Democrats on Maine’s Legislative Council voted on Thursday against considering an emergency bill that would require Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to issue confidential license plates to law enforcement officers after she refused to issue them to ICE.
[RELATED: Bellows Orders Maine Staff to Report ICE Sightings, Tightens Access Rules in State Offices…]
In response to mounting ICE enforcement activity in Maine, Bellows decided to deny new requests from immigration officials for undercover plates, potentially putting ICE agents at risk from protesters and helping illegal immigrants evade arrest.
Democrats in the legislature decided to throw their support behind Bellows’ policy after House Republican Leader Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) proposed emergency legislation to prevent Bellows from refusing undercover plates to law enforcement.
“Every Democrat leader voted to table it. Even pretending to give oversight to Shenna Bellows, and also ensuring law enforcement officers are protected, didn’t appear to be a consideration. (Bellows sat in the back and watched,” said Rep. Katrina Smith (R-Palermo) on Facebook.
Republicans on the council supported the proposal but were outnumbered by Democrats, who voted unanimously against the bill in a 6-4 vote.
Before the vote, the decision to hinder law enforcement by failing to issue undercover plates rested solely with Bellows, but the Legislative Council vote cemented it as a broader Democratic stance.
