Many, many hearings on tap

    I testified last week on keeping 14 Maine Revenue Service positions in Houlton that were scheduled to go away. When those positions were established in southern Aroostook in 1998, the primary reason was that they could not be filled in the Augusta area. I am not convinced that has changed. It is critical to us in the county that we are able to bring good jobs into the region and keep them here. We don’t want to lose them arbitrarily. I will follow this closely. The entire Aroostook delegation is behind keeping these positions locally.
My committee, Education & Cultural Affairs, has started public hearings on a host of bills that were on hold while we worked on school administration proposals. One bill that might have had implications for the region is LD 483, which would require schools to start their instructional calendar after Labor Day. The sponsor of the bill did agree to waive Aroostook County from this requirement, as we still have many school units who start in mid-August and close for harvest recess. The irony of this bill is that I have heard volumes recently about the need for local control in school matters, yet this proposal would take away one of the few local decisions left to school boards – setting the school calendar. The intent of the bill is to allow public school students who work in the tourism industry to be available through the last big weekend of the summer. Our committee will hold a work session on this bill in the coming weeks and decide whether to recommend the entire legislature pass it or not.
I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with a number of healthcare professionals who were in Augusta recently to further discuss the Medicare/MaineCare funding reimbursement issues for Maine’s hospitals. The governor has presented a plan for both past reimbursement and on-going funding. To date, the funds for those payments are in the budget, and I certainly plan to object to any effort to make changes. It is critical that our hospitals be funded at the level which the state has promised. Bill Calhoun, TAMC COO; Tom Moakler, Houlton Regional Hospital CEO; and Kris Doody, CEO at Cary Medical Center, were here this week with members of their staffs and have been very helpful in providing me with the information I need to keep a careful eye on hospital funding issues. I appreciate their assistance. I also had a great visit with Washburn resident Holly Dobson, who was here representing members of the state Nurses Association and their concerns.
Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts or concerns. I may be reached at 287-1400, or toll free 1-800-423-2900, and you can always e-mail me at RepPatricia.Sutherland@legislature.maine.gov.
Rep. Sutherland represents Castle Hill, Chapman, Hammond, Littleton, Mapleton, Masardis, Monticello, Presque Isle (part), Wade, Washburn and Oxbow Plantation, plus the unorganized territory of Central Aroostook (including E Township).