AUGUSTA - Last week, the Maine House of Representatives unanimously enacted LD 1258, sponsored by Rep. Mo Terry, D-Gorham, which would provide support to Maine farmers by increasing the property tax exemption for farm machinery.

AUGUSTA - Last week, the Maine House of Representatives unanimously enacted LD 87, sponsored by Rep. Sean Paulhus, D-Bath, which would allow the governor to distribute funding during a state of emergency to nonprofits that provide food assistance.

AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee voted last week to advance a bill sponsored by Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, that would continue a successful homeless substance use disorder service program.

"Housing is a critical component of substance use disorder treatment," said Gattine. "Traditional case management systems are unsuitable for homeless individuals experiencing acute symptoms of substance use disorder, making them particularly susceptible to overdoses and death. More intensive, low-barrier approaches like this legislation are needed."

AUGUSTA - A bill sponsored by Rep. Daniel J. Hobbs, D-Wells, which directs the Maine Community College System to study providing more housing on its campuses, is now law after being signed by Gov. Janet Mills last week.

"This bill will aid the Maine Community College System in their efforts to ensure campus housing is more accessible for students across Maine," said Hobbs. "In a tight housing market, on-campus housing should be more available to all students, so that finding off-campus housing is not added to the list of challenges students already face."

AUGUSTA - The Maine House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday to enact a measure sponsored by Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, to support older Maine residents by investing in coordinated community programming.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday to advance legislation sponsored by Rep. Charles Skold, D-Portland, that would benefit both restaurants and workers by bringing Maine into alignment with recent changes in federal regulations regarding tip pooling.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House of Representatives voted unanimously on Thursday to enact LD 1169, sponsored by Rep. Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston. The legislation would change the Foreign Credentialing and Skills Recognition Revolving Loan Program to a grant program and increase the maximum allowable distribution of funds to eligible applicants from the current $700 to $1,000.

AUGUSTA - On Thursday, the Maine House of Representatives enacted LD 684, sponsored by Rep. Valli Geiger, D-Rockland, which would direct the Maine Department of Education to review the critical components of the Educare model for publicly funded early child care and education programs. It would also identify necessary resources and best practices for statewide implementation.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House of Representatives voted Thursday to enact a bill sponsored by Rep. Anne Perry, D-Calais, that would allow nursing homes more flexibility in managing occupancy at their facilities.

As amended, LD 938 would restore the ability for nursing homes to voluntarily reduce their number of licensed beds and then later increase the number of those beds to the prior level after obtaining state approval.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House gave final approval this week on bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Sam Zager, D-Portland, that would help low-income Mainers establish or improve credit through their rental payments.