Inside Augusta
-
-
LD 1492: More Is Said Than Done
Last week, Governor Paul LePage delivered a letter to the 127th Legislature vetoing...
-
Both Sides Like This Solution to High Health Care Costs
It is quite rare that ideas are proposed that transcend partisanship. Even rarer...
-
Superior Court Remands Determination on Marijuana Legalization Petition
AUGUSTA – In a decision handed down today, Justice Michaela Murphy of the...
-
Senate Narrowly Votes to Advance National Monument Bill
Yesterday, the Senate voted in favor of the minority report of LD 1600...
-
Another Common Core Bait and Switch
Every state in the country that has claimed to have “repealed” the Common...
-
Welfare Programs Harm Recipients
America’s $700 billion per year welfare system is actually doing more harm than...
-
-
Cutting Cronyism and Taxes are a Maine Source of Opportunity
Sad news struck Maine’s once-thriving paper industry recently. Only months after Verso Corp....
-
Important Pro-Employer Bill Killed by Labor Unions
Another pro-employer bill has died at the hands of the divided 127th Legislature....
-
Bill to Protect Gun Owners in Subsidized Housing Heads to Governor’s Desk
AUGUSTA –The legislation proposed by Senator Andre Cushing (R-Penobscot) to protect the rights...
-
Maine National Guard Tuition Waiver Passes House
LD 1343 among five bills aimed at helping Maine veterans passed as part...
-
Maine doesn’t need Michael Bloomberg’s gun control agenda
Last week, the Senate joined the House of Representatives in voting to indefinitely...
-
Maine Becomes 25th State to Pass Right-to-Try
Yesterday, Governor Paul LePage (R) signed LD 180, “An Act To Allow Terminally...
-
Bill to Protect Gun Owners in Subsidized Housing Wins Bipartisan Support in House
Augusta – On a vote of 92-54, the legislation proposed by Senator Andre...
-
Common Sense & the Minimum Wage
As I’m sure you already know, certain politicians in the state of Maine,...
-
Let’s Tear Down the Wall Between Breweries and Brewpubs
Perhaps as early as Wednesday, the Maine House of Representatives has a chance to...
-
Bill to Offer Energy Relief to Businesses Clears Final Legislative Hurdle
Augusta – A bill which would provide businesses in Maine with energy cost...
-
Should Maine Teachers Be Armed?
Should we allow our teachers to be trained and armed like some schools...
-
Ranked Choice Voting: Wrong for Maine & Blatantly Unconstitutional
Until recently, I assumed that all measures placed on the ballot were lawful....
-
Patients, Customers and Taxpayers Should Be Worried
Community Health Options (CHO) has decided to increase prices for patients and customers...
-
Lawmakers Come Together to Pass Right-to-Try Legislation in Augusta
Amidst all of the disagreement over controversial issues such as welfare reform and...
-
HHS Committee Divided on Welfare Reforms
Augusta – Following a committee vote today on the welfare proposals brought forward...
-
Diane Russell’s Unethical PAC Spending
In the past, I’ve written about the Maine version of the Hillary Victory...
-
Medicaid Expansion Bill Before HHS Committee Today
Following the scheduled public hearings and work sessions today, the Health and Human...
-
More than $89 Million Saved Through Welfare Reforms
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced yesterday its...
-
Senate Advances Bill to Offer Energy Relief to Businesses
Augusta – A bill which would provide businesses in Maine with energy cost...
-
Meaningful Welfare Reform Is More Than a Campaign Slogan
Due to pressure from some socialist legislators and progressive lobbyists, Senator Nathan Libby...
-
$500 Million Price Tag on Latest Medicaid Expansion Bill
AUGUSTA — Today the Department of Health and Human Services released the fiscal...
-
Who Are These People, Anyways?
Two organizations with interesting names are making a play on your Second Amendment...
-
Why Make a Monument out of Land with No Buttes?
I’m not generally excited about parks. I like nature, there is no mistaking...
-
-
How Economic Ignorance Kills Jobs
For the life of me I can’t understand why anyone would have the mentality...
-
House Democrats Threatening to Take Over State Government
Regardless of your party affiliation, what happened in the Maine House of Representatives...
-
No More Spending
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Contact: Adrienne Bennett, Press Secretary, 207-287-2531...
-
Don’t Let Bloomberg Buy Your Rights!
Members of the House of Representatives may have Bloomberg’s gun control ballot initiative...
-
Solutions That Work for Maine
For several years in a row, Maine’s business climate has ranked among the...
-
Unnecessary Regulations Strangle Maine’s Economy
Maine’s harsh regulatory climate continues to hinder our state’s economic growth, especially for...
-
Tax Committee Votes to Kill the Death Tax
For Immediate Release: Friday, March 11, 2016 Contact: Adrienne Bennett, Press Secretary, 207-287-2531...
-
TANF Work Participation Rate a Staggering 19%
Amidst the chaos under the dome yesterday surrounding the Democrat’s new “welfare reform...
-
The Democrats Are Pretending to Care About Welfare Reform
It’s an election year, so Democrats in the State Legislature are again feigning...
-
Democrats Release Hostages in Augusta
I have good news from the Coliseum on the Kennebec! The State House...
-
HHS Committee to Address Lax Welfare Policies Tomorrow
For a number of years, Maine law has been more lenient than federal...
-
Maine Businesses and Taxpayers Deserve More
It appears that State legislative leaders and Governor Paul LePage may finally reach...
-
Don’t Increase the Minimum Wage
Proponents of a higher minimum wage, led by the Maine People’s Alliance, have...
-
Blue, Orange, and Green: The Case for Sunday Hunting in Maine
Vincent Van Gogh once said, “There is no blue without yellow and without...
-
Why Are You so Obsessed with Me?
As all of Maine and most of the country is already aware, Donald...
-
This Version of Expanded Medicaid is Not Better
If you didn’t know better, you would think that certain legislators in Augusta...
-
It Should Be Safe to Die in Maine
“Confiscatory and ill-spent taxes, including its estate tax, have forced a flight of...
-
Occupational Licensing Needs Reform
Among the many deeply flawed and harmful regulations and rules passed by Maine...
-
State House Hostage Crisis Escalates
If there were ever any doubt that Democrats in the Maine House of...
-
A Bill That’s Still Bad for Maine
The push for Medicaid expansion in Maine perfectly fits the common saying “if...
-
Republicans Vote for Bill to Encourage Consumer Savings in Healthcare Marketplace
Augusta – Yesterday, Republicans on the Legislature’s Insurance and Financial Services Committee endorsed...
-
-
Good Policy Must Overcome Political Games
Legislative Democrats have decided to brazenly support policy that hurts our state’s businesses...
-
LePage Rightly Moves to Increase Maine’s Rainy Day Fund
Today, Governor Paul LePage announced he will introduce common-sense legislation that will help...
-
Marxist Peoples Alliance Sparks Hostage Crisis at Statehouse
In this election year when all 186 seats in the Legislature are up...
-
How Creativity Saves Money in Health Care
There has been a lot of talk lately about the cost of health...
-
The Press Herald is Wrong on the Gas Tax
“Struggling Mainers should suck it up and pay a higher gas tax. We...
-
NRA: Fundamental Rights Belong to Every Law-Abiding American
Harvey Lembo, a sixty-seven-year-old retired lobsterman from Rockland, Maine, was tired of being...
-
Bill LD 365 is a “Hand up” Not a “Hand out”
Coming before the Appropriations Committee this month is bill LD 365 that creates...
-
Out-of-State Welfare Spending Plummets Under LePage Administration Policies
Thanks to continued efforts by Governor Paul LePage, the amount of Maine welfare...
-
Repairing the Government-Business Relationship
Over the past few months, I’ve spoken with dozens of business owners about...
-
Protecting Our Right to Protect Our Home
Imagine waking up in the night and hearing someone in your home. How...
-
Beardsley Nomination Temporarily Withdrawn
Today, Governor Paul LePage announced that he was withdrawing, albeit temporarily, the nomination...
-
Was the 2014 Question 1 Funding Increase Necessary?
A few months ago the voters of Maine passed a Citizen’s Initiative called...
-
Sunday Hunting “Blue Law” Puts Maine at a Disadvantage
Nearly every session there is at least one piece of legislation introduced to somehow...
-
How Smart Fiscal Policy Boosted Economic Development in Maine
How many times have we heard it? “Tax breaks don’t create jobs, because...
-
Insider Scoop on the Latest Petition Circulator Fiasco
Roughly two weeks ago, just before the start of the spring semester at...
-
Governmental Breakdown: Executive vs. Attorney General
In the latest disagreement between the executive branch and the Attorney General’s Office,...
-
Bloomberg Astroturfed Maine Years Ago
Billionaire and former mayor Michael Bloomberg, financial backer of the upcoming “universal background...
-
Maine Minimum Wage Could Become Highest in Country
A coalition comprised of three liberal political entities in the state of Maine...
-
Question 1 Buyer’s Remorse
Today, January 21, is the anniversary of the Citizens United ruling which dramatically changed...
-
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg Selects Maine as Next Target for Gun Control Agenda
A few days ago Maine Moms Demand Action, a group funded by anti-gun...
-
Senator Paul Davis Presents Sales Tax Exemption Legislation
Augusta – On Wednesday, January 20th, Senator Paul Davis (R-Piscataquis) presented a bill...
-
LD 1305: The Bill You Don’t Realize How Much You Want to Pass
Have you heard of the latest health-care cost reduction proposal before our state...
-
The Brookings Institution and Paul LePage
In October 2006, The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program published “Charting Maine’s Future:...
-
FDA Bureaucracy Hinders Potentially Life-Saving Treatments
There is a humanitarian movement growing momentum right now at the state level referred...
-
Sigaud: Healthcare Prices not Reflective of Quality of Care
If you’re like most people, you know very little about the costs of...
-
Welfare Fraud Prosecutions Skyrocket Under LePage Administration
Investigators with The Department of Health and Human Services’ Fraud Investigation and Recovery...
-
House Votes to End Impeachment Order Charade by Landslide Bipartisan Vote
Members of the Maine House of Representatives defeated the effort to impeach Governor...
-
-
Sigaud: Once Again, Lawmakers Push for Medicaid Expansion
State lawmakers are renewing their efforts to expand Medicaid, despite Governor LePage’s continued...
-
Education Alone is Not Enough
There is a bill before the legislature this session dealing with a question...
-
Lockman: Cronyism, Corruption and the Saga of Good Will-Hinckley
It’s a new year, and being an even-numbered year, it’s an election year,...
-
Bill Brown Resigns From MeANS Board
Bill Brown, the Chair of the Board of Directors at The Maine Academy of Natural...
-
Governor Lepage Moves to Dismiss Eves Lawsuit
Today, January 5, 2016, Governor Paul LePage (R) filed a motion to dismiss...
-
Maine DHHS Could Lose Funding For Its Poor Administration of Food Stamps
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services may face substantial financial penalties...
-
LePage Criticizes President Obama’s Decision to Accept Syrian Refugees
In a radio address on Monday, Governor LePage criticized the Obama administration’s decision...
-
Maine Government Gets an F for Transparency
Maine earned an F in a recent review of states’ transparency and accountability...
-
Do Clean Elections Increase Competitiveness? Research Says Probably Not
The debate over Question 1’s tweaking of the Maine Clean Elections Act (MCEA) has...
-
Pro-Marijuana Groups Join Forces to Push Ballot Initiative
On Monday, two pro-marijuana groups in Maine – the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana...
-
Bill Would Restore Oversight of Secretive Law Enforcement Agency
If you’ve never heard of the Maine Information and Analysis Center (MIAC), you’re...
-
Over 80% Of Cash Raised To Support Question 1 Is From Out-of-State
According to an October Quarterly Report filed by Mainers for Accountable Elections, over...
-
Governor LePage Calls On Sen. Katz To Step Down From Government Oversight Committee
On Tuesday, Governor LePage requested that State Senator Roger Katz (R-Augusta) step down...
-
Major Donor to Maine Campaign Finance Group Has History of Attempting to Buy Election
Sean Eldridge, a major financier of Mainers for Accountable Elections, the group behind...
-
Maine DHHS Institutes Asset Test for Food Stamps
An estimated 8,600 food stamp recipients in Maine whose assets exceed $5,000 may...
-
Report Confirms LePage Administration Threatened Good Will-Hinckley
On Tuesday, the nonpartisan Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) released...
-
Court Rules Against LePage in Veto Dispute
On Thursday, The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine unanimously ruled against Governor Paul...
-
Legislature Ignores Governor’s 65 Vetoes
Not backing down, Governor LePage continues to insist that he has vetoed 65...
