Who should be in charge of local education policy? Should it be parents and families, or labor unions? This session…
Browsing: Opinion
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…
Maine’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee is holding a public hearing Wednesday on LD 1988, “An Act To Prohibit the…
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…
The Transportation and Climate Initiative, a regional coalition of 12 states and Washington DC that seeks to price emissions within…
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,…
Cartoon by Eric Allie
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…
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 majority members of Maine’s Legislative Council voted Friday to kill along party lines a pair of nonpartisan emergency bill…
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…
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…
During the First Session of the 129th Legislature, Rep. Seth Berry introduced LD 1646, a bill that would create a consumer-owned…
In Maine and 12 other states, local governments have the ability to steal the equity you’ve built in your home…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center and EdChoice recently filed an amicus brief in Carson et al v. Makin, a case before…
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…
The following piece highlights The Maine Heritage Policy Center’s recent report “A False Majority: The Failed Experiment of Ranked-Choice Voting”…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
It’s hard to imagine a time when we didn’t have the internet. From email to streaming music and videos to…
Tiny houses are a relatively new phenomenon and are becoming a modern lifestyle choice for individuals and families who enjoy…
Governor Mills’ first move in office was to sign an executive order expanding Medicaid to more than 70,000 Mainers. Maine…
Hundreds of new Maine laws will take effect later this week. Among them is LD 1627, “An Act to Authorize…
On September 19th, many bills passed during the First Regular Session of the 129th Legislature will become law. While several…
Last month, Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson released a formal opinion that said the state is not in compliance with…
Hundreds of bills failed to become law in the First Regular Session of the 129th Legislature. Among them was LD…
One of the issues Congress will be considering when they return from August recess is so-called “net neutrality” — how…
Maine Governor Janet Mills decided Friday to let LD 1083, “An Act To Implement Ranked-choice Voting for Presidential Primary and…
Governor Janet Mills has until the end of the day Friday to decide on the fate of LD 1083, a…
This week, in honor of Labor Day, the Maine Center for Economic Policy’s James Myall published an article claiming that…
Last week, Governor Janet Mills announced that Maine will pursue a state-based health insurance marketplace using the federal IT platform…
This week, Portland city officials notified Fair Elections Portland, a pro-ranked-choice voting group, that they did not acquire enough signatures…
The Maine Legislature reconvened on Monday to consider four bond proposals that failed to garner enough votes for passage in…
Lawmakers returned to Augusta on Monday to debate several bonds proposed by Governor Janet Mills during a special legislative session…
Politicians everywhere should have to take a version of the Hippocratic Oath, swearing the laws they enact to solve problems…
Governor Janet Mills issued a proclamation Monday calling the legislature back to the State House for a special legislative session…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center today released its newest report, “A False Majority: The Failed Experiment of Ranked-Choice Voting.” The…
Laura Catevenis, a resident of Lewiston, was close to rock bottom. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and, two years…
Advocates of a higher minimum wage rarely appeal to scholarly research to bolster their case. Instead, you’re more likely to…
When it comes down to it, Maine is an amazing place to live and raise a family. The large blue…
The state of Maine currently prevents employees who work in the public-sector from using a common instrument in the organized…
The decline of Maine’s manufacturing sector, whose workforce has shrunk by nearly half since the early 1990s, can seem inexorable,…
The Maine Legislature next session will consider another bill that would be harmful to Maine’s small business community and employers…
Governments spend a good deal of time and money attempting to solve problems of their own making. Endemic poverty, the…
Last month, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu vetoed a two-year state budget because it would have reversed the direction of…
There has been quite a bit of debate in recent years about whether too much is spent on school administration…
Lawmakers and special interests always seem to title their bills with buzzwords that make them sound like they are going…
The Maine Legislature is slated to debate more than $2.1 billion in bonds when they reconvene next session, a staggering…
Farmer Randy Canarr of Souder Station Farm has been farming and raising livestock in Winterport for almost 10 years, providing…
Every two years, the Maine Office of Tax Policy releases a lengthy report on tax expenditures, the multitude of carveouts…
A $15 federal minimum wage would wipe out 1.3 million low-income jobs and boost the wages of at least 17…
Last week, Governor Matt Bevin gave the keynote address at The Maine Heritage Policy Center’s 2019 Freedom and Opportunity Luncheon.…
In 2005, the United States Congress passed the REAL ID Act, with the purpose of establishing “minimum security standards for…
After the First Regular Session of the 129th Maine Legislature came to a close, Governor Janet Mills vetoed two bills…
On Wednesday, June 26, United States District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby issued a ruling that upheld a current law…
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Janus v. the American Federation of State, County…
In our modern day and age, roughly nine out of 10 American adults use the internet. They depend on this…
In a utopian society where there is no ill will or mistakes made in document processing, an automatic voter registration…
Governor Janet Mills on Thursday, June 20 signed into law LD 534, sponsored by Rep. John Andrews, a bill that…
The effort to expand Maine’s estate tax, more aptly known as the “death tax,” was dealt a blow this week,…
On Tuesday, June 11, the Maine House of Representatives voted 73-70 in favor of passing a heavily-amended version of LD…
Two days after the Maine Senate voted 24-11 in favor of passing LD 255, “Resolution, Proposing an Amendment to the…
As we approach the ten-year anniversary of Maine’s historic public charter school system, there is much to celebrate about how…
Governor Janet Mills last week signed into law LD 946 “An Act To Protect the Privacy of Online Customer Information”.…