WASHINGTON (AP) — After talks with President Barack Obama, top Republican leaders in Congress put together a quick rescue plan Tuesday for highly controversial, White House-backed trade legislation that Democrats derailed in the House last week. Officials said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were likely to split the […]
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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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Maine Senate approves bill to allow concealed guns without permits
AUGUSTA — On a 21-14 vote, a bill allowing handgun owners to carry concealed weapons without permits gained approval in the Maine Senate on Thursday. The bill, LD 652, sponsored by state Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, would do away with Maine’s requirement that an individual wanting to carry a concealed weapon first obtain a permit from […]
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Maine Senator wants four-year terms
AUGUSTA — State Sen. Amy Volk, R-Scarborough, wants to ask voters if Maine should increase the length of a state Senate term from two years to four. Volk told members of the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee earlier this month that two-year terms for state senators are too short and leave senators spending more […]
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Lawmakers hone focus on ‘glaring loophole’ in Maine clean elections law
AUGUSTA — A bipartisan group of state lawmakers continues to hone its focus on reforming the Maine Clean Election Act in an effort to keep those running for state office from forming and managing political action committees. The system is ripe for corruption and fraught with ethical pitfalls because candidates accept donations for their leadership […]
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Brakey seeks to lower age for Legislative service
AUGUSTA — A state lawmaker from Auburn is hoping to lower the minimum age for candidates wanting to serve in the Maine Legislature. State Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, offered a bill Monday that would ask voters statewide if they want to lower the minimum age for State House candidates to 18 for the House of […]
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Corporate conferences point out loopholes in state ethics laws
AUGUSTA — The recent two-day conference that corporate giant Time Warner Cable put on for Maine legislators has revealed loopholes in the state’s ethics laws that make it difficult for voters to know whether their elected representatives took part. On Jan. 22-23, Time Warner, the leading cable telecommunications provider in the state, invited a select […]
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Maine Senate votes to seat Manchester over Breen as ballot dispute continues
AUGUSTA — Despite an ongoing debate about the results of the election in Maine Senate District 25, majority Republicans in the Senate overwhelmed Democratic opposition to provisionally seat GOP candidate Cathy Manchester on Wednesday morning. Manchester’s opponent, Democrat Cathy Breen, was declared the victor by a 32-vote margin in an initial tally of votes after […]
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On gas pipeline for New England, King agrees with LePage
LEWISTON — U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Tuesday he agrees with newly re-elected Republican Gov. Paul LePage that New England should expand its natural gas pipeline. King, during a meeting at the Sun Journal, said LePage has been right to advocate for expanding the flow of natural gas from Pennsylvania and New York into […]