AUGUSTA — A bill that creates a short-term task force of veterans to review and make recommendations for change to the state’s Bureau of Veterans Services is among a group of 65 bills in legal limbo as the Legislature and Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s lawyers prep to duke it out in the state’s highest court. […]
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Posted inMaine
Whimper, not bang, ends 2015 Maine lawmaking session
Happy clapping Maine Senate. Posted by Scott Thistle on Thursday, July 16, 2015 AUGUSTA — An often tumultuous first half of the 127th Maine legislative session came to a nondramatic close Thursday more than six months after it started — making it one of the longest in recent state history. Beyond a smattering of official […]
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Posted inBusiness
Malt house startups help fuel field-to-glass movement
LISBON FALLS — The name comes from Paul Bunyan’s favorite companion. And if the stars align, Joel Alex’s Blue Ox Malthouse might do for the grain industry what Bunyan did for lumber. In a warehouse down an industrial road in Lisbon Falls, Maine’s newest maltster is bent over a stainless steel tank. Unloading damp and […]
Posted inMaine
Maine lawmakers take timeout in rush to finish work for 2015
AUGUSTA — State lawmakers gave themselves a timeout early Wednesday morning when they voted to extend by five days their current work session and then went on recess until Tuesday, June 30. The Legislature still has before it a host of work, not the least of which is finalizing a $6.7 billion budget package that […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
GOP House leader vows to fight ‘tooth and nail’ for income tax cuts in Maine budget
AUGUSTA — House Republicans have entrenched themselves against the rest of the Legislature — including their fellow GOP Senators — and are vowing to fight a state budget being crafted in the Legislature because it doesn’t include income tax cuts or welfare reforms favored by Gov. Paul LePage. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans said they have forged […]
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Maine House passes gun bill that allows concealed weapons
AUGUSTA — The Maine House of Representatives on Monday voted 83-62 to approve a bill lifting the state’s permit requirement for carrying a concealed handgun. Monday’s vote was the culmination of a decades-long effort by gun rights advocates to remove restrictions on lawful gun owners and follows a 21-14 vote in the state Senate last week […]
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GOP push for state Department of Energy highlights desire to lower Maine’s energy costs
AUGUSTA — The $38 million fallout from a missing “and” along with a push by Republican lawmakers and Gov. Paul LePage to create a new Cabinet-level Department of Energy is highlighting the ongoing struggle the state’s top policymakers face as they try to combat Maine’s high energy costs. But a disagreement over funding has Democrats […]
Posted inMaine
Bill that tackles offshore tax havens clears Maine House on party-line vote
AUGUSTA — A measure to prevent multinational corporations from evading Maine taxes by hiding profits in offshore tax havens won initial approval in the state’s Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday on an 81-67, party-line vote. The bill, LD 341, sponsored by state Rep. Ryan Tipping-Spitz, D-Orono, requires Maine companies to report any income from […]
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Maine Legislature to take up ethics bill for state government
AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers Wednesday will debate a bill aimed at strengthening the state’s ethics code for executive branch officers and employees, including those who run the biggest departments in state government. The bill is the result of a document-shredding scandal that erupted after a 2012 Sun Journal records request that sought information from the […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Maine
Maine House rejects hands-free only cell phone bill
AUGUSTA — The Maine House of Representatives on Tuesday defeated a bill that would have made it illegal to drive while using a hand-held mobile phone. The 55-88 vote against LD 185, a measure penned by state Sen. Roger Katz, R-Augusta, followed broad support for the bill in the state Senate earlier this month. Lawmakers in the […]