The Maine House and Senate will be holding a session day on Tuesday and both legislative calendars are very long. The two chambers will be voting on bills, and the House will be considering several bills for the first time.
The Senate will be taking up and voting on the bills the House voted on last Wednesday. In addition, the Senate has a large quantity of Joint Resolutions, Legislative Sentiments and administrative transmissions of legislative information.
In the House, there are many Legislative Sentiments and Joint Resolutions to get through before voting. There are also a multitude of divided reports that will be debated and eventually put to a vote. Below are seven bills that caught our eye across several public policy sectors that will be voted on during the legislative session day.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING REFORM
LD 252 “An Act to Withdraw from the National Popular Vote Compact” is from Representative Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham). This bill would have Maine leave the National Popular Vote Compact that the state joined via legislation in the 131st legislature. The passage of that bill was controversial as the majority report of the Veterans and Legal Affairs committee was Ought Not to Pass. VLA Committee Chair Laura Supica (D-Bangor the moved the minority Ought to Pass committee report on the floor and the bill passed by one vote. The bill to withdraw from the NPV, LD 252, has a VERY rare Ought to Pass committee report. If past is prologue for the majority Democrats in Augusta, the minority Ought Not to Pass report will be moved on the floor and the bill will be defeated. It’s a classic example of the ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ rule enjoyed by majority Democrats.
LD 266 “An Act to Require the Updating of Voter Registration Signatures” is from Minority Whip Katrina Smith (R-Palermo). The bill makes voter registration signatures valid for five years from the time they were last updated. The bill also requires the registrar to update the central voter registration system with the updated signatures after this period has elapsed. The goal is to clean the voter lists of those who may have moved away or died over the course of time. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows testified in opposition and the bill has a party line committee vote. Majority Democrats are on the Ought Not to Pass report.
LD 349 “An Act to Repeal the Laws That Allow Same-day Voter Registration” is also from Representative Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham). The bill changes the deadline to the close of business on the Thursday before election day for prospective voters to register. It has a majority Democrat Ought Not to Pass committee report. Sec. Bellows testified in opposition saying, “No matter how much of a procrastinator you are, no matter if you just moved to a new town or a new apartment, no matter if you didn’t tune into the election until that very day and your registration is out of date, if you are 18 years or older, you are a Maine resident, and you are a U.S. citizen, you can register to vote and cast your ballot on the same day, even Election Day.”
LD 1148 “An Act to Improve Access to Absentee Ballots for Municipal Elections for Uniformed Service Voters and Overseas Voters” is from Representative Daniel Shagoury (D-Hallowell). The bill would centralize chain of custody for Uniformed Service Voters and Overseas Voters ballots within the Secretary of State’s Office. LD 1148 would also authorize the Secretary of State to receive absentee ballots from a uniformed service voter or an overseas voter at a central location and to deliver those local ballots to the uniformed service voters’ or overseas voters’ municipalities by the close of the polls on election day. The bill has a bipartisan Ought to Pass committee report.
LOBBYING REFORM
LD 1576 “An Act to Extend a One-year Lobbying Prohibition to Partisan and Nonpartisan Staff of the Legislature” is from Representative Morgan Reilly (D-Westbrook). Currently legislators are banned for one year from lobbying after they are no longer in elected office. This bill would add legislative staff to the waiting list. If the government is going to bar people from earning a living in their chosen field, it seems fair to apply it to everyone and not just elected officials. However, if a politician or a staffer wants to go lobby for a state agency on the taxpayer dime they are exempted from the lobbying ban. You can’t beat City Hall, but you can go lobby for them with no restriction or cooling off period. The bill has an overwhelming bipartisan Ought to Pass majority report.
MAINECARE IN PUBLIC SHOOLS AND TIES GATEWAY COMMUNITY SERVICES
LD 1123 “An Act to Provide Funding for MaineCare-related Services for
Public Schools” is from Representative Yusuf Yusuf (D-Portland). The bill provides ongoing funds of close to $500,000 over two years to establish two Public Service Coordinator positions to provide technical assistance and facilitate MaineCare reimbursements for local school districts. Rep. Yusuf according to his House Democrats biography page, “works closely with Gateway Community Services and previously served as a member on the Portland Board of Public Education.” Gateway Community Services has recently been the subject of reporting by the Maine Wire for alleged MaineCare fraud.
LAWYER APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
LD 738 “An Act to Remove Barriers to Becoming a Lawyer by Establishing a Law Office Study Program” is from Representative David Boyer (R-Poland). The bill would create an apprenticeship pathway to taking the bar exam and becoming a lawyer. Participants would study in a participating law office for four years on their way to taking the bar exam and becoming a lawyer. Rep. Boyer has a similar bill that failed last session. This session his bill has an overwhelmingly bipartisan Ought to Pass majority report from the Judiciary Committee. It will be interesting to see if the majority report gets moved on the floor by Judiciary House Chair Amy Kuhn (D-Falmouth) who does not support the bill.
The Maine Wire will be covering all the legislative action tomorrow. Follow on X and Facebook for the latest breaking Maine political news.
