bans on paramilitary or militia training and the illegal seizure of firearms without due process are defining historic examples of tyranny. Rep. Sayre already voted this session to keep the Maine ban on paramilitary training. Let’s hope later this session he finds his inner Minuteman and votes against the impending Red Flag bill, which would infringe on Second Amendment rights and is unnecessary as Maine already has a Yellow Flag law.

As always, things can change a moment’s notice in Augusta. The Maine Wire will be there to cover it. Follow the Maine Wire on X and Facebook for the latest details.