Tag: governor janet mills
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Mills Administration Complains After Maine Wire Breaks Autism Medicaid Billing Scandal — Federal Probe Intensifies
AUGUSTA, Maine — Officials with the State of Maine are raising concerns after federal officials in the Trump administration shared information about a major Medicaid billing investigation with a conservative media outlet before formally notifying the state, according to a report from WGME. The controversy centers on a federal probe into MaineCare billing practices connected…
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Maine DOE gave MEA, other groups access and editing privileges to official COVID response documents
From early March 2020 through the summer, when discussions about whether to close and reopen schools because of COVID-19 were occurring, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) was in frequent communication with a number of interest groups, including the Maine Education Association (MEA) and the Maine School Management Association (MSMA). According to documents obtained by…
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Emails show how MEA, other interest groups steered Maine DOE’s COVID-19 response
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) worked with several interest groups in the state to coordinate COVID-19 messaging and guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. From March 2020, when schools were shut down due to the pandemic, through the summer of 2020, when discussions about how to return to in-person learning were occurring, the DOE worked…
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Governor Mills’ pursuit of California-style EV mandates will hurt Mainers, do little to address climate change
High energy costs are making Maine increasingly unaffordable for people of average means. Misguided state energy policies are contributing to the problem of high energy costs and are making a bad situation even worse. Governor Mills is committed to California-style electric vehicle mandates. Despite the Governor’s recent claim that she doesn’t support a California-style mandate…
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Fishing interests ‘disappointed’ in federal push for offshore wind in Gulf of Maine
On August 18, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), part of the Department of the Interior (DOI), announced next steps to develop offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine. On August 19, the BOEM published a Request for Interest (RFI) and Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) in the Federal Register to solicit…
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Opinion: Mills’ broadband bureaucracy expands with massive infusions of Biden bucks
Earlier this month, the Treasury Department approved a plan to invest $110 million “to strengthen or expand broadband infrastructure across the state.” The funds will go through the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), a state agency set up last year to manage and distribute millions in broadband spending. According to state and federal officials, the funding…
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Maine’s $850 checks to start hitting mailboxes by next week
The $850 checks passed as part of the most recent supplemental budget deal will begin arriving in the mailboxes of eligible Mainers next week, according to Gov. Janet Mills’ administration. A June 1 press release announced the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) would post an initial round of 5,000 checks on June 2.…
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Lawmakers sustain all five of Gov. Mills’ vetoes
When the legislature returned to Augusta for veto day on May 9, lawmakers failed to override a single one of Gov. Mills five vetoes. Mills issued veto letters for LD 1919, LD 844, and LD 1358 on Friday, May 6. She vetoed LDs 170 and 1820 on April 26. LD 1919 created a tax credit…
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Gov. Mills issues first vetoes of the second session
Gov. Janet Mills has so far vetoed two bills passed during the 130th Legislature’s second session, and more vetoes could follow. On April 26, Mills vetoed LD 1820 and LD 170. LD 1820 adds three non-voting members to the University of Maine System’s (UMS) Board of Trustees. LD 170 creates requirements for approving the construction…
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Unpacking the tribal sovereignty bills and debate
Though the 130th Maine Legislature will return to Augusta for a veto day on May 9, there are a number of bills with which it has not finally dispensed. Among these are a number of high-profile bills, though few bills have garnered as much attention this session as those that seek to extend sovereignty to…
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Here’s what has become law thus far from the legislature’s second session
On April 27, Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 2003 into law. The bill was finally passed by the legislature on April 25, the final day of the session. Mills was joined at the signing ceremony, held in Augusta, by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford), who sponsored the bill, and Sens. Matt Pouliot (R-Kennebec) and Craig…
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Lawmakers extend session one day, Mills’ utility accountability bill revived with new amendment
Lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and Senate met on April 20 and extended the second legislative session, statutorily set to end on the third Wednesday of the month, by one day. A proposal to extend the session by two days failed to earn the support of Senate Republicans on two occasions before lawmakers…
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Final version of local zoning, affordable housing bill leaves much to be desired
Last week, LD 2003, a bill sponsored by Speaker Ryan Fecteau to reform local and state-level housing policy, passed engrossment votes in both the House and Senate, largely along party lines. This Monday, the House voted to enact the bill, and the Senate subsequently placed it on the special appropriations table pending enactment. After weeks of intense…
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Lawmakers enact budget agreement, House rejects Gov. Mills’ utility accountability proposal
Both the House of Representative and the Senate convened on April 19 for the penultimate day of the 130th Legislature’s second session. The supplemental budget was passed during the session and a utility accountability bill brought forward by Gov. Janet Mills failed unexpectedly following a vote in the House of Representatives. Supplemental Budget The supplemental…
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Lawmakers closing in on final deals on budget, housing and utility accountability measures
With only three days left in the 130th Legislature’s second session, both the Senate and House of Representatives held sessions on April 18. The bodies continued to advance legislation introduced during the previous week’s session. On April 15, LD 2010, a bill to provide electricity rate relief to medium-use commercial customers, sponsored by Senate President…
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Both parties outline spending priorities with less than three weeks until adjournment
The 130th Maine Legislature is currently scheduled to adjourn its second session on April 20, giving legislators a little more than two weeks to negotiate and pass a supplemental budget in addition to finally dispensing with the remaining work before them. In February, Gov. Janet Mills released a supplemental budget proposal with plans for spending…
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Why are Maine lawmakers letting special interests nickel-and-dime us on vehicle inspections?
Mandatory motor vehicle inspections already cost Mainers $14 million and countless hours of wasted time every single year, but just the other day, a majority of the Maine House voted to double the fee charged per vehicle inspection fee from $12.50 to $25. It’s hard to believe that in the midst of 40-year high inflation seen across…
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Energy committee splits on Gov. Mills’ utility accountability proposal
On March 18, the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology held a work session on Gov. Janet Mills’ proposal to hold electric utilities accountable. The committee produced a divided report, with three factions voting for three different amendments to the original bill. As originally drafted, LD 1959, a governor’s bill presented to the…
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Appropriations Committee Democrats sink plan to accelerate disbursement of direct relief checks
During a work session on a bill proposing to return surplus money to taxpayers, Democrats on the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA) voted to table a motion to amend the bill to accelerate the process of providing relief to Maine taxpayers by disbursing direct relief checks electronically. LD 327, a concept…
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Gov. Mills’ final supplemental budget plan increases value of relief checks to $850
Gov. Janet Mills unveiled her change package to the supplemental budget on March 18, which spends all but $20 million of the state’s projected $1.2 billion General Fund surplus and would increase the amount of direct relief checks Maine taxpayers would receive to $850. The change package includes spending plans for the additional $411.7 million…
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Mills admin recommends optional masking in schools, childcare settings starting March 9
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Maine Department of Education (DOE) will drop its statewide recommendation for universal masking in schools and childcare settings on March 9. Gov. Janet Mills’ administration announced on March 2 that the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had completed its assessment of recent…
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Revenue Forecasting Committee revises projected surplus upwards by $411 million
Maine’s General Fund revenue forecast will increase by approximately $411.6 million following a March 1 meeting of the Revenue Forecasting Committee (RFC). Following the updated forecast, Gov. Janet Mills announced she will propose returning at least half of the additional surplus to Maine taxpayers in the form of direct checks. Mills’ original supplemental budget proposal…
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Following other states, Gov. Mills calls on state liquor commission to delist Russian spirits
On February 28, Gov. Janet Mills signed a proclamation expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine and called on the State Liquor and Lottery Commission to delist Russian-made spirits. According to a press release from the governor’s office, only two brands of Russian liquor, Russian Standard and Hammer + Sickle, sold in the state are…
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Energy committee holds hearing on Gov. Mills’ utility accountability bill
The Maine Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee held a public hearing February 22 on LD 1959, a bill presented by Gov. Janet Mills that seeks to make the state’s utility companies more accountable by creating quarterly report cards based on service standards. The bill also creates a mechanism for utility companies that routinely fail…
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Governor Mills unveils $850 million supplemental budget that would lift state spending to record levels
On February 15, Gov. Janet Mills released her supplemental budget proposal, which includes $850 million in proposed spending and provides more detail on several policies she announced during her February 10 State of the State address. In a press release, the Mills administration characterized the governor’s proposal as a “cautious, fiscally-responsible approach, dedicating more than…
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Gov. Mills pitches $500 relief checks, new education and broadband spending in State of the State address
During her annual State of the State address, Gov. Janet Mills announced her intention to return $411 million of the state’s projected $822 million General Fund surplus to taxpayers. “These givebacks, by direct checks to the people, will amount to about $500 per person and will be distributed to an estimated 800,000 taxpayers in Maine…
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Read Gov. Mills’ State of the State Address
The following is Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ State of the State Address as prepared for delivery on February 10, 2022: President Jackson, Speaker Fecteau, Chief Justice Stanfill, Secretary Bellows, Attorney General Frey, Treasurer Beck, Auditor Norton, Distinguished Members of the 130th Legislature, Mayors and Honored Guests, it’s good to be back! Tonight is the first…
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Gov. Mills’ earmarks $8 million for child welfare system in forthcoming supplemental budget
On February 7, Gov. Janet Mills unveiled an $8 million proposal intended to strengthen Maine’s child welfare system that will be included in her supplemental budget. Mills has said she will unveil her full budget proposal in the days following her State of the State address on February 10. Mills’ supplemental budget proposal will recommend…
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Testing partnership brings rapid tests to ‘vulnerable’ Mainers using old data
In late January, Gov. Janet Mills announced her administration has partnered with The Rockefeller Foundation to launch a pilot program that will distribute free at-home COVID-19 tests to eligible Maine households. Project Access COVID Test (ACT) makes 125,000 packages of five at-home rapid antigen tests available to 25,000 Maine households. Distribution of the tests, which…
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Lawmakers sustain Mills’ veto on bill allowing farm workers to unionize
Members of the Maine Legislature’s House of Representatives failed to override Gov. Janet Mills’ veto on Wednesday of a bill that would have given farmworkers the right to collectively bargain. The full legislature convened in-person on January 26 for just the second time this year. Mills vetoed LD 151 on January 7. Members of the…
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Governor Mills to deliver State of the State address, supplemental budget to legislature next month
Maine Gov. Janet Mills will deliver the State of the State address on February 10. She will not release her supplemental budget proposal until after the address. Details about the address are still forthcoming, but the remarks will be delivered in-person from the House of Representatives chamber to a joint convention of the legislature. According…
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Maine leaning on federal government to increase Mainers’ access to rapid COVID-19 tests
The Mills administration has announced no plans to provide at-home COVID-19 rapid tests for Maine residents, but at-home tests may be available to Maine residents as a result of expanded federal government production of at-home rapid tests. At a December 8 press conference, Gov. Janet Mills spoke critically of the state’s ability to provide free,…
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Legislature launches pilot program to assess racial impact of pending legislation
In March 2021, Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law requiring the Legislative Council to study the best method to create a system for attaching racial impact statements to legislation. LD 2 requires state agencies to provide data related to a piece of legislation’s racial impact to a legislative committee upon request. The law…
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Gov. Mills announces deployment of 38 National Guard members to 10 Maine healthcare facilities
Less than one week after announcing she was activating up to 75 members of the National Guard to serve in non-clinical support roles in Maine hospitals and help handle a surge in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Janet Mills announced on December 14 that 38 members of the National Guard will be deployed to 10 health care…
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Gov. Mills activates Maine National Guard to address capacity concerns in healthcare system
Gov. Janet Mills appeared at a December 8 press conference held by the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to unveil new measures intended to help the state’s hospital capacity handle the recent surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Mills announced she has signed a directive activating up to 75 members of the…
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Appropriations Committee receives briefing on state finances, including revenue surplus and ARPA spending
At the Appropriation and Financial Affairs (AFA) Committee meeting on December 7, Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa discussed the stimulus funds Maine received from the federal government as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maine State Economist Amanda Rector and Michael Allen, the state’s associate commissioner of tax policy, also…
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Maine has a projected $822 million surplus. Lawmakers will debate how to spend it next session
Following its November 23 meeting, the Maine Revenue Forecasting Committee (RFC) upgraded the state’s General Fund revenue forecast. The RFC projected revenue would increase approximately $822 million, or 9.7%, for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. The RFC revised its projections following a November 1 report from the Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission (CEFC), an independent group…
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Ten percent of workers affected by Gov. Mills’ mandate have left covered facilities since July
A recent analysis of the data in Maine CDC’s Health Care Worker COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard revealed that, while rates of vaccination among healthcare workers increased since Gov. Mills decreed that all Maine healthcare workers must be vaccinated for COVID-19 on August 12, this is not the whole story. Maine CDC tracks five types of “designated…
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Maine healthcare workers face uncertain future amid state and federal vaccine mandates
Maine’s requirement that healthcare workers at designated healthcare facilities be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 went into enforcement on October 29. With no religious or philosophical exemptions available to healthcare workers opposed to the mandate, October 29 signaled the final day of work for many healthcare workers opposed to vaccination and not qualified for a medical…
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Supreme Court declines to block Maine’s healthcare worker vaccine mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal for injunctive relief on October 29 in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Maine’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for healthcare workers. The lawsuit was brought against Gov. Janet Mills and the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by Liberty Counsel on behalf of roughly 2,000 anonymous defendants whom…
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Gov. Mills announces $14 million in aid to combat healthcare workforce shortages
Gov. Janet Mills held a press conference on October 25 to announce funding for four programs intended to address Maine’s health care worker shortage by incentivizing people to pursue a career in medicine in the state. Though Mills billed the initiatives as “new,” funding for the four programs was included in LD 1733, the bill…
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Some healthcare workers resign as enforcement deadline of Gov. Mills’ vaccine mandate approaches
As the date of enforcement for Gov. Janet Mills’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers approaches, hospitals and emergency medical services (EMS) are seeing employees resign rather than become immunized. Some of Maine’s biggest hospitals have had close to 100 employees resign since the vaccine mandate was announced, exacerbating staffing shortages that existed before the…
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What is an ‘advocacy journalist’ and why was the Maine CDC restricting access to its briefings?
That darn First Amendment. This week, The Maine Wire learned that the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had booted its journalist, Katherine Revello, from the agency’s regular press briefings. The rationale provided by the agency was that it could “no longer accommodate advocacy journalists” at the briefings. I would argue they weren’t…
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Legal and legislative challenges to Gov. Mills’ vaccine mandate are piling up
There are a growing number of legal challenges to Gov. Janet Mills’ requirement that healthcare workers receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit religious liberty organization that routlinely files litigation on behalf of clients whose religious freedom it believes has been violated, sued the state of Maine on August 25. Its class action lawsuit…
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Bipartisan group of lawmakers sign letter opposing new lobster regulations
The number of state legislators who have signed a letter calling for President Biden to reverse a recent decision that would close the nearly 1,000 square mile Lobster Management Area 1 (LMA 1) Seasonal Restricted Area in the Gulf of Maine from October through January is growing. The bipartisan group of 151 state lawmakers who…
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Mills administration throwing money at hospitals, nursing homes in attempt to overcome workforce shortages
Gov. Janet Mills’ administration recently announced it is awarding Maine hospitals and long-term care facilities $146 million to support workforce retention and recruitment efforts. The announcement came days before three nursing homes in the state announced they will close this fall. The Country Manor Nursing Home in Coopers Mills, the Somerset Rehabilitation and Living Center…
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Governor’s gamble: Weighing the potential costs of Mills’ healthcare worker vaccine mandate
On August 12, Maine Governor Janet Mills issued an emergency rule change through the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that requires anyone employed by “designated health care facilities” to be “fully vaccinated” for COVID-19 by October 1. This gives those workers who have thus far declined a COVID-19 vaccine about a month to get…
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Future of Shawmut Dam, Sappi mill remain uncertain
The future of the Shawmut Dam remains in question. Following a draft ruling that announced the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) intention to deny Brookfield White Pine Hydro’s application to renew its license to operate the Shawmut Dam, Brookfield withdrew its application. The company has announced its intention to file a new application within…
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Consumer-owned utility supporters launch ballot initiative over LD 1708 veto
Though the legislature failed to override Gov. Janet Mills’ veto of a bill that would have created a consumer-owned utility and allowed it to take over Maine’s largest investor-owned utilities, the issue may be settled by voters in 2022. Our Power, a non-profit organization that describes itself as a “group of Maine ratepayers, business leaders,…
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Lawmakers pen letter in opposition to Gov. Mills’ vaccine mandate
Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced a new vaccine requirement for healthcare workers on August 12, and it didn’t take long for some members of the 130th Maine Legislature to voice their displeasure with the decision. The entire House Republican Caucus signed a letter that was sent to the governor on Monday, August 16, outlining their…
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Mills administration faces pushback from healthcare workers over new vaccine mandate
On August 12, Gov. Janet Mills announced that all Maine healthcare workers will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 1. Mills made the announcement at a joint press conference with Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew and Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr.…
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Gov. Mills’ ‘Back to Work’ program comes to a close
The Maine Department of Labor’s (DOL) Back-to-Work grant program will close applications on Friday, August 6. The program allows employers to file grant applications on behalf of new employees hired either full-time or part-time between June 15 and July 25. Under the program, full-time hires are eligible to receive a one-time grant of $1,500 and…
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It’s way past time to open US-Canadian border
It is far past time to reopen the border between the United States and Canada. Even Gov. Janet Mills agrees now, too. Pressure has built against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in recent weeks after the agency announced the U.S. border to Canada would remain closed until at least Aug. 21, roughly two weeks…
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Maine conforms with new CDC guidance on masking in schools, indoor settings
On July 28, Gov. Janet Mills announced updates to Maine’s recommendations for wearing face coverings in indoor settings. The state is following recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rather than setting its own policies. Current U.S. CDC guidance recommends all people, even those who are fully vaccinated, wear face coverings…
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Mills’ ‘Back to Work’ program not helping Maine’s stagnant unemployment rate
The unemployment rate in Maine remained stuck at 4.8% for the fifth straight month, according to recent report from the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) Despite adding 3,000 jobs last month, the state’s jobless rate has remained the same, and though it is below the national average of 5.9%, it is likely an understatement of…
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Mills attempts to rewrite history on rainy day fund increase
Don’t let Gov. Janet Mills play you for a fool. In a recent press release, Mills took credit for Maine’s Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as the “Rainy Day” fund, reaching a historic high of roughly $492 million. The problem is the fund owes nothing to her fiscal management of the state. The subheading of…
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Legislature right to sustain Mills’ veto of ‘hastily crafted’ Pine Tree Power bill
Gov. Janet Mills fortunately stopped a sloppy, misguided attempt to put a loaded ballot question to voters in November, but the issue may return in future elections. Last week, Mills vetoed LD 1708, a proposal to create a consumer-owned utility called the Pine Tree Power Company. The Legislature, in a mixed vote of 68-65, sustained…
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Maine’s ARPA spending package becomes law without legislative compromise
On July 19, the Maine Legislature voted to approve a plan for spending the $1.1 billion the state received from the federal government as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 1733 into law hours after the legislature’s final vote. As originally written, LD 1733 was an emergency bill…
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Legislature sustains Gov. Mills’ veto of CMP takeover bill
Though the bill is dead, voters may still see the question LD 1708 would have posed on the ballot next November.
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Gov. Mills and allies are destroying affordable, accessible child care for Maine families
In recent months, we’ve heard a lot about child care in the news and from pundits. Whether it’s the so-called “care infrastructure” from Washington, or the recent uptick in tragic child deaths right here in Maine, the last year or so has undoubtedly cast a spotlight on our child care systems and their shortcomings. Gov.…
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Face-saving partisanship killed emergency powers reform in Maine this session
Saying “no emergency is going to be perfect,” Facteau outlined his hesitancy to limit the powers the governor has during a time of need in the interview.
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Mills vetoes state takeover of utility companies, setting stage for future ballot initiative
Gov. Janet Mills held a press conference on Tuesday to announce her veto of LD 1708, which would have created a consumer-owned utility known as the Pine Tree Power Company. Mills’ veto was expected, as she had been publicly critical of the bill before. LD 1708 would have forced the state’s investor-owned utilities, Central Maine…
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Mills vetoes another bill sponsored by Senate President Jackson
On July 12, Gov. Janet Mills vetoed LD 1711, which would have allowed whistleblowers to bring a private enforcement action in the name of the state for violations of certain labor laws. The bill allowed whistleblowers to take private enforcement action and act on behalf of the state if, after informing either the Attorney General,…
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Mills signs packaging bill, vetoes state takeover of private utilities
Gov. Janet Mills just missed the mark on two controversial and misguided pieces of legislation this week: an extended producer responsibility (EPR) packaging bill and another that would establish a “consumer-owned utility” in Maine. Passed by the legislature on July 2, LD 1541, “An Act To Support and Improve Municipal Recycling Programs and Save Taxpayer…
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Civil asset forfeiture reform bill becomes law without Mills’ signature
A bill that would strengthen protections against civil asset forfeiture, sponsored by Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor), became law on Tuesday without Gov. Janet Mills’ signature. Passed by the Maine Legislature on June 30, LD 1521 specifies that police can only seize an individual’s property if that person is convicted of a crime in…
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Mills signs offshore wind ban amid lingering skepticism from fishermen
Though the ban is a win for now, Mills’ next moves towards offshore wind must be vigilantly watched as future development plans take form just off of Maine’s shores.
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Mills kills another misguided drug pricing bill
LD 1117 would have accomplished nothing in terms of lowering prescription drug costs for Mainers, and Mills was right to veto it.
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Though the state of emergency has expired, some of Mills’ pandemic-related executive orders remain in effect
Though Maine’s state of emergency expired on June 30, some changes to rules and regulations instituted through executive order will remain in effect until the end of 2021.
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Department of Labor announces updates to its Back-to-Work grant program
If all 300 workers received the $1,500 benefit, the grant program has already paid out $45,000, or 4.5%, of the $10 million available.
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Mills bucks her party on environment, drug pricing in newest vetoes
The vetoes, among some of her other recent ones, are a welcome check on ever-expanding state power and restrictions of free markets.
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Legislature, governor pass $8.5 billion supplemental budget
The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 123-23 and the Senate by a vote of 32-3. It received bipartisan support in both chambers.
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New report shows opioid deaths on the rise in Maine
Between 2019 and 2020, drug deaths in Maine rose by 33% according to a report funded by the Maine Office of the Attorney General. In 2020, 504 people died as a result of drugs, up from 380 in 2019. According to the report, 91% of drug deaths in 2020 were the result of accidental overdoses.…
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Legislature sustains Mills’ veto on LD 920, a victory for communities and consumers alike
Gov. Janet Mills made the right choice in vetoing LD 920, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Kessler (D-South Portland), a bill that would have raised consumer prices on cable subscribers in Maine and strip away local autonomy across the state. The Maine House voted 78-66 on Wednesday to sustain the governor’s veto. The veto came late…
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Mills’ veto stops new graduated real estate transfer tax
Should Mainers have to pay more in taxes for buying a new piece of real estate? The Legislature says yes, but thankfully, Gov. Janet Mills says no. In one of seven vetoes issued last week, Mills prevented the state from raising the real estate transfer tax (RETT) rate. The tax is levied on every transaction…
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Budget agreement suggests lawmakers may have learned lessons from the pandemic
A new bipartisan budget agreement might prove that lawmakers learned a valuable fiscal lesson from the fallout of the pandemic, though there’s still potential for future and additional supplemental budgets. The newest budget deal from Augusta, after much finagling and compromise, tops out at $8.5 billion, which would only grow spending by about $200 million…
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Should California be able to set drug prices in Maine?
Imagine if California passed a law telling Maine lobstermen how much to charge for their lobsters – in Maine. The idea isn’t just ridiculous, it would be unconstitutional. That’s why it’s so disappointing that the Maine Legislature passed a bill, LD 1117, that proposes to regulate prices outside the state. Governor Mills must veto it.…
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Governor Mills issues her first vetoes of the 130th Legislature
The governor’s office recently posted veto messages for seven bills rejected by Gov. Janet Mills, the first batch of vetoes of the 130th Legislature. Among the bills vetoed by the governor are L.D. 194, which would have banned entities owned by foreign governments from influencing citizens’ referenda; L.D. 417, which would have banned pretextual traffic…
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Governor Mills signs a full slate of election, campaign finance reforms into law
Governor Mills recently signed into law several bills that affect campaigns and elections in the state of Maine. L.D. 1363: An Act to Amend the Laws Governing Elections L.D. 1363 makes several changes to the use of ranked-choice voting and absentee ballots in Maine elections. The bill expands the type of elections using ranked-choice voting.…
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Governor Mills signs bills on energy, telemedicine and remote meetings into law
Bills passed by the Maine Legislature during its recently convened special session have begun making their way to Gov. Janet Mills’ desk. As of June 22, Mills has signed over 300 pieces of legislation. The new laws, which go into effect 90 days after receiving Mills’ signature, cover everything from changes to the tax code,…
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Healthcare group asks Gov. Mills to veto prescription drug price control bill
The Maine Legislature recently passed LD 1117, a bill that would prohibit excessive rises in generic and off-patent prescription drugs sold in the state. It would also allow the attorney general to take action against any drug manufacturers that violated the bill’s provisions. The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) and received…
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Maine Senate votes to keep controversial ‘fusion center’
Even if the allegations in Loder’s lawsuit are not true, the fact that we can’t easily know is reason enough to close the doors of this poisonous arm of government overreach.
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Gov. Mills announces ‘Vaccinationland’ lottery sweepstakes
On June 16, Gov. Mills announced the creation of a sweepstakes for Mainers who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The “Don’t Miss Your Shot: Vaccinationland Sweepstakes” will award the winner $1 for every Maine resident who receives at least one COVID-19 shot by 6:00 on July 4. The prize money…
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Semi-open primaries bill advances in Maine House and Senate
L.D. 231 aims to increase voter turnout and bipartisanship in an increasingly partisan era. In a stark and polarized time, it is refreshing to see lawmakers come together to pass meaningful election reform that transcends party lines.
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Paid to stay home: study finds lucrative unemployment helps fuel labor shortage
This study on the nationwide impacts of the historically high UI has simply confirmed what many have been sounding the alarm on for weeks: if you pay people to stay home, they will.
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More wrangling to come on supplemental budget, federal relief spending
On June 17, the Maine Legislature is expected to adjourn a special session without voting on the supplemental budget or the governor’s plan for spending funds Maine received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA) Committee has not discussed the budget since June 1 and there have been no…
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Maine launches ‘Back to Work’ program while leaving federal pandemic unemployment benefits in place
On June 14, Gov. Mills announced a program to incentivize unemployed Mainers to return to work. Called “Back to Work,” the first-come, first-serve program will offer employers a one-time $1,500 payment for eligible employees who begin work between June 15 and June 30, or a one-time $1,000 payment for eligible employees who start work in…
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Fifteen months later, Maine is finally terminating its state of emergency
On June 11, Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced she was renewing the state of civil emergency, which was set to expire on June 13. She also announced that the state of emergency will expire on June 30. Under Maine law, a state of emergency cannot last longer than 30 days unless renewed by the governor.…
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Maine schools to be freed of pandemic mandates starting July 1
On June 9, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) updated its PreK-12 and Adult Education Public Guidance. Though Gov. Janet Mills recently announced Maine’s state of civil emergency will expire on June 30, DOE’s requirements continue to remain in effect until July 1. The changes announced on June 9 come after earlier guidance exempting schools…
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Legislators missed the mark on child care reform this session
A prominent refrain in the pandemic recession-recovery story has been the persistent labor shortage seen across the United States. Coupled with mounting inflation and consumer uncertainty, restoring the economy of 2019 has been tricky for policymakers. Even in Maine, the unemployment rate seems tame compared to the nation, but if everyone who was working or…
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The dizzying pace of Governor Mills’ executive orders
Maine Gov. Janet Mills is on pace to exercise her executive authority almost twice as frequently as any of her six previous predecessors. Since taking office in 2019, Mills has issued 76 executive orders, not counting extensions or modifications to existing executive orders. That’s an average of about 32 executive orders per year, and almost…
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Seven lawmakers stripped of committee assignments after entering State House without masks
Seven Maine lawmakers were stripped of their committee assignments on Monday by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau following a spat at the State House over the facility’s new masking requirement, which is stricter than US and Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The rule was set last week by majority Democrats on the…
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Some states are ending enhanced unemployment benefits to get residents back to work
Maine’s Department of Labor currently has no plans to end enhanced employment benefits.
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Why should Mainers pay more for closed government schools?
Governor Janet Mills unveiled a new supplemental budget last week that would grow state spending in Maine to record levels, made possible by the Revenue Forecasting Committee’s newest report which upgrades the state’s General Fund Revenue forecast by about $940 million through the next biennium. Lawmakers approved an $8.3 billion biennial budget earlier this session…
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The problems with Governor Mills’ giveaways for vaccines
On Tuesday, Maine Governor Janet Mills joined President Joe Biden and a small group of US governors for a virtual discussion on the vaccine rollout throughout the states. During the event, Mills unveiled her new “Your Shot to Get Outdoors” plan where the state will offer new incentives for people to get vaccinated. Effective May…
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Mills’ abuse of power as governor predictable after conduct as attorney general
Janet Mills is notorious for her abuses of power and seeming disregard for the best interests of Mainers in favor of what her subjective opinion dictates or agenda requires. When given authority, either as attorney general or now as governor, she pushes the limit of just how much she can use that power. Frequently, she…
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Mainers, not Governor Mills, should decide Maine’s participation in the TCI
Maine’s Committee on State and Local Government held public hearings last Friday on two bills that would require a legislative vote for the state to participate in the Transportation Climate Initiative, a regional cap-and-trade program that would force Mainers to pay more for gasoline and diesel fuel. One bill, LD 1366, is sponsored by Rep.…
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New England governors are lifting pandemic mandates, but not Governor Mills
On Tuesday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced that he will lift all business restrictions, except for mandating masks indoors (including schools), by May 19. On a sooner timeline, Lamont said that the state’s outdoor restrictions will lift on May 1. The pressure is building on the remaining governors in New England, including Massachusetts Governor Charlie…
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Governor Mills thinks her emergency power should be even more expansive
On Wednesday afternoon, Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing on LD 1344, a department bill sponsored by Rep. Michele Meyer of Eliot that would expand the powers of the Department of Health and Human Services during a state of emergency, giving the executive branch even more authority to assess punishments…
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Democrats approve Maine’s next biennial budget on majority vote
Maine lawmakers convened at the Augusta Civic Center on Tuesday to tackle the state’s next two-year spending plan. The budget bill – LD 715, which never received a public hearing – was approved along party lines, the first majority biennial budget passed in Maine since 2005. Majority Democrats in the House voted 77-67 in favor…
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Breaking down the bills to reform Maine’s emergency powers law
As many Mainers question the appropriateness of a year-long state of emergency, in which a sole political official holds the power to unilaterally alter laws, rules, or regulations, with minimal public input, legislators have been equally frustrated. On Monday, the Committee on State and Local Government will hear a dozen bills to reform portions of…