The Democratic Agenda is based on four cornerstones that all contribute to building social and economic prosperity.

Continued to improve access to affordable health care

• Prohibited hospitals from charging patients to correct medical errors
• Enacted insurance reforms that will reduce private insurance rates by up to 40 percent and bring more healthy young people into the market
• Stabilized affordable health care for thousands of Maine families and businesses through Dirigo Health and protected efforts to reduce health care costs for everyone
• Created an income tax credit for dentists who agree to practice in underserved, rural areas
• Authorized a veterans’ campus in Bangor to provide housing, a community-based outpatient clinic, a hospice facility and other crucial services to Maine veterans

Enacted important new consumer protection laws

• Prohibited “equity stripping” and protected people selling their homes from having to pay undue property taxes
• Prevented prepaid calling card providers from changing the value of cards after purchase
• Allowed consumers to get a cash refund on most gift cards with less than $5 of value
• Established a statewide model building and energy efficiency code for new home construction, remodeling and substantial renovation
• Added safeguards to make it more difficult for metal thieves to sell scrap metal in the state

Encouraged clean energy and environmental preservation

• Created low-interest loan programs for geothermal heating units to encourage renewable energy use and reduce energy costs
• Streamlined the process for approving wind turbines
• Prohibited certain commercial vehicles from excessive engine idling, with exceptions for some industries and weather conditions
• Suspended construction of new coal-fired power plants until the state establishes guidelines to minimize emissions

Boosted road and bridge repairs; improved license security

• Boosted funding to repair and replace old and outdated bridges, fix roads in the state, and create thousands of new jobs
• Supported alternative transportation without raising costs by dedicating funds from existing accounts to support transit, aeronautics and rail transportation, including expansion of the Downeaster train service
• Required a person to prove they are a Maine resident in order to qualify for a driver’s license

Protected kids from toxic chemicals

• Protected kids from secondhand smoke by prohibiting smoking in a car when a child under 16 is present
• Required the state to test, track and eliminate dangerous chemicals from products that children are exposed to in Maine
• Prohibited lead in children’s products, boosted lead inspection and enforcement, and created the voluntary lead-safe housing registry

Supported working Maine families and the economy

• Increased the minimum wage to $7.25 this fall and to $7.50 per hour in October 2009
• Amended the Family Medical Leave laws to include siblings
• Reduced county property taxes and prison overcrowding by consolidating state and county jail services
• Allowed towns to reduce property taxes for seniors who provide volunteer services for the town
• Allowed communities to save money and reduce jail overcrowding by allowing fine scofflaws to perform community service instead of serving jail time
• Added flexibility and corrected flaws in the school district consolidation law

Strengthened governmental ethics laws

• Prevented a candidate from paying a member of their household unreasonably for campaign services
• Expanded disclosure of lawmakers’ income, gifts and campaign finance reports, and allowed a process for public citizens to lodge complaints about legislators

Supported the natural resources economy and recreation

• Required state agencies to ensure that there is no net loss of acreage open to hunting
• Restored alewife passage at the Woodland Dam on the St. Croix River
• Developed laws to expedite the re-opening of clam flats and the sale of shellfish by commercial license holders

The state budget

• Cut state spending by nearly $200 million, spending less money in FY09 than in FY08
• Reduced Health & Human Services spending by $65 million
• Cut the legislative budget by $2.2 million
• Rejected proposals to cut health care and prescription drug coverage for the poorest Mainers and cuts to domestic violence prevention and mental health and retardation services
• Funded a new tax credit for redeveloping historic buildings and also funded school breakfast for low income families

Continued to lead the nation in proactive initiatives to keep health care costs down

• allowed DirigoChoice to self-administer its services, which could save the state program millions in overhead costs;
• created more transparency in rising health care costs among providers and insurers;
  allowed dependents up to age 25 to stay on their parents’ insurance to keep healthy young people in the market;
• prohibited advertisements in drug-prescribing software; required pharmacies to keep co-payments down;
• protected seniors from manipulative insurance sales practices when they’re purchasing Medicare products;
• and required insurance companies to cover hearing aids for children up to age 18

Made 2007 one of the best years for the environment in decades

• joined Maine into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which will lower emissions in the Northeast by 10 percent;
• banned the hazardous deca flame retardant;
• set new groundwater withdrawal standards;
• protected trees, vegetation and animals from shore land overdevelopment;
• set emission standards and enacted needed regulations for wood boiler use;
• and passed a bond package to invest in Land for Maine’s Future and the working waterfront

Protected consumers, seniors, kids and workers’ rights

• protected Maine homeowners from predatory lending practices, and seniors from financial abuse, neglect or exploitation;
• required landlords to notify tenants if they’re doing work that disturbs lead paint;
• protected traditional community businesses by requiring impact studies for big-box retail development required that domestic workers be paid at least the minimum wage increased efforts to prevent domestic violence
• expanded the family medical leave act to include domestic partners
• established a commission to review children’s issues, including child development, care, and visitation rights

Protected natural resources & access to Maine’s wilderness

• elevated the status of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and established a public council and endowment fund to support capital acquisitions and improvements; historic, cultural and educational programs; and facilities.
• authorized the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to re-establish a full-time landowner relations coordinator to facilitate interactions between landowners and traditional users of undeveloped properties.
• recommended new additions and deletions to Maine’s Endangered Species Act to assure that our biodiversity is accurately assessed and protected.
• passed legislation to recognize Maine’s native heritage fish stocks, the lakes and waterways in which they live, and the regulations necessary to protect them.
• increased funding for youth conservation education through an increase in the number of Moose permits to be auctioned.
• established the Black Bear Research Fund to fund, or assist in funding, studies related to the management of black bears.

Supported the largest bipartisan bond package in state history

• the transportation network, fixing and upgrading roads and bridges;
• building the economy of the future through research & development;
• infrastructure upgrades to higher education and K-12 school facilities;
• the Land for Maine’s Future program, which preserves Maine’s quality places;
• and natural resource-based and environmental cleanup projects
• The bond package will build Maine’s future economy by injecting more than $670 million into the state after federal and private matching funds.

Passed measures to develop Maine’s economy and invest in education

• created a new tax credit for Maine college graduates to help pay their student loans if they stay in the state
• expanded Pine Tree Zone benefits to more businesses that commit to making large capital investments and hiring more employees
• reformed workers’ compensation - decreasing unemployment taxes to Maine businesses by $68 million, establishing a workers’ training program and eliminating both the social security unemployment offset and the sunset on part-time unemployment benefits

Supported Rural Maine and the Agricultural Economy

• supported local farms, preserved farmland and limited sprawl by allowing farmers to grant qualified easements to their municipalities in exchange for support payments from the municipalities
• ensured the health of Maine’s livestock and domestic animals by developing guidelines to make livestock handling and slaughtering practices more humane, establishing importation requirements for certain livestock and strengthening animal welfare laws
• preserved Maine’s dairy industry by adjusting milk handling fees to neutralize fluctuations in the price of milk
• improved education funding for rural school districts by paying schools districts that receive students from unorganized territories the actual cost of educating those students, rather than the state average
• funded Maine Farms for the Future, a business assistance program that helps Maine farmers plan for the future of their gricultural enterprises and realize the economic development potential of niche products and specialty marketing

Preserved traditional Maine coastal communities

• The Legislature passed a number of laws to help protect our coastal environment and preserve and grow our traditional marine industries. New laws will ensure that local committees have a significant voice in whether an area can be opened for depuration harvesting; require the Department of Environmental Protection to establish nutrient pollution criteria for Maine’s coastal waters, in order to reduce pollution levels; and preserve the integrity of coastal areas by requiring those who illegally cut trees in shore-land areas to replace them with trees of similar size and species.
• The bond items passed by the Legislature this year will give citizens the opportunity to dedicate funds to preserve Maine’s working waterfront and small harbors. November Bond items for your approval include $3 million for the working waterfront, which would trigger an additional $3 million in federal matching funds. The transportation bond provides nearly $3 million in funds for ferry and port improvements.

Supported critical state programs while streamlining government and improving efficiency

• cut spending in the governor’s original budget proposal by $114 million
• developed more sustainable long-term funding in school and health care services
• met the citizen-voted mandate to increase state funding for K-12 public education to 55%
• kept tuition hikes down and expanded access to higher education; enhanced education services for blind and visually impaired children; provided additional support for domestic violence prevention and for Women, Work and Community
• eased the prison overcrowding crisis and made progress in finding long-term solutions, without shipping prisoners out of state

Supported Higher Education

• Created a new tax credit for Maine college graduates to help pay their student loans if they stay in the state
• Kept tuition hikes down and expanded access to higher education;
• Improved education funding for rural school districts by paying schools districts that receive students from unorganized territories the actual cost of educating those students, rather than the state average
• Included funding in the bond package for infrastructure upgrades to higher education and K-12 school facilities;