Author: Libby Palanza

A proposed amendment to the state’s constitution that would have enshrined a right to abortion and other forms of “reproductive health care” failed Friday to gain the support necessary to be placed before voters in November for final approval. In Maine, resolutions proposing amendments to the state constitution must be backed by at least two-thirds of the members present in each chamber in order to be placed on the ballot for final approval by voters at the next election. On Friday — the last day of this Legislative session — lawmakers in the Senate considered this resolution for a final…

Lawmakers in Augusta voted along partisan lines Friday to approve a resolution to study the extent to which housing voucher recipients in the state are allegedly discriminated against on account of the fact they receive taxpayer-funded income-based assistance. After being passed by legislators in March, the resolution was placed on the special “study table” pending final passage, as is done for all legislation designed to establish a study commission. This put the resolution before the Legislative Council, which is tasked with reviewing all study bills approved by lawmakers in order to prioritize staff and budgetary allocations. Under this resolution, the…

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R) has signed onto a bill that aims to ban the sale of water beads marketed toward children in the wake of 10-month-old Esther Jo Bethard’s death in North Prairie, Wisconsin. “The problems associated with water beads were brought to my attention by the mother of a baby girl from Berwick, Maine, who was hospitalized at 9 months old with a life-threatening obstruction after accidentally consuming a single water bead,” Sen. Collins said in a press release Friday. “This bipartisan bill will keep children safe by establishing common sense guidelines for labeling these potentially dangerous toys…

The City of South Portland is weighing its options for the future of the former Mahoney Middle School and other municipally-owned properties, including city hall, the library, and the former Hamlin School. Under the plan advanced by the South Portland Housing Authority, Mahoney would be converted into apartments, and the space currently occupied by a football field would be used to construct a new city hall and police station. The property on which the city hall is now located, as well as the former Hamlin School lot, would also be utilized for various types of housing, including apartments and condos,…

House lawmakers last week sustained Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) veto of a bill aiming to restructure Maine’s income tax brackets, creating a new top tax rate of 8.45 percent for the state’s highest earners. This bill — LD 1231, An Act to Bring Fairness in Income Taxes to Maine Families by Adjusting the Tax Brackets — was originally introduced in 2023 by Rep. Meldon H. Carmichael (R-Greenbush) as a concept draft with the stated intention of “chang[ing] the income brackets” while “retain[ing] the same tax rates.” The version of the bill advanced by Democrat members of the Taxation Committee —…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced Thursday that funding applications are now available for working waterfront properties that were damaged a consequence of the severe storms that swept through the state this past winter. Funding will be distributed through the Working Waterfront Resilience Grant Program, which is managed jointly by the Maine Department of Transportation (DOT), the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), and the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF). The $25 million allocation for this program came as part of the $60 million transfer out of the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF) for storm recovery efforts that…

The Maine Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday afternoon in a case concerning the constitutionality of Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) decision to call the Legislature back into session this past spring using powers reserved for “extraordinary occasions.” The dispute behind this case centers around the series of procedural moves made by Gov. Mills, Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook), and Speaker of the House Rachael Talbot Ross (D-Portland) that allowed for the adoption of a party-line budget. Under Maine’s constitution, bills are typically able to be passed by a simple majority and take effect 90 days after adjournment. Bills with an…

TikTok has sued the United States in an effort to halt enforcement of a recently-signed bill that is set to ban the app nationwide in a matter of months unless its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance divests completely from the platform. Filed with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Tuesday, the lawsuit argues that this law represents an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. “For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online…

The United States District Court for the District of Maine has dismissed a Maine mother’s lawsuit against the Great Salt Bay Community School (GSBCS) Board for withholding information about her child’s gender transition. District Court Judge Jon D. Levy released his decision this past Friday that the mother — Amber Lavigne — failed to state a claim because the facts provided in this case were insufficient to establish municipal liability. Since the judge’s reasoning was based solely on Lavigne’s inability to show that the municipality could legally be found responsible for the alleged violations, he did not address the underlying…

Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew will be stepping down from her position at the end of this month. According to an email sent by Commissioner Lambrew to DHHS employees Tuesday, she will be leaving the Department on May 31, 2024 to join The Century Foundation as the Director of Health Care Reform. The Century Foundation describes itself as a “progressive, independent think tank that conducts research, develops solutions, and drives policy change to make people’s lives better.” Lambrew also notes in her email that she has “been invited by the Harvard T.H. Chan School…

A recent study has found that electric vehicles (EVs) cost 63.6 percent more per 1,000 miles driven each year compared to gas-powered cars due to the combination of their higher prices and lower average usage. Conducted by car research website iSeeCars, this study revealed that EVs are driven 20 percent less than traditional, internal-combustion vehicles. Although hybrids and plug-in hybrids were also both found to be driven less than gas-powered cars, the difference in usage was much smaller, coming in at just 2.7 and 4.8 percent respectively. According to the calculations provided in the report, EVs cost an average of…

Seventeen Maine Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) have received a combined $11.6 million in federal funding through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Public Housing Capital Fund Formula Grant program. According to the federal government, this program “provides funds, annually, to [PHAs] for the development, financing, and modernization of public housing developments and for management improvements.” According to a Monday press release from Sen. Susan Collins (R) — Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee — the seventeen municipal housing authorities received an aggregate of $11,648,244 through this program. “The dedicated staff at housing authorities throughout Maine work…

Maine Senators Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I) questioned Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough on proposed budget and staffing cuts, as well as on potential avenues for state-run homes to receive assistance from the federal government. Sen. Collins focused her exchange with the Secretary on potential funding opportunities for financially-troubled state-run veterans’ homes and on the provision of transportation options for veterans living in rural areas seeking treatment at VA hospitals. Sen. King, on the other hand, centered his questions on the Department’s budget and staff reductions in the face of increased demand from veterans nationwide.…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) has formally requested that President Joe Biden (D) issue a major disaster declaration for Cumberland and York Counties in response to the Nor’easter that occurred in early April, resulting in widespread damage and power outages. According to a press release published by the governor’s office Thursday, the state’s costs associated with the storm are expected to exceed $3.5 million. If a major disaster declaration is granted, it will make available emergency grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including from the Public Assistance (PA) Program and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. FEMA’s PA Program is…

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week concerning whether or not federal law can be understood as requiring doctors to perform abortions in a wide range of emergency circumstances regardless of what may be permitted by state law. At the center of this case is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires the provision of stabilizing medical care to patients whose health is in “serious jeopardy” or when there is the risk of “serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of bodily organs,” regardless of insurance coverage or a patient’s ability to pay. Justices are…

This past Friday, Gov. Janet Mills (D) vetoed a bill that would have restructured Maine’s income tax brackets, creating a new top tax rate of 8.45 percent for the state’s highest earners. This bill — LD 1231, An Act to Bring Fairness in Income Taxes to Maine Families by Adjusting the Tax Brackets — was originally introduced in 2023 by Rep. Meldon H. Carmichael (R-Greenbush) as a concept draft with the stated intention of “chang[ing] the income brackets” while “retain[ing] the same tax rates.” The version of the bill advanced by Democrat members of the Taxation Committee — and ultimately…

The legal battle against generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies continues as a group of eight newspapers files a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT. On Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Orange County Register, St. Paul Pioneer-Press, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun Sentinel, New York Daily News — all of which are under the umbrella of MediaNews Group — filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. In this lawsuit, the outlets allege that Microsoft and OpenAI have illicitly used works copyrighted by the newspapers. Generative AI — employed by both Microsoft and OpenAI –…

Public comment is now being accepted by the Secretary of State’s Office on the proposed ballot question wording for a citizens initiative that is set to go before Maine voters this November. Validated by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows in February, the law proposed by the initiative aims to change campaign finance law in the state by limiting the value of donations made to qualifying political action committees (PACs). As it is currently drafted, the ballot question to be presented to Mainers in November reads: “Do you want to set a $5,000 limit for giving to groups that spend money…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced Friday that the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development has awarded $500,000 worth of grants in an effort to “attract remote workers” to the state and help “integrate” those who are already here. Funding for these grants comes from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan — Gov. Mills’ plan to invest nearly $1 billion in federal funding that was intended to help Maine recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This $500,000 allocation was spread across eleven projects, with individual grants ranging in value from $13,375 to $100,000. The first group of awards…

The Casco Bay Island Transit District (CBITD) has approved its first rate hike in more than a decade, increasing the cost of round-trip tickets for tourists and visitors while decreasing the price of the long-term passes used by those who frequently travel to and from the islands. These efforts will be coupled with spending cuts in hopes of reducing the Casco Bay Lines’ continued multi-million dollar operating losses by 25 percent, or about $1 million. Not only will the overall price of tickets for Casco Bay Lines change, but the structure of the fare schedule itself will now be different…

Several environmental groups have sued the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) for allegedly failing to do enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the state. Involved in the lawsuit are the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), Sierra Club, and Maine Youth Action (MYA). These organizations are pursuing legal action against the Maine DEP and BEP for not adopting California’s Advanced Clean Cars II Program, which would have mandated that 82 percent of new car sales in the state be comprised of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) by model year 2032. [RELATED: Maine BEP Rejects…

Maine will soon be transferring a total of $60 million out of the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF) in response to the damaging storms the state faced in December and January. This spending comes as part of the supplemental budget approved by lawmakers earlier this month and signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills (D) Monday. The $60 million transfer out of the BSF consists of two parts. $50 million will be sent to the Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (IAF), while an additional $10 million will be directed to the newly-established Business Recovery and Resilience Fund (BRRF) program. Both of these initiatives…

State lawmakers have rejected Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) proposal to impose sales tax on Mainers’ streaming service subscriptions for platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify. The Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA) Committee unanimously agreed last month to remove the proposed tax from the final version of the supplemental budget, and both the Democrat and Republican Committee reports are reflective of this decision. Consequently, this expansion of the state sales tax was not passed into law through either the supplemental budget or any other legislative vehicle this session. Although cable television premiums and digital media sales are currently subjected to…

UPDATE: President Joe Biden (D) signed HR 815 — the Legislature’s foreign aid package that includes the potential ban on TikTok — into law on Wednesday, April 24. Federal lawmakers finalized legislation Tuesday that could potentially lead to a nationwide ban on the social media platform TikTok by next year. Under the measure approved by a bipartisan vote of 79-18 in the Senate, TikTok would be banned from all US app stores unless ByteDance — the platform’s Chinese-owned parent company — sells the social media site within about nine months. The president would have the authority to issue a one-time…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 Tuesday in favor of banning non-compete agreements nationwide, calling them an “unfair method of competition.” In response, the United States Chamber of Commerce has announced its intention to sue the agency, calling the new rule “unlawful” and characterizing it as “a blatant power grab.” Non-compete agreements are contractual agreements used by employers to limit the professional activities of current employees in the event they leave a company. After this rule goes into effect, entering into non-compete agreements will be prohibited for all workers across the country, including senior executives. As of the rule’s…

Maine has received $62 million in federal funding to increase the accessibility of solar power for low-income households throughout the state. This grant comes as part of the $7 billion Solar for All competition funded by the Inflation Reduction Act’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is administered through the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the United States Department of Energy (DOE), the Inflation Reduction Act made “the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history, enabling America to tackle the climate crisis, advancing environmental justice, securing America’s position as a world leader in domestic…

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday morning in a case concerning the constitutionality of municipal bans on homeless encampments. While some Justices expressed concern over the possibility of punishing homeless people for sleeping in public when viable alternatives are unavailable, others took issue with the Court playing a hands-on role in shaping the policies implemented by municipalities to manage homelessness at the local level. The case of Grants Pass v. Johnson turns on the question of whether or not the Oregon city’s prohibition against sleeping with a blanket in public spaces is in violation of the Eighth…

The Maine State Housing Authority (MaineHousing) announced earlier this month that a pilot program aimed at helping older homeowners list their spare rooms for rent will likely become available this June. The program is designed to reduce elderly Mainers’ living expenses while simultaneously expanding the availability of affordable housing options throughout the state. In February, the Maine State Housing Authority signed a $200,000 contract with Nesterly, a platform that connects retirees and “empty nesters” with those in search of housing for more than thirty days. Nesterly was founded in 2017 by two students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).…

Homes in Maine are significantly more expensive than they were a year ago. At the same time, however, more people appear to be buying. The median sale price of homes in Maine has increased more than twelve percent compared to this time last year. During this same period, however, the state also saw a 3.5 percent increase in home sale volume. According to a recent report from the Maine Association of Realtors, the median selling price of a home in Maine grew from $337,500 in March of 2023 to $380,000 in March of 2024. At this point last year, there…

The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) announced Thursday that the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) now predicts that the state’s 207 area code will survive yet another year longer than previously expected. Newest data suggests that the state will be able to continue issuing 207 phone numbers until the last few months of 2033. This past October, the NANPA estimated that Maine would continue to be able to issue phone numbers with the 207 area code until September of 2032, roughly 3.5 years further into the future than the estimate they released in early 2023. [RELATED: Maine’s 207 Area…

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case concerning a man who was indicted for his involvement in the events that transpired at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. This is the first time that the Supreme Court Justices have directly considered the events that took place that day in their discussion of a case. Although January 6 has previously factored into arguments presented before the Court, they have largely remained in the background up until this point. That said, there was little to no discussion of the day’s events themselves during Tuesday morning’s arguments, with…

Beginning in August of this year, Maine lawmakers will again have oversight of agency rulemaking related to vehicle emissions standards, including the establishment of statewide “zero-emission requirements.” On Friday, Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed LD 2261 into law, officially guaranteeing that legislators will have the final say over the adoption of vehicle emissions rules by state agencies. Interest in ensuring this oversight gained momentum last year after the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) began considering the adoption of California’s Advanced Clean Cars II program following the submission of a petition by the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). The…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced Monday that she will be allowing the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact — an agreement that could bring about sweeping changes to how the President of the United States is elected — to become law without her signature. By joining this Compact, Maine’s four electoral votes could eventually be awarded to whichever presidential candidate garners the most votes nationwide, irrespective of who the majority of Mainers vote for at the ballot box. This Compact will only take effect, however, if the total number of electoral votes represented by the signatories is equal to or greater…

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) called out President Joe Biden’s (D) Fiscal Year 2025 budget for not doing “nearly enough to address the flood of illegal migrants and fentanyl entering the United States” at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing last week. Also at this hearing, Sen. Collins asked Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to address Customs and Board Protection (CBP) staffing shortages in Maine that are jeopardizing the arrival of international cruise ships in Eastport this fall. According to a press release published by Collins this past Thursday, CBP has told Eastport that it “cannot accommodate the four planned…

Lawmakers in Augusta voted nearly-unanimously this past Friday to advance a bill guaranteeing Mainers the right to repair their electronic devices. This was followed by a more partisan vote to adopt a floor amendment advanced by the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot). The only senator to vote against LD 1487 — as amended by the Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business (IDEA) Committee — was Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin). Sen. Mark Lawrence (D-York) was excused at the time and did not participate, resulting in this version of the bill being approved in a roll call vote of 33-1. All…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed into law a bill last week repealing limitations on municipal property tax collection that have been in place for nearly twenty years. Brought forward by Sen. Teresa Pierce (D-Cumberland), LD 2102 sought to roll back statutes that have been in place since 2005 and were designed to curb government spending and reduce Mainers’ tax burden. The now-repealed law — referred to as LD 1 — was originally implemented in January 2005 after “countless hours” of consideration by the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Property Tax Reform” and was ultimately passed “by wide margins in both…

Lawmakers in Augusta have approved legislation changing how medical debt is handled in the State of Maine. LD 2115 — sponsored by Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) — was introduced earlier this year and subsequently referred to the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services (HCIFS) Committee. Under the amended version of this bill now approved by both chambers of the Legislature, debt collectors are prohibited from charging any interest or fees in connection with medical debt. It also bars debt collectors from pursuing litigation to compel the payment of medical debt if the consumer’s household income is less than 300 percent…

The Legislature voted Wednesday to sustain Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) veto of a bill preventing repeat offenders from being charged with felony theft if the stolen property’s total valuation is lower than $500. Currently, Maine law contains what is colloquially known as a “three strikes” provision for theft, allowing for the imposition of harsher penalties upon those who have two or more prior convictions for related crimes. This bill sought to modify this by allowing for it’s application only to those whose subsequent offenses involve the theft of more than $500 worth of property. “Limiting the ability of prosecutors to…

The Maine House of Representatives voted late Wednesday evening to advance a bill that would institute legal protections for those seeking or providing “gender-affirming health care” and “reproductive health care services” in Maine. On Thursday, the State Senate passed the measure along party lines, 21-13, sending the controversial measure to Gov. Janet Mills’ desk. The 80-70 House roll call vote was divided along nearly-partisan lines, with all Republicans opposing the bill alongside Democrats Rep. Michel A. Lajoie (D-Lewiston) and Rep. Bruce A. White (D-Waterville). No lawmakers were absent or excused at the time this vote was taken. Leading up to…

Lawmakers in Augusta have scrapped a bill that would have legalized the possession of illicit drugs, including opioids, swapping it out in favor of a plan to study whether decriminalizing hard drugs is a good idea. The amended legislation establishes a task force responsible for reviewing decriminalization efforts elsewhere in the country and investigating their impact on a range of public health and safety metrics, including the incidence of overdose. After receiving unanimous committee approval, both chambers of the Legislature voted to advance the amended bill without taking a roll call vote. Once lawmakers cast their final votes on the…

A proposed amendment enshrining abortion in Maine’s state constitution failed Wednesday to gain enough support for final passage in the House of Representatives. In Maine, resolutions proposing amendments to the state constitution must be backed by at least two-thirds of the members present in each chamber in order to be placed on the ballot for final approval by voters at the next election. During Wednesday’s vote in the House, no Republican lawmakers voted in support of advancing the amendment, leading to a roll call vote of 75-65. Consequently, support came up far short of the super majority necessary to advance…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed into law this past Wednesday a bill that implements new regulations on the fees that landlords can impose upon their current and potential tenants. LD 1490 puts in place a number of provisions pertaining to the types of fees landlords may charge current and future tenants, as well as those that may be imposed by the owners of mobile home parks. It also adds into statute a mandatory 45-day notification requirement for any increase in recurring fees, mirroring that which is currently in place for rent increases. This law also requires landlords to provide potential…

Lawmakers in Augusta have approved a bill providing property tax relief to a broader group of Maine veterans and their families, while also extending a greater measure of relief to veterans with qualifying disabilities. The version of the bill supported by legislators in the House and Senate looks markedly different, however, from the original draft introduced last year by Rep. Benjamin C. Hymes (R-Waldo). At first, this bill — LD 1737 — was designed to allow qualifying veterans to reduce their state property tax bill by up to $5,000, replacing the current exemption, which instead allows them to take $5,000…

Former Republican President Donald Trump announced his stance Monday on abortion and fertility treatments in advance of the 2024 presidential election, prompting his Democratic rival, President Joe Biden, to release a statement in response criticizing his remarks. The back-and-forth comes amidst an ongoing discussion nationwide over abortion and fertility treatments, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, wherein Roe v. Wade was overturned, sending the issue of abortion back to the states. In a five-minute video posted to the social media platform Truth Social Monday morning, former…

On Tuesday, the Maine Legislature sustained Gov. Janet Mills’ veto of a bill that would have placed restrictions on the enforceability of non-compete clauses. LD 1496 — sponsored by Rep. Sophia B. Warren (D-Scarborough) — was introduced in 2023 and carried over into the current legislative session for consideration. Non-compete clauses are contractural agreements used by employers to limit the professional activities of current employees in the event they leave a company. Warren’s bill aimed to prohibit the enforcement of non-compete clauses except under a few narrowly-defined circumstances. Under the version of the bill adopted by the Legislature, such agreements…

No Labels announced Thursday that it will not be advancing a ticket in the 2024 presidential election. This comes just weeks after the group decided to proceed forward with the candidate selection process after receiving feedback from members a “Unity Ticket” was desired. According to the organization, they have opted to not offer a presidential slate this November because no candidates emerged during their selection process that they felt had a realistic chance of success in the general election. [RELATED: No Labels Moving Forward with Plans to Run a “Unity Ticket” This November] “Americans remain more open to an independent…

Earlier this week, lawmakers defeated a bill that would have allowed municipalities to impose a one percent sales tax on the cost of short-term rentals for the purpose of raising money for locally-driven affordable housing efforts. Introduced last year by Rep. Charles A. Skold (D-Portland), LD 1298 sought to give cities and towns the ability to impose a one percent sales tax on short-term rentals in order to create a revenue source for municipal-level programs supporting affordable housing, as well as for providing rental assistance to residents. While this would not have required municipalities to implement such a tax, it…

In the coming months, the state government will be studying ways to increase the use of renewable energy in and improve the energy efficiency of Maine’s public schools. Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed a resolution in late March directing the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) to conduct a study evaluating “opportunities for clean energy and energy efficiency programs in schools.” By January 31, 2025, the MDOE’s Office of Innovation must “study and develop guidance” for public elementary and secondary schools to achieve “energy efficiency” and “maximiz[e] the use of clean energy.” This work is to be conducted in coordination with…

A bill separating the Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) was passed Wednesday in the Senate with strong bipartisan support. Instead, this bill establishes a cabinet-level department that would take on the responsibilities currently managed by the DHHS OCFS, including child welfare, children’s behavioral health, and early childhood services. According to the appropriations and allocations section attached to the amended version of the bill currently under consideration, roughly $4.2 million from the state’s General Fund will be needed to cover the costs associated with the new department. On Wednesday,…

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved more than $7 million in taxpayer funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency investments at farms and businesses throughout rural Maine. This funding comes as part of a $124 million nationwide dispersal from the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) program, which was spread across a total of 541 projects in 44 states. Funding for the REAP program came, in part, from the Inflation Reduction Act which — according to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) — made “the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history,…

Lawmakers in Augusta have voted to repeal limitations on municipal property tax collection that have been in place for nearly twenty years. Brought forward by Sen. Teresa Pierce (D-Cumberland), LD 2102 seeks to roll back statutes that have been in place since 2005 and were designed to curb government spending and reduce Mainers’ tax burden. [RELATED: Republican Lawmakers Express Staunch Opposition to Repeal of 2005 Limit on Municipal Property Tax Increases] The law now repealed by lawmakers — referred to as LD 1 — was originally implemented in January 2005 after “countless hours” of consideration by the Legislature’s Joint Select…

Mainers are some of the most heavily taxed citizens in the United States. According to a recent study conducted by personal finance website WalletHub, Mainers currently bear the nation’s highest property tax burden and are responsible for the country’s fourth highest total tax burden. Only residents of New York, Hawaii, and Vermont were calculated as paying a higher percentage of their personal income in taxes. Included in WalletHub’s report are an evaluation of property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes. To determine the tax burden each state imposes on its residents, taxes owed in each category were…

The Democratic effort to amend Maine’s Constitution to protect the abortion industry is on life-support after failing to get a supermajority of support in the State Senate Monday. The legislation proposing the amendment that would enshrine a “right to abortion” advanced along partisan lines, but the measure failed to get the two-thirds support it will ultimately need to appear before voters on the ballot this November for final approval. LD 780 — sponsored by Sen. Eloise Vitelli (D-Sagadahoc) — was introduced during the 131st Legislature’s first session and carried over to this year for consideration. If approved, this amendment would…

On Monday, state lawmakers in the House of Representatives advanced Gov. Janet Mills’ proposal to transfer millions out of the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF) — colloquially known as the Rainy Day Fund — in response to recent storm damage throughout the state. In accepting the Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA) Committee’s Democrat-backed majority report, representatives opted to not only approve Gov. Mills’ proposal to reallocate $50 million from the BSF to the Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (IAF), but also to transfer an additional $10 million from the BSF to the newly-created Business Recovery and Resilience Fund (BRRF). Created in 2021, the…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced Friday her plans to allocate millions in taxpayers’ dollars to a series of one-time initiatives in Fiscal Years (FY) 2024 and 2025. This new funding comes in addition to the governor’s proposed supplemental budget that is currently being debated by lawmakers. In a press release distributed before the Easter weekend, Gov. Mills’ highlighted a number of projects that she hopes to see receive funding in the forthcoming budget, including additional support for affordable housing construction in rural Maine, grants to child care providers, low or no-interest loans to groups of mobile home park residents seeking…

The Maine Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s longstanding ban on Sunday hunting is constitutional despite the recently-enacted Right to Food Amendment. Despite finding that hunting for food is covered by the terms of the new amendment, the Court determined that it also prohibits procuring food by illicit means, including “poaching.” Based on the Court’s understanding of the term “poaching,” it determined that Mainers have a right to hunt except for “situations in which hunting is illegal,” including on Sundays. In 2021, lawmakers in Augusta asked Mainers to weigh in a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution establishing a…

All members of the Maine State Legislature’s Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business (IDEA) Committee have supported the passage of a bill to institute a “right to repair” for electronic devices, but lawmakers remain divided over the specific construction of the law. LD 1487 — An Act to Ensure That Residents of the State Have the Right to Repair Their Own Electronic Devices — was sponsored by Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) last year and carried over to this legislative session. This bill was originally co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including: Rep. Kristi Michele Mathieson (D-Kittery), Sen. Eric Brakey…

Lawmakers have unanimously voted to advance a bill allocating additional state funding for homeless shelters, explicitly reserving a portion of this funding for low-barrier shelters, and convening a stakeholder group to develop a 10-year plan to address the “root causes of homelessness” in Maine. LD 2136 was sponsored by Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio (D-Sanford) and introduced to the Legislature earlier this year. This bill allocated a total of $12.5 million worth of ongoing funding to homeless shelters located throughout the state, with $2.5 million of that being reserved specifically for low-barrier shelters. The Maine State Housing Authority is also directed in…

Lawmakers in Augusta have advanced a bill that aims to prevent repeat offenders from being charged with felony theft if the stolen property is valued lower than $500. Currently, Maine law contains what is colloquially known as a “three strikes” provision for theft, imposing harsher penalties upon those who have two or more prior convictions for related crimes. This bill aims to modify that requirement by applying it only to those whose subsequent offenses involve the theft of more than $500 worth of property. LD 2246 — An Act to Establish a Minimum Value Threshold for the Class C Crime…

The Maine State Housing Authority will be financing the construction of 105 new affordable rental units in several towns throughout rural Maine. These one- and two-bedroom units will be constructed in Hallowell, Newcastle, Rockport, Rumford, Sanford, and Waterville. According to a press release published by Gov. Janet Mills (D) Tuesday, funding for this project comes from the state’s biennial budget, as well as from the recently approved bond cap expansion. LD 2209 — approved unanimously by lawmakers earlier this month — allows the Maine State Housing Authority to have an “aggregate principal amount outstanding” in “mortgage purchase bonds” of $3…

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday morning in a case concerning the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recently loosened restrictions on the administration of mifepristone, a drug used in medication-induced abortions. This was the first time that the Court has heard an abortion-related case since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. Much of the discussion Tuesday focused not on the merits of the case, but rather on the issues of standing and the scope of relief being sought by the challengers. According to the FDA’s website, mifepristone “blocks a hormone called progesterone that is needed for a pregnancy to…

Maine lawmakers have approved along party lines a bill to implement new regulations on the fees that landlords can impose upon their current and potential tenants. Approved by Democrat lawmakers earlier this month, this bill puts in place a number of provisions pertaining to the types of fees landlords may charge current and future tenants, as well as those that may be imposed by the owners of mobile home parks. It also adds into statute a mandatory 45-day notification requirement for any increase in recurring fees, mirroring that which is currently in place for rent increases. This law would also…

A proposal requiring legislative oversight for agency rulemaking related to vehicle emissions standards — including the establishment of “zero-emission requirements” — has gained broad, bipartisan support in Augusta. The Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee had a public hearing and work session last week for LD 2261 — An Act Designating New Motor Vehicle Emissions Rules as Major Substantive Rules. This bill was sponsored by Rep. Michael Soboleski (R-Phillips) and was cosponsored by a number of lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle, including prominent Democrats Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) and Speaker of the House Rachel Talbot Ross…

Maine lawmakers have approved a resolution establishing a Commission to study the extent to which housing voucher recipients in the state are discriminated against on account of the fact they receive income-based assistance. The Commission must complete a report by November 6, 2024 detailing their findings and recommendations to the Legislature, including any suggested legislation. Although this measure initially began as a sweeping proposal to change the Maine Human Rights Act and create a new rental assistance program, it was later amended to be a resolution creating a study commission. Despite the fact that the Housing Committee’s recommendation to the…

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wednesday that it has adopted the “strongest-ever pollution standards for cars” which are expected to require as much as 56 percent of new car sales to be comprised of electric vehicles (EVs) by 2032. In order to meet the EPA’s new standards, an additional 13 percent of new vehicle sales would likely need to be accounted for with plug-in hybrid cars. This decision from the federal government comes as the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) voted 4-2 to reject the controversial, California-style EV mandate proposed by the Natural Resources Council of Maine…

The Maine Legislature’s Housing Committee has recommended that lawmakers reject a bill requiring the government to convene a stakeholder group tasked with developing an amendment to the state constitution establishing a right to housing. Originally, this legislation was intended to directly propose a right to housing amendment, sending it to voters for approval this November. As LD 853 was first written, this amendment would have added a clause to the state constitution reading: “All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to housing.” In November, voters would have been asked the following question: “Do you favor amending the Constitution…

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), alongside 16 states — including Maine — have filed a civil anti-trust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech company of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market by implementing restrictions that stifle innovation and make it unfeasible for many users to move outside of the Apple ecosystem. Also joining the lawsuit are the states of New Hampshire, New Jersey, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Click Here to Read the DOJ’s Full Press Release According to the lawsuit, Apple’s efforts to “protect and…

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) has officially rejected the controversial electric vehicle (EV) mandate that has been under consideration for the past several months with a 4-2 vote on Wednesday. Last year, a citizen petition initiated by the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) was submitted to Maine BEP asking for “the requirements of the California Advanced Clean Cars II” to be incorporated into Maine’s existing regulatory code. Although only 150 people Maine residents signed the petition, it set in motion a bureaucratic process that could have allowed the Mills Administration to impose sweeping controls on what kinds…

New Hampshire has charged someone with murder in the death of an unborn child for the first time in the state’s history. In 2017, the New Hampshire State Legislature passed a bill defining an unborn child more than 20 weeks old as a person for the purposes of criminal murder prosecution. This measure was later signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and took effect in 2018. William Kelly, age 38, has been charged with two counts second-degree murder — one for allegedly killing Christine Falzone, age 33, and one for allegedly killing her unborn child. According to NBC…

Lawmakers in Augusta are considering a bill that has the potential to change how medical debt is handled in the State of Maine. LD 2115 — sponsored by Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) — was introduced earlier this year and subsequently referred to the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services (HCIFS) Committee. Under the version of this bill currently being considered by lawmakers, medical debt would not be factored into Mainers’ credit scores, nor would it be subjected to interest or fees from debt collectors. The proposed law would also prohibit debt collectors from pursuing legal action against those responsible for…

Lawmakers in the Maine House of Representatives have postponed consideration of a proposal to sign onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement that could bring about sweeping changes to how the President of the United States is elected. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, if approved, would award the state’s four electoral votes to whichever candidate garners the most popular votes nationwide, irrespective of who the majority of Mainers voted for at the ballot box. LD 1578 — An Act to Adopt an Interstate Compact to Elect the President of the United States by National Popular Vote —…

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday morning in the case against a number of federal officials alleging that they violated Americans’ First Amendment rights by pressuring social media companies to censor certain speech. While those arguing on behalf of the federal government defended their ability to communicate and coordinate with social media platforms concerning their content moderation policies, the states’ representative asserted that this is an impermissible violation of users’ First Amendment rights. Although both lower court decisions largely sided with the states, the Justices appeared somewhat skeptical during Monday’s oral arguments of fully affirming these rulings,…

The State of Maine may soon begin taxing subscriptions to streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify. The proposed supplemental budget released by Gov. Janet Mills (D) in February contains language that would impose a 5.5% tax on the cost of Mainers’ streaming service subscriptions. On page twenty-five of the eighty-page legislation, it states that a 5.5% sales tax is to be applied to “all tangible personal property and taxable services.” An updated and expanded definition of “taxable services” that now includes “digital audio-visual and digital audio services” can be found on page twenty-one of the bill. The definition…

Michael Friedland of the Lumbery — a small business located in the Cape Elizabeth town center on Route 77 that sells locally sourced wood, garden beds, and tools — has asked the Town Council to provide reimbursement for legal fees and other expenses incurred during his protracted legal battle with the Town. In November of 2023, the Cape Elizabeth Town Council voted unanimously to dismiss without prejudice the lawsuit filed against Friedland and the Lumbery in October of 2022 for allegedly failing to comply with the town’s zoning and sign ordinances. [RELATED: Case Dismissed — Cape Town Council Finally Drops…

All four members of Maine’s Congressional delegation have reached out to the federal government for an update regarding a proposed rule allowing the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) to reimburse Maine Veterans’ Homes (MVH) for care provided to veterans with dementia. Sen. Susan Collins (R), Sen. Angus King (I), Rep. Jared Golden (D), and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) have written to VA Secretary Denis McDonough asking for an update on the Department’s progress toward finalizing this rule, according to a Thursday press release. In 2020, Congress passed a law authorizing the Department to reimburse state veterans’ homes for the costs…

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of a bill that would ban TikTok from all devices in the United States unless the app’s Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance divests from the platform. A substantial number of both Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of the measure Wednesday, leading to the bill passing by a margin of 352 to 65. A majority of Democratic representatives, 155 — including Rep. Jared Golden (D) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) of Maine — and 197 Republicans voted in support of banning the app unless it is removed from Chinese ownership. TikTok has…

A second effort to impeach Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) for her December decision attempting to remove former Republican President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot has been defeated. Consideration of the impeachment inquiry in the House took place just two days after the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states do not have the authority to bar presidential candidates from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The Court determined that the Civil War era provision aimed at keeping former confederates from rising to power can only be enforced against federal candidates if…

The Legislature is considering a bill that would give state lawmakers the final say on the Maine Board of Environmental Protection’s (BEP) controversial electric vehicle (EV) mandate, as well as on similar rules going forward. Introduced by Rep. Michael Soboleski (R-Phillips), LD 2261 would designate all BEP rulemaking related to vehicle emissions standards as major substantive, thereby subjecting it to legislative review. Under the Maine Administrative Procedures Act, agency rulemaking falls into one of two categories: routine technical or major substantive. While routine technical rulemaking occurs entirely within a department, major substantive rules are subject to the legislative review process,…

Lawmakers in Augusta are considering the repeal of a 2005 law placing limits on the degree to which municipalities can increase the amount of property taxes they raise in a given year. Brought forward by Sen. Teresa Pierce (D-Cumberland), LD 2102 seeks to roll back laws that have been in place for nearly twenty years and were designed to curb government spending and reduce Mainers’ tax burden. Last November, Democrat members of the Legislative Council unanimously approved the bill’s introduction, while the Republicans were united in their opposition. [RELATED: Maine Democrats Attempting to Repeal Limit on Municipal Spending in Place…

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced Friday that it received more than $2 million in federal funding to address the “community mental health needs” that have arisen from the tragic mass shooting that took place in Lewiston last year. The $2,048,452 in funding has to the Maine DHHS through the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Emergency Response Grant program (SERG). According to the federal Health and Human Service’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, the SERG program is “enables public entities to address mental health and substance abuse needs when existing resources…

Maine lawmakers have approved a bill prohibiting many entities — including schools, grocery stores, and small businesses — from sending their food waste to landfills. Instead, this legislation requires that “designated food waste generators” send their inedible food waste to organics recyclers for processing and donate their excess edible food to “food rescue organizations.” The fiscal note attached to the legislation indicates that these new provisions will require the state to establish five new government positions, costing taxpayers more than $550,000 in fiscal year 2024-25. LD 1009 — An Act Regarding the Reduction and Recycling of Food Waste — was…

No Labels has officially announced that it will be moving forward with candidate selection for its presidential ticket ahead, according to a press release shared by the organization Friday. The group has gained recognition in recent months for pledging to offer its ballot line to a “Unity Ticket” this November should the two major parties “select candidates the vast majority of Americans don’t want to vote for.” “Earlier today, I led a discussion with the 800 No Labels delegates from all 50 states,” said No Labels National Convention Chair Mike Rawlings. “These citizen leaders have spent months discussing with one…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) has signed into law a bill allocating more than $15 million to reimburse municipalities for the cost associated with the short-lived Property Tax Stabilization for Senior Citizens program. After the appropriation was unanimously approved in committee, both chambers of the legislature voted without a roll call in favor of moving the measure forward. The Senate voted in favor of finalizing the bill’s passage without a roll call, and the House unanimously voted in a roll call to send the legislation on to the governor for a signature. Gov. Mills signed the bill into law on Wednesday,…

Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed into law this past Thursday a bill that requires internet providers to prorate for customers who cancel their services midway through their billing cycle, as well as issue rebates to customers who experience prolonged outages. Maine had previously enacted a law requiring cable companies to prorate their customers’ final bills, which was set to go into effect in September of 2020. The implementation of the law was delayed, however, when Spectrum took the measure to court claiming that it was preempted by federal law. After an initial lower court victory for Spectrum, the First Circuit…

Lawmakers in Augusta have shut down a bill that would have created a new tax deduction allowing Mainers to subtract what their yearly electricity costs — up to $2,500 — off of their taxable income. The bill’s defeat fell nearly along partisan lines in both the House (77-64) and Senate (20-14), with a small handful of Democrats voting alongside Republicans in support of the measure, including Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot), Rep. David A. Sinclair (D-Bath), and Rep. Scott Landry (D-Farmington). First introduced by Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin) last session, LD 1873 was originally designed to establish a Home Energy Savings…

House lawmakers in Augusta voted to approve joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement that could bring about sweeping changes to how the President of the United States is elected. With a roll call vote of 74-67, representatives in the State House voted in favor of LD 1578 — An Act to Adopt an Interstate Compact to Elect the President of the United States by National Popular Vote — a bill sponsored last session by Rep. Arthur L. Bell (D-Yarmouth). [RELATED: Maine Lawmakers Divided Over Potentially Joining the “National Popular Vote” Interstate Compact] All House Republicans voted against…

Voters in the Town of Cumberland resoundingly defeated the controversial proposal to construct a 107-unit affordable housing development on the municipally-owned land located on Drowne Road. 2,545 Cumberland voters — representing 68.6 percent of those who cast ballots Tuesday — rejected the proposed development, while just 31.4 percent — or 1,163 voters — expressed support for the project moving forward. Of the 107 units that were slated for construction, there would have been 71 one-bedroom apartments, 21 two-bedrooms, and 15 three-bedrooms. Thirty-six of the one-bedroom units were to be reserved for senior citizens. The most recent design for the development…

Lawmakers in Augusta held a public hearing Tuesday for a bill that would institute legal protections for those seeking or providing “gender-affirming health care” and “reproductive health care services” in Maine. Originally introduced last session as a concept draft titled “An Act Regarding Health Care in the State,” the bill’s sponsor — Rep. Anne C. Perry (D-Calais) — introduced just last week a lengthy amendment setting forth the actual proposed language for the legislation. Although this amendment was not released until last week, the bill’s public hearing stretched late into the night on Tuesday. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1765088122960806146?s=20 Although the bill refers to…

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has withdrawn her decision disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot in light of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in the ballot eligibility case out of Colorado released Monday morning. The United States Supreme Court unanimously decided in the case of Trump v. Anderson that former President Trump must be allowed to appear on the Colorado ballot, as states do not have the authority to disqualify candidates for federal office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. While there was some degree of disagreement among the Justices as to the…

The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that former President Donald Trump must be allowed to appear on the ballot in Colorado, as states do not have the authority to disqualify candidates for federal office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Enacted in the wake of the Civil War in an effort to prevent former Confederates from gaining power, this provision reads: No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an…

$5.4 million worth of grants from the state government have been awarded to municipalities throughout Maine to “protect vulnerable infrastructure and improve resiliency to the effects of climate change.” According to a press release published by Gov. Janet Mills (D) Thursday, the funding was spread across 39 projects in 37 towns and cities and will be administered by the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT). Of the total grants awarded, $4 million worth are being directed toward 20 culvert projects in 18 municipalities, while the remaining $1.4 million is being spread across 19 other endeavors that “protect vulnerable public infrastructure from…

A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a newly-enacted state law prohibiting foreign governments — and companies owned in part by foreign governments — from campaigning either for or against both candidates and ballot questions in Maine. After voters overwhelmingly approved the citizens initiative proposing this law at the ballot box last November, four lawsuits were filed almost immediately in opposition to it. In addition to barring foreign involvement, the legislation also requires the media to do their “due diligence” to determine whether or not the entity behind an advertisement is owned by a foreign government when making decisions…

A bill concerning the purchase and sale of single-use plastic water bottles by state and municipal governments — as well as the mandated installation of free-to-use water refill stations in certain facilities — was rejected by the Environmental and Natural Resources Committee at the request of its sponsor. LD 1418 — An Act Concerning Single-use Disposable Water Bottles and Water Refill Stations — was introduced last session by Rep. Lori K. Gramlich (D-Old Orchard Beach) and carried over into this year for consideration. Rep. Gramlich, however, asked the Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday to vote against the bill…

In response to the controversial electric vehicle (EV) mandate currently under consideration by the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP), several lawmakers in the State Senate attempted Thursday to block confirmation of the Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee’s appointments to the Board. In its current form, the mandate would require that 51 percent of new car sales in Maine be comprised of EVs by model year 2028 and 82 percent by model year 2032. Last year, a citizen petition initiated by the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) was submitted to Maine BEP asking for “the requirements of the…

A bill aiming to limit donations to political action committees (PACs) was introduced in the State Legislature Wednesday following the validation of a citizens petition last week. LD 2232 — An Act to Limit Contributions to Political Action Committees That Make Independent Expenditures — was formally brought before lawmakers Wednesday after Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows validated the citizens petition signatures this past Thursday. Unless the Legislature moves to adopt the bill exactly as it is written, the initiative will be placed on the ballot as a statewide referendum question this November. [RELATED: Citizens Initiative Aiming to Limit PAC…

Among likely Republican primary voters in Maine, support for former President Donald Trump (R) is strong, and concerns over the border have heavily influenced the candidate many have chosen to back at the ballot box, according to a recent University of New Hampshire (UNH) Survey Center poll. Among those likely to vote in the state’s Democrat primary, 75 percent indicated an intention to support incumbent President Joe Biden (D), while more than 20 percent were either planning support another candidate or are unsure of their voting plans. Maine’s presidential primary is going to be one of seventeen jurisdictions participating in…

Lawmakers in Augusta have approved the allocation of more than $15 million to reimburse municipalities for the cost associated with the short-lived Property Tax Stabilization for Senior Citizens program. After the appropriation was unanimously approved in committee, both chambers of the legislature voted without a roll call in favor of adopting the measure. LD 646 — sponsored by Rep. Melanie F. Sachs (D-Freeport) — was originally a “placeholder” concept draft carried over from the first legislative session. Earlier this month, the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee unanimously accepted an amendment adding substance to the bill and re-titling it to “An…

Maine politicians announced Tuesday that the state has been awarded $10 million in taxpayer funding to subsidize the installation of heat pumps in mobile and manufactured homes throughout the state. Gov. Janet Mills (D) was joined at a press conference Tuesday by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D), Director of the Governor’s Energy Office Dan Burgess, and Efficiency Maine Executive Director Michael Stoddard. Also in attendance at the press conference was homeowner Marianna Casagranda who participated in a heat pump pilot program last year. This grant comes as part of a $336 million initiative from the United States Department of Energy (DOE)…

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday morning in a pair of cases concerning the constitutionality of laws in Florida and Texas prohibiting social media platforms from censoring users’ content. Throughout the nearly four hours worth of proceedings, the Justices appeared skeptical of the states’ authority to regulate social media platforms’ content moderation policies. Questions related to the laws’ scope, applicability, and intersection with existing law suggested the Justices may be considering a more nuanced interpretation of these provisions. The possibility of sending the case back down to a lower court for further fact finding was also raised…

The Maine Senate has officially defeated a resolution calling for a national convention under Article V to consider proposing amendments to impose term limits on members of Congress and address issues related to campaign finance. SP 705 — Joint Resolution Making Separate Applications to the Congress of the United States Calling Constitutional Conventions to Consider Representational Integrity and Propose Amendments Establishing Term Limits for Congress and Addressing Campaign Finance Reform — was initially introduced during the state’s first legislative session and then carried over into this year. After the Veterans and Legal Affairs (VLA) Committee split over the resolution in…