“Christmas in July” came early in Maine this year, as Governor LePage used a Christmas tree and rubber pigs in a press conference on Wednesday to illustrate his frustrations over the current spending plan legislators came up with. While this method may seem bizarre and has been called “political theater”, the Governor is really just trying to get the people’s attention about what is actually going on regarding the budget. He worries that there is a lot of needless spending in the budget and wants to adjust funding for bigger, long term programs. Aside from being humorous, the Christmas tree…
Author: Nathan Hitchcock
Nathan Hitchcock
Nathan Hitchcock is currently a law student at the University of Maine School of Law and volunteers as a researcher for the Maine Heritage Policy Center. Prior to law school, he attended Hillsdale College in Michigan, where he earned a B.A. in Political Economy.
A few weeks ago, fellow Maine Wire columnist Christine Rousselle wrote an op-ed piece about why young people are not returning to Maine. As a young person in Maine, I understood where she was coming from and I agree that those are the reasons why young adults tend to leave Maine. Young adults want excitement and activity in ways Maine does not really cater to. While having young people living in working in Maine would have its benefits on the Maine economy, Maine’s current economic structure is designed in a way where a transition to focus on recruiting young people would…
Recently, the Maine Legislature has been discussing whether the government should set a certain standard in marijuana consumption that would allow authorities to arrest someone for driving under the influence, similar to the blood-alcohol level standard used to determine whether someone is driving under the influence of alcohol. Yesterday, the proposed standard of five parts per billion of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), also known as what affects the brain in marijuana, was put on hold. Opponents of the standard pointed to how determining the level of THC in blood is not an exact science, and that level seemed too arbitrary and required…
On Wednesday, the Maine Public Utilities Commission decided not to reconsider their decision regarding an interpretation of a statute provision regarding funding for Efficiency Maine, which caps the funding for Efficiency Maine at roughly $23 million. Efficiency Maine argues that their funding cap should actually be somewhere around $59 million, and it is all thanks to the word “and”. What’s becoming known as the “and” case, the Maine Legislature passed a bill that instructed the Maine Public Utilities Commission (Maine PUC) to create a budget for Efficiency Maine, a sub-agency charged with lowering the State’s energy costs using any measures…
On Monday, Governor LePage vetoed LD 122, An Act to Standardize Pints of Beer Sold in Maine, proposed by Sen. John Patrick, D-Rumford. This bill would subject all restaurants that serve pints of beer to government regulations to make sure their pint glasses actually hold sixteen ounces of beer. Before reaching the Governor, this bill passed in the State House with opposition from Republicans, and passed unanimously in the State Senate. All beer lovers want to know they are getting their money’s worth, so why would the Governor veto this bill? To put it simply, because we already have a…
In case Portland citizens have forgotten, the City Council’s ordinance regarding disposable bags will be implemented on April 15th, and will soon be charged five cents for each paper or plastic bag used in getting groceries, and will outright ban Styrofoam packaging. While this initiative has a noble cause in trying to protect Portland’s environment, the City Council fails to see the consequences this fee will have on Portland citizens who are poor or have families. While the Portland City Council has described this new ordinance as imposing a fee, it is essentially a sin tax. Sin taxes are normally…
On Monday, the Maine State Legislature will host public hearings on bill requests made by members of the Maine House and Senate regarding Maine’s minimum wage. There is one bill request asking the legislature to consider the benefits and detriments of increasing minimum wage, but there are seven others proposing to outright increase the minimum wage as soon as October. Increasing the minimum wage at all, let alone this soon, will decrease jobs for low skill workers. Since these minimum wage increases are supposed to help these very people with earning hire wages, this increase will only harm the people…
In a bipartisan push for reform, Maine Sen. Andre Cushing III (R-Penobscot County) and Maine Rep. Justin Chenette (D-Saco) have proposed amending the Maine Constitution to elect the attorney general by popular vote. For the attorney general to better serve the people of Maine, it is in Maine’s best interest to adopt this provision and hold the attorney general directly accountable to the people. While Maine currently elects its attorney general through the state legislature, the rest of the country uses other methods. The Maine Constitution states that the attorney general will be elected every two years by the state…
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in King v. Burwell, the latest case challenging the Affordable Care Act’s (“Obamacare’s”) implementation, regarding state-established and federally established exchange programs for choosing health coverage options provided under Obamacare. Unlike Obamacare’s first appearance in the Supreme Court, National Federation of Independent Business v. Sibelius (2012), this case does not question constitutionality of the law. There are two major issues that the court must address. First, the court must determine whether the plaintiffs have standing to sue. Only those who have been wronged or harmed by the law may file suit against…
Several months ago, Maine Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, and former Maine Sen. Dick Woodbury, I-Yarmouth, announced an initiative to change Maine’s voting system from its current, traditional standard to ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting. While this may sound good for Maine, the history behind implementing ranked choice voting and the possible violations of Maine election laws and the Maine Constitution are warning signs that ranked choice voting will only bring confusion and conflict to Maine’s elections. Ranked choice voting is a difficult system to explain, so here is a step-by-step summary of how ranked choice voting…