AUGUSTA - Rep. Melanie Sachs, D-Freeport, is introducing a bill that would appropriate $15 million from the General Fund to fully cover the state's reimbursement to municipalities for costs associated with the Property Tax Stabilization Program. The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee will have a public hearing on the bill on Feb. 13.
Rep. Allison Hepler, D-Woolwich, welcomed Walter and Phyllis Coombs of Brunswick to the State House on Thursday. The Coombs were at the State House to honor their friend, Private Merwin A. Delano, Jr., who was 18 years old when he was killed in Vietnam in 1966
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Rep. Hepler is sponsoring legislation this session to name Route 127 in Arrowsic the Private Merwin A. Delano, Jr. Memorial Highway. The bill received unanimous support in the Transportation Committee on Thursday.
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AUGUSTA - Rep. Tavis Hasenfus, D-Winthrop, introduced legislation Wednesday to invest additional resources to combat invasive aquatic species in Maine waters and to direct relevant state departments to collaborate on best practices for mitigating the spread of invasive species.
AUGUSTA - Rep. Michele Meyer, D-Eliot, introduced a bill on Thursday before the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee to bolster Maines Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Joint Select Committee on Housing unanimously voted Tuesday to advance a measure that combines proposals from Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio, D-Sanford, and Rep. Colleen Madigan, D-Waterville, to increase funding for homeless shelters in Maine.
AUGUSTA - Speaker of the House Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, and Rep. Charles Skold, D-Portland, will join other members of the state legislative delegation and local Portland officials, including Mayor Mark Dion and Portland City Council members, for a community meeting hosted by the Peaks Island Council on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m.
The meeting will convene leaders to discuss current and future recovery efforts from the back-to-back January storms that devastated many communities along Maine's coast.
AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Labor and Housing Committee voted Tuesday in unanimous support of a measure sponsored by Rep. Bill Pluecker, D-Warren, that would remove the age requirement for retirement for certain Department of Corrections (DOC) staff.
AUGUSTA - Rep. Valli Geiger, D-Rockland, presented a measure before the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Monday that would increase access to justice for survivors of sexual assault by establishing a statewide sexual assault forensic examination kit tracking system.
AUGUSTA - A majority of the Legislature's Health Coverage Insurance and Financial Services Committee (HCIFS) voted Tuesday to advance legislation sponsored by Rep. Jane Pringle, D-Windham, that would ease the administrative burden of prior authorization on healthcare providers. The vote was seven to five among committee members present.
AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee voted Tuesday to advance legislation sponsored by Rep. Sam Zager, D-Portland, that would require health insurance coverage for biomarker testing.