It could be a stalemate day in the Maine Legislature on Tuesday, when lawmakers are scheduled to vote on bills including an equal-rights amendment, as well as proposals to expand and reduce the use of ranked-choice voting.
Democrats on a legislative committee endorsed a bill Friday that would have Maine switch from nominating caucuses to a state-run primary for the 2020 presidential election in a national transition away from the few remaining caucuses.
Most Democrats in the Maine House of Representatives reversed themselves on Thursday to uphold the first veto from Gov. Janet Mills, spiking a proposed ban on the sale of a blend of gasoline with more than 10 percent ethanol.
The administration of Gov. Janet Mills recently said it will end a small program that provides free, universal access to online Advanced Placement classes particularly valuable for high school students who want to attend out-of-state colleges.
The committee tasked with paying for Gov. Janet Mills’ January inaugural festivities still needs to raise just more than $67,000 to settle most of its tab from the Augusta Civic Center. Settling that debt may have to wait until early summer.
In a pressure-packed and surprising Thursday vote, the Maine Senate endorsed an amendment by a one-vote margin that would retain a religious exemption to school vaccine requirements that could throw the passage of a high-profile bill into doubt.
Maine is projected to beat revenue projections by $66 million in this budget year and nearly $21 million in the next two years, providing a small cushion to a tight two-year budget proposed by Gov. Janet Mills but not enough to fund many Democratic priorities.
A bill that could make Maine the first state to reinstate internet privacy rules similar to those nixed by a Republican-led Congress in 2017 was endorsed by a legislative committee on Tuesday in a move that bodes well for its passage.
A version of the “Medicare for all” bill championed by Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, several of his rivals for the nomination and the two Democrats in Maine’s congressional delegation is getting its first committee hearing on Tuesday.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is a top target of Democrats and a little-known grassroots Republican has announced a primary challenge against her, but a poll shows the senator’s reshaped base is holding together in the approach to the 2020 election.
