TCI Gas Tax | Sam G Pilgrims | March 2020
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Janus decision in June of 2018, unions have begun to feel the pressure…
The City of Portland – Maine’s most liberal municipality – tried to prevent the Maine GOP from collecting signatures at…
Lawmakers on Maine’s State and Local Government Committee held a public hearing Monday on LD 2115, “An Act To Implement…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Labor and Housing Committee will hold work a work session Thursday on a bill that would give…
The pressure is on Janet Mills as the public comment period on the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of the…
This upcoming Tuesday will be Maine’s first primary election for president since 2000, and the first ever to occur on…
On Wednesday, lawmakers on Maine’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee held a public hearing on LD 2104, “An Act to…
This item was originally published in the Portland Press Herald. Maine consumers – myself included – are understandably frustrated with Central Maine…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Taxation Committee will hold a work session Thursday to debate the merits of LD 1254, “An Act…
A recent report by London Economics International (LEI), a Boston-based financial advisory firm specializing in energy market analysis, commissioned by…
Maine has a $232 million annual transportation funding shortfall. Nursing homes that care for our seniors are closing left and…
A little over one year into her tenure as governor, Janet Mills is responsible for an explosion of new spending…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Taxation Committee will hold a work session Tuesday to debate the merits of LD 2011, “An Act…
This session, lawmakers on Maine’s Energy, Utility and Technology Committee is considering LD 2055, “An Act To Require State Agencies…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee held a public hearing Wednesday on LD 2067, “An Act To Authorize…
This op-ed was originally published in the Anchorage Daily News on February 9, 2020. In 2016, Maine voters approved a ballot initiative that established…
Who should be in charge of local education policy? Should it be parents and families, or labor unions? This session…
Twenty-two public policy organizations filed amicus briefs last week urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Reisman v. Associated Faculties…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing Wednesday on LD 2052, “An Act To Enact…
On Tuesday, February 4, the Maine Republican Party announced they are launching a People’s Veto campaign to repeal LD 1083.…
Governor Janet Mills released a supplemental budget proposal Monday that calls for $127 million in additional spending, which comes in…
Just over a month ago, Washington policymakers worked across party lines to raise the legal age for buying tobacco products…
On Tuesday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court struck down a law requiring police officers–without a warrant–to draw a blood sample…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing Thursday on LD 1981, “An Act Regarding the Regulation of…
Maine’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee is holding a public hearing Wednesday on LD 1988, “An Act To Prohibit the…
Maine’s Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology is holding a public hearing Tuesday on LD 2021, “An Act To Provide…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing Monday on LD 1984, “An Act To…
Maine’s Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry held a public hearing Thursday on a bill that would eliminate needless bureaucracy…
Maine Gov. Janet Mills delivered her first State of the State address Tuesday evening, calling on lawmakers to work together…
Organizations representing each New England state convened in Boston last week to voice their concerns about the Transportation Climate Initiative…
The Maine Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee is holding a public hearing Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. in…
Members of the Maine Legislature’s taxation committee will hold a public hearing Tuesday on LD 1929, “Resolve, Establishing the Commission…
The Big Picture Since 2005 Maine’s carbon dioxide emissions have fallen 41 percent, three times faster than the United States…
Progressive lawmakers are in pursuit of an ever-expanding state government in Augusta. Their neglecting to properly fund our infrastructure, and…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee are holding a public hearing Wednesday, Jan. 15 on LD 1894, “An…
The Transportation and Climate Initiative, a regional coalition of 12 states and Washington DC that seeks to price emissions within…
“In republican governments, men are all equal; equal they are also in despotic governments: in the former, because they are…
Jonathan Reisman, an associate professor of economics and public policy at the University of Maine at Machias, is appealing his…
On January 1, the state’s minimum wage and overtime exemption thresholds increased by more than nine percent. More specifically, the…
In addition to resolutions, 2020 brings new changes to state and local laws. Some examples include an increase to the…
Gasoline taxes may rise 17 cents a gallon and go up from there until everyone is driving an overpriced electric…
In December, President Trump signed a $1.4 trillion spending package that included a provision to raise the legal age to…
Governor Janet Mills earlier this month released her 10-Year Economic Development Strategy for the state, the first undertaking since 1993. While well-intentioned,…
On December 18, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed in a 2-1 decision that the…
Cartoon by Sam G. Pilgrims
Cartoon by Eric Allie
On Wednesday, the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices fined Governor Janet Mills’ inaugural committee $2,000 for continuing to…
The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), a regional collaboration of 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia,…
The Transportation and Climate Initiative on Tuesday released a draft Memorandum of Understanding shedding light on how gas and diesel…
This piece was first published in the Sun Journal. “We will develop a world-class workforce. Fewer than half of Maine…
On October 8, 2019, the Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) released their quarterly update regarding enrollment numbers for…
The 129th Maine Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee met Monday to hold its fourth interim meeting since…
Governor Mills on Wednesday released her 10-year economic development plan for Maine, the first such undertaking in our state since…
“…the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions…There are men…who mean to govern well;…
Maine’s Legislative Council convened last Friday to consider appeals made by lawmakers regarding so-called “emergency” bills for the second session.…
Last week, the government of China initiated a mandate that every new SIM card registrant submit to a facial recognition…
The majority members of Maine’s Legislative Council voted Friday to kill along party lines a pair of nonpartisan emergency bill…
A new law that changes how workers are classified in the “gig economy” will become effective in California next month.…
On October 23, Maine’s Legislative Council voted to advance LR 3100, a legislative request that would prohibit public employers from…
In June, Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 945, a resolve that created the Blue Ribbon Commission To Study and Recommend Funding…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center on Monday released a new policy brief, “A Lost Cause: The Local-Option Sales Tax.” The…
In today’s partisan, impeachment-centric political climate, the following have become figurative lapel pins and brooches for the ruling class. As…
Last month, Maine’s Legislative Council allowed LR 2765, “An Act To Enact Restrictions on Electronic Smoking Devices,” to proceed to…
Earlier this year the legislature passed LD 1324, a bill that creates an 11-person committee to study the feasibility of implementing…
Governor Janet Mills is considering entering Maine into the Transportation & Climate Initiative, a regional collaboration of 12 states that…
On Monday, Portland City Councilors voted unanimously to put a measure on the March 3, 2020 ballot that would allow…
During the First Session of the 129th Legislature, Rep. Seth Berry introduced LD 1646, a bill that would create a consumer-owned…
The Portland City Council voted Monday night to postpone consideration of a proposal to ban city employees from obtaining, retaining,…
In Maine and 12 other states, local governments have the ability to steal the equity you’ve built in your home…
It’s no secret that the fees and requirements necessary to obtain an occupational license are barriers to entry that bar…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center and EdChoice recently filed an amicus brief in Carson et al v. Makin, a case before…
“One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse…
In 2015, the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) released Statement Number 77, advising local and state governments to disclose the…
In 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that requiring public-sector workers to pay dues or fees to a union…
On Tuesday, Portland residents went to the polls to cast their ballots to determine who will carry the progressive baton…
The following letter was submitted by The Maine Heritage Policy Center to the Transportation and Climate Initiative regarding the draft…
With the fourth quarter underway, small-business owners in Maine and across the country seem to be holding onto an optimistic…
The following piece highlights The Maine Heritage Policy Center’s recent report “A False Majority: The Failed Experiment of Ranked-Choice Voting”…
Over the last few months, the debate regarding the future of Auburn’s Agriculture and Resource Protection Zone (Ag Zone), which…
Last week, Maine’s Legislative Council admitted a bill into the second session that would make changes to the rules governing…
The Legislative Council on Wednesday met to vote on nearly 400 bills submitted by lawmakers for consideration in the second…
The Legislative Council convened Wednesday to consider roughly 400 bill requests submitted by lawmakers for consideration in the Second Session.…
In June 2010, under Governor John Baldacci, eleven states and the District of Columbia began collaborating on the Transportation and Climate…
It is everyone’s favorite time of the legislative cycle – preparing for the second session, or the emergency session, as…
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap confirmed Thursday his office had certified the petitions submitted by Mainers for Health and…
This summer, Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson released a formal opinion that said the state is not in compliance with…
In an attempt to curb the effects of climate change, state governments across the nation have adopted renewable portfolio standards…
Following a national trend, Maine lawmakers decided in June to raise taxes on tobacco products and e-cigarettes. Rep. Joyce McCreight,…
Maine is currently the oldest state in the nation and is experiencing a labor shortage. According to the U.S. Census…
Over the past 79 years, I have observed that the more socialism is “successful,” the more it destroys its economic…
They’re at it again. On September 27th, lawmakers were required to submit all of their legislative requests to the Revisor’s…
In April last year, the Press Herald ran my Maine Voices submission; it began with this: “Nobody spends somebody else’s…
The internet in Maine is getting faster and easier to use than ever before. But recent improvements in Maine are…
Last session, lawmakers considered LD 218, a bill that would have prohibited Maine Clean Election Act candidates from soliciting, accepting…
Last week in the news there was a teenage girl being exploited by the international community, and I couldn’t watch.…
News outlets across the state last week reported that some signers of the petition advancing a people’s veto of LD…
When she addressed the United Nations earlier this week, Governor Janet Mills announced that she signed an executive order stating…
On October 31, 2019, The Maine Wire will transition to a new email delivery service. If you currently receive The…
When the legislature adjourns from session, all non-emergency legislation that was passed becomes effective 90 days thereafter. However, Article IV,…