Legislature adjourns
for 2008
Amid budget shortfall and consolidation proposals,
a number of positive bills pass into law – list below
April 18, 2008
AUGUSTA – The Maine Legislature adjourn for the year on Friday
night, April 18. Although much of the focus in 2008 had been on closing
an unexpected budget shortfall and proposals to consolidate school
districts and jails, many bills were passed into law in 2008 that
will help Mainers to save costs on health care and energy; encourage
renewable resources and alternative transportation; protect children
from exposure to toxic chemicals; boost road and bridge repairs;
increase wages and encourage economic development.
“It was a challenging year for the Legislature, but we have
a lot to be proud of,” said House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree,
D-North Haven. “A small handful of issues capitalized a lot
of our time and the public’s attention. But we passed a number
of Democratic bills into law this year that will continue to move
Maine forward in the critical arenas of health care access, energy,
public safety and transportation.” Click
here to read more.
House
enacts budget compromise
State budget closes $190 million
structural gap: restores cuts to health care, no new taxes, no
rainy day fund
March 31, 2008
AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives passed the supplemental
state budget to be enacted by a vote of 84-55 at around 9 p.m. Monday
evening. The budget will now go to the State Senate for final enactment
and then to Governor Baldacci, who has said he will sign it into
law. Click here to read
more.
Legislature passes measure to restore funding for
mental health, protect services in small rural hospitals
March 31, 2008
AUGUSTA – The Maine House passed a measure on Monday night
to restore proposed cuts to mental health services, prevent cuts
in reimbursements to hospital-based physicians who care for patients
through the State’s MaineCare program, and adjust the hospitals’ tax
structure in order to draw down more support from the federal government. Click
here to read more.
House unanimously enacts Pingree bill
to encourage renewable energy
April 1, 2008
AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives unanimously
supported a bill on Tuesday that aims to help consumers to conserve
energy, and develop and share renewable energy resources.
House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree submitted the bill, LD 2149 – “Resolve,
To Lower Energy Costs and Increase Renewable Energy in Maine,” to
the Utilities Committee in February. She worked with the Committee
throughout February and into March in developing an amendment that
earned unanimous committee support. Click
here to read more.
Pingree presents bill
to protect kids from toxic chemicals
February 28, 2008
AUGUSTA –A number of Maine lawmakers, advocates for public health, families,
children and the environment are concerned that toxic chemicals are finding
their way into household products in the United States. One legislative leader
is proposing a bill to test, track and eliminate dangerous chemicals from products
that are exposed to children in Maine, and the bill is already catching on
in states across the country.
House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, spoke to a
packed crowd at a press conference at the State House Welcome Center
Thursday about the problem of manufacturers using untested and unregulated
toxic chemicals in household products, particularly ones that are
exposed to children. Click
here to read more.
House endorses resolution
urging Congress to fight Medicaid cuts
House votes 112-24 in favor of statement admonishing Bush administration
cuts to health care services
February 7, 2008
AUGUSTA – With a swift and convincing vote Thursday morning,
the Maine House of Representatives issued a clear message to the
Bush administration and the federal Center for Medicaid Services
that new cuts in services provided by the federal program will have
a severe and damaging impact on the health of Maine people and the
strength of the State’s economy.
The House voted 112-24 in favor of a joint resolution inspired
by an announcement at the end of January from the Center for Medicaid
Services that the Medicaid program would no longer provide reimbursements
for a host of vital services provided to children, the elderly and
people with disabilities. Click
here to read more.
Busy Day for Maine Legislative Committees
Committees consider proposals to protect children’s
health, promote conservation, boost green home heating and improve
boater
safety
January 22, 2008
AUGUSTA – The Maine Legislature is back in full swing, and
Tuesday was a busy day at the State House. Legislative committees
considered a broad range of high-profile proposals that ranged from
a ban on smoking in cars to promoting green home heating.
Although substantial issues like the state budget, school district
consolidation, jail reorganization and health care have attracted
much of the attention leading into the 2008 session, House Democrats
have proposed a number of measures that aim to boost conservation
and renewable energy, enhance laws to protect consumers and children’s
health, and promote economic development. Click
here for more.
Legislators introduce bill to help
truckers and loggers save on fuel costs
Local representatives support temporary weight limit increase
January 15, 2008
AUGUSTA – As the nation continues to struggle with skyrocketing
fuel prices, members of the Legislature and Governor Baldacci are
proposing a measure to help ease the pressure on Maine loggers and
commercial truckers for the forest products industry by allowing
a temporary weight limit increase through the winter months.
Bangor-area and Aroostook County legislators are co-sponsoring a
bill proposed by the governor, Rep. Boyd Marley, D-Portland, and
Sen. Elizabeth Schneider, D-Penobscot County that would allow a 5
percent increase in the amount of weight that loggers and truckers
carrying forest products are allowed to carry, in order to consolidate
loads and save fuel costs. The forest products industry – which
is a major economic driver for the state - has been hit particularly
hard by rising fuel prices, as drivers in the independent trucking
network hauling fiber from the woods to processing are unable to
pass the cost of higher fuel through because they had signed the
contracts previously. Click
here for more.
Hannah Pingree
chosen as one of nation’s
top elected officials
Aspen Institute invites Maine House Majority Leader to participate
in prestigious national fellowship
November 5, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC -- Following an eight-month search involving input
from more than 1,000 business, political, and civic leaders, the
Aspen Institute has selected Maine House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree
as one of the nation's top young elected officials. Pingree will
participate in a fellowship program honoring public leaders identified
as "the true rising stars" of American politics. Click
here for more.
Piotti submits
bill barring campaign payments to spouses
August 28, 2007
AUGUSTA – The controversial campaign practice of paying a
spouse for work on Clean Elections campaigns could be outlawed in
the upcoming legislative 2008 session, if a bill sponsored by State
Rep. John Piotti is passed into law.
Piotti and Rep. John Brautigam have submitted a bill that would
make it illegal for a Clean Elections-funded candidate to pay their
spouse or domestic partner for contract work on their campaign. Click
here for more.
Most successful legislative session in years comes
to close
First Regular Session of the 123rd legislature comes to close,
major initiatives moved forward
AUGUSTA– On the first full day of summer the Maine House and
Senate wrapped up the first regular session of the 123rd Legislature.
The six-month session, which saw a record number of bills filed,
ended just one day past the targeted adjournment date and came after
a large body of accomplishments was recorded. The session was noted
for its bipartisanship and progress on some of Maine’s most
pressing issues. Click here for more.
House unanimously endorses "Opportunity Maine" legislation
Bill will help college graduates pay off student loans if they
stay in Maine
June 19, 2007
AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives gave unanimous
approval on Tuesday to a bill designed to encourage Maine college
graduates to stay in the state by creating a new tax credit for graduates
or their employers to pay off student loans. Click here for more.
Governor signs deca ban bill into law
State will require phase-out of the flame retardant in household
items
June 14, 2007
AUGUSTA – Governor Baldacci signed into law on Thursday a
bill that will phase out the use of a potentially dangerous flame
retardant from Maine households. The bill, sponsored by House Majority
Leader Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, assed in the House and Senate
with broad bipartisan support late in May.
The legislation will ban the use of deca-BDE in mattresses and furniture
on January 1, 2008 and phase out its use in televisions and other
plastic-cased electronics by January 1, 2010. Click here for more.
House gives initial passage to historic tax reform package
Bill will lower income tax rate, provide property tax relief, balance
sales tax base
June 13, 2007
AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives gave initial
passage on Wednesday to a historic bipartisan tax reform package
geared at reducing the tax burden on Maine people, encouraging new
business growth and balancing the state’s volatile sales tax
base. The House voted 87-49 in support of the package and sent it
to the Senate. Click here for more.
State budget passes first test in House, headed to the Senate
for more votes
School administrative reforms to create 80 districts, with new
penalties and incentives added
June 6, 2007
AUGUSTA– Six days after receiving the unanimous approval of the Appropriations
Committee, the state budget saw its first action on the floor of the Maine
House of Representatives on Tuesday night. Members of the Appropriations
Committee presented the 800-plus page document that spells out the State’s
spending priorities for the coming two years and rejected a number of attempts
to chip away at the agreement that was struck between Democrats and Republicans. Click
here for more.
Legislature supports two major environmental bills
Proposals to enroll Maine in regional carbon emissions reduction
pact, phase out hazardous chemical in households earn support in
Maine Senate
June 5, 2007
AUGUSTA – Two bills that will stand as a legacy for the 123rd
Maine legislature as a leading state in environmental policy were
supported within a few hours of each other on Tuesday, as the Maine
Senate gave initial approval to a bill that will allow Maine to join
the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and final enactment to one
that will require the state to phase out use of a hazardous chemical
in Maine households. Click here for more.
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