Inside Augusta
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Eliminating the Individual Income Tax Can Alleviate Municipal Budget Woes
Every two years, the citizens of Maine get to sit back and watch...
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Despite Democrats’ Roadblock, Mental Health Unit Will Be Built
Sometimes when you hit a road block, you have to find a detour....
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Maine’s Citizens’ Initiative Process in Need of Reform
The citizens’ initiative is a procedural piece of legislation invented by progressives to...
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Respect the Will of the Voters, But Do No Harm
When I swore in the 128th Legislature this week, I urged them to...
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Stopping the Backroom Energy Deals in Augusta
Since 2010, average residential New England electric rates have increased by 20 percent....
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Maine’s economic future looks bleak after passage of Questions 2 & 4
The recounts for Questions 1 and 2 are almost ready to begin, but...
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Federal Court Sides with LePage, Dismisses Eves’ Lawsuit
Maine GOP Chairman Rick Bennett released the following statement in response to the...
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What’s Next for the Referendum Questions
We have a lot of work to do in the upcoming Legislative session....
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New Rule to Ban Food Stamps for Major Lottery and Gambling Winners
Winners of $5,000 or more will be removed from SNAP when they win...
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Buckley Wrongly Accuses DHHS in Politically-Motivated Report
It was stunning to read headlines accusing the Department of Health and Human...
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Governor Raises Concern Over Land for Maine’s Future Project
AUGUSTA – Over the last year, nearly a dozen projects under the Land...
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Media Bias Hits New Low
When Steve Collins, the new reporter for the Lewiston Sun Journal was hired,...
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The Democrats’ Proposals for a ‘Better Maine’ Are More of the Same
The Maine Democratic Party may have finally gotten the message: Simply being the...
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Liberals Unlikely to Keep Election-Year Promises on Welfare
As many may have seen, this week the Cato Institute published their 13th...
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Government Officials Have a Responsibility to Learn about Mental Illness and the Programs that Work
Anyone with mental illness or disability can reach their full potential; they just...
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Lepage Urges Congress to Reduce Regulatory Burden on Maine’s Small Hydropower Facilities
Governor Paul R. LePage has called attention to the precarious future of many...
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BDN Wrongly Claims Lepage Administration Abandons At-Risk Youth
Under Gov. Paul LePage’s leadership, the State has reigned in irresponsible spending and...
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My Brother Died From an Overdose a Year Ago Today
My brother died from an overdose a year ago today. I got the...
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Press Herald Publishes Slanderous Account of Governor LePage
The Portland Press Herald has stooped to new journalistic lows. I didn’t think...
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Speaker Eves More Focused on Scoring Political Points Than Following Due Process
A few hours ago, House Republican Leader Ken Fredette released the following statement...
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It’s Time to Take Governor Lepage at His Word, Accept His Apology and Move On
Yesterday afternoon, on orders from Democrat party chairman Phil Bartlett, all Republican house...
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Speaker Eves Ignores House Leadership, Calls for Special Session
This morning, Speaker Mark Eves sent the following email to members of the...
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Governor LePage Apologizes to the People of Maine, Gattine Family
Governor Paul R. LePage has announced he will take several actions in light...
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Leftist Civility: “Die in a fire!”
The self-righteous, egocentric lectures about “restoring civility” coming from the left have increased...
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LePage to Feds: States Don’t Work for You
Last month, Governor Paul LePage received a letter from the U.S. Department of...
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House Republican Leaders Outraged Over Federal Overreach by Obama Administration
Wednesday, House Republican Leaders expressed their outrage over President Obama’s decision to create...
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Governor LePage’s Economic Proposals Ranked Among Best in the Country
AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage’s 2016 “State of the State” address has...
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Bad Decisions in Augusta Result in High Electric Prices
Bad decision-making in energy policy is expensive. These bad decisions show up on...
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An Open Letter to All State Employees
Dear State Employees, Recently, the print media and the union bosses at the...
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Welfare Reform in Maine Continues with New Law Taking Effect Today
Between 2010-2014, 4,865 lottery tickets with a prize of $1,000 or more were...
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Critics Should Focus on SNAP Reform, Not Attacking LePage
The nonsensical backlash aimed at Gov. LePage following his attempt to ban junk...
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Governor Calls on Attorney General to Get Serious About Welfare Fraud
Since less than half of the welfare fraud cases presented to Attorney General...
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Maine People’s Alliance Should Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is
The debate on whether or not voters should increase Maine’s minimum wage continues,...
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Sierra Club Symbolic of Left’s Hypocrisy on Clean Elections
Recently I received a candidate questionnaire from the Sierra Club, a left-leaning organization...
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Democrats’ Reckless Spending Habits Put Programs and People at Risk
Democrats cannot break their bad spending habits. This week I had to sign...
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LePage Questions Funding Source for Four Bills, Calls for Special Session
Yesterday, House Republican Leader Ken Fredette met with Governor LePage, House Speaker Mark...
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Governor Issues Executive Order to Identify Risks Associated with Ethanol Use
AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage has issued an Executive Order in an...
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MDOL Comments on Minimum Wage Ballot Question
On Monday, June 13, 2016, the Maine Department of Labor formally submitted public...
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LePage: NRCM Should Meet with Me to Create Jobs for Mainers
Last week the executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine was...
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DHHS Error Rates Story Blown Out of Proportion
Recently, the Bangor Daily News (BDN) published this article which describes the supposed...
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Why Are Mainers Poor?
Yesterday, The Maine Heritage Policy Center released a new report, “Top 10 Things...
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Four Things Other New England States Are Doing Worse Than Maine
New England, on the whole, is an economically-depressed region. Between 2004 and 2014,...
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Question 1 Ballot Committee Claims Immunity to Law They Helped Enact
Last November, Mainers voted to pass Question 1, nearly tripling the amount of...
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Man Who Burns His Food Goes Hungry
When thinking about ethanol, I am reminded of a song my children listened...
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House Majority Leader’s Stunt to Shame Elderly Woman Recklessly Goes Too Far
In a shameless effort to promote his environmentalism, Representative Jeff McCabe took to...
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Regulations Drive Up Cost of Child Care in Maine
For many families with young children, especially single-parent households, child care is critical...
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Maine DHHS Puts Limit on Automatic Replacement of EBT Cards
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has implemented a new...
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NRCM is Ignoring the Will of Rural Mainers
The Natural Resources Council of Maine is at it again. First, they denied...
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MPA: Need, Want, Demand!
This morning in my email, I received a MPA Campaign Vote! Candidate Questionnaire. Naturally,...
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Energy Costs and Fairy Dust
I requested (actually, I begged) to serve on Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee,...
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Many Questions Remain Unanswered Following National Monument Forum
“Maine people know that it isn’t about conservation. It is about control and...
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It’s Not About the Children, It’s About the Union
The Maine Education Association is putting a dishonest initiative on the November ballot....
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EXCLUSIVE: LePage’s Most Beloved Veto
With all the news coverage of Governor LePage’s adoption of a Jack Russell...
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Who Would Really Benefit from Education Tax Initiative?
This November, Maine voters will decide on an initiative to provide further public...
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“Job” is Not a Dirty Word
Today, Mary Mayhew, commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, was...
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Blame Dill and Liberals for Poor Economic Record, Not Me
As a shameless shill for liberal causes, it’s no surprise that Cynthia Dill...
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Subsidies and Cost Shifting Won’t Power Maine’s Economy
Anyone remotely familiar with Maine’s economy knows it’s at a crossroads. Between 2004...
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Setting the Record Straight on My Solar Vote
“Despite the fact Greg Kesich wrote a nearly 800 word editorial defaming five...
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Legacy of Mark Eves: Failed Witch-Hunts and False Sense of Entitlement
Yesterday, Rep. Mark Eves’ lawsuit against Governor Paul LePage was dismissed by a...
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The 127th Maine Legislature Cut Taxes, Controlled Spending and Reformed Welfare
The 127th Maine Legislature has now adjourned for good and House Republicans are...
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Solar Veto Sustained in Spite of Lobby’s Best Efforts
Despite 8 legislators taking a walk on the solar bill vote today and tremendous...
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Secretary of State Validates Marijuana Legalization Petition
AUGUSTA – Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has issued an amended determination on...
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Three Bills You Should Be Grateful LePage Vetoed
Tomorrow, legislators will assemble under the dome for “Veto Day.” Here is a...
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Statement of Governor on Theodora J. Kalikow Education Center Dedication Ceremony
AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage today issued a statement regarding the Theodora...
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How Can We End Poverty in Maine?
In a BDN column earlier this month, David Farmer attacked the LePage administration and...
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The Good, Bad and Ugly on Maine Energy
Through my service on the Energy, Utilities and Technology (EUT) Committee in Maine,...
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Despite Excessive Welfare Spending, ME Remains Poor
I must say, as a conservative, I found parts of Rep. Archie Verow’s...
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Researching the Minimum Wage
On April 15 Nathan Strout’s “Fuzzy Math in Push for Raising the Minimum...
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AGs United for Clean Power Fail to Fulfill Their Mission
A coalition of Attorneys General (AG) have launched a full-fledged witch hunt into...
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Governor Signs Major Opioid Prescribing Reform Bill
AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage on Tuesday signed into law LD 1646,...
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MHPC Reveals Most Expensive Hospitals in Maine
Today in Augusta, the Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) unveiled the latest research...
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Maine Senate Passes Welfare Reform
AUGUSTA – The Maine Senate passed legislation to ban the use of welfare...
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Fuzzy Math In Push For Raising The Minimum Wage
As I watch the campaign to raise the minimum wage to $12 an...
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Maine Uncovering Record Amount of Welfare Fraud
This week, the Maine Department of Health and Human Service announced that they...
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Governor Signs Bill to Provide Tuition for National Guard
AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage signed LD 1612 into law today, which...
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Governor LePage Signs Public Subsidized Housing Rights Bill
Governor Paul LePage and the state legislature scored a victory for public subsidized housing...
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House Republicans Hold Firm Against Medicaid Expansion for 6th Time
Wednesday night, House Republicans once again said no to Medicaid expansion for the...
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Emily Cain Courts Anonymous Hollywood Billionaires For Campaign Cash
Career politician and Democratic challenger for Maine’s 2nd congressional district, Emily Cain, will...
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McCabe Continues to Block Public Hearings on Immigration Policy
As the Legislature lurches toward adjournment in the next week or two, Maine...
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Mainers Are One Step Closer to Affordable Health Care
Today, the state Senate voted on a party-line vote of 20-15 to pass...
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Local Voices Must Be Heard On the National Monument Debate
This week, Maine’s State Legislature passed LD 1600, a bill that would require...
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LD 1492: More Is Said Than Done
Last week, Governor Paul LePage delivered a letter to the 127th Legislature vetoing...
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Both Sides Like This Solution to High Health Care Costs
It is quite rare that ideas are proposed that transcend partisanship. Even rarer...
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Superior Court Remands Determination on Marijuana Legalization Petition
AUGUSTA – In a decision handed down today, Justice Michaela Murphy of the...
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Senate Narrowly Votes to Advance National Monument Bill
Yesterday, the Senate voted in favor of the minority report of LD 1600...
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Another Common Core Bait and Switch
Every state in the country that has claimed to have “repealed” the Common...
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Welfare Programs Harm Recipients
America’s $700 billion per year welfare system is actually doing more harm than...
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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....
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Important Pro-Employer Bill Killed by Labor Unions
Another pro-employer bill has died at the hands of the divided 127th Legislature....
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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...
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Maine National Guard Tuition Waiver Passes House
LD 1343 among five bills aimed at helping Maine veterans passed as part...
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Maine doesn’t need Michael Bloomberg’s gun control agenda
Last week, the Senate joined the House of Representatives in voting to indefinitely...
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Maine Becomes 25th State to Pass Right-to-Try
Yesterday, Governor Paul LePage (R) signed LD 180, “An Act To Allow Terminally...
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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...
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Common Sense & the Minimum Wage
As I’m sure you already know, certain politicians in the state of Maine,...
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Let’s Tear Down the Wall Between Breweries and Brewpubs
Perhaps as early as Wednesday, the Maine House of Representatives has a chance to...
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Bill to Offer Energy Relief to Businesses Clears Final Legislative Hurdle
Augusta – A bill which would provide businesses in Maine with energy cost...
