AUGUSTA - Following the House and Senate votes on Wednesday, House Majority Leader Mo Terry (D-Gorham) and Assistant Majority Leader Kristen Cloutier (D-Lewiston) released the following statements on the Emergency Winter Heating Relief Plan.

House Majority Leader Mo Terry issued the following statement:

AUGUSTA - Following the report on Thursday by the Advisory Council on Military Sexual Trauma detailing its recommendations to improve responses to sexual assault and sexual harassment within the Maine National Guard, Rep. Morgan Rielly, D-Westbrook, issued the following statement:

AUGUSTA - Maine House Democrats on Thursday elected Rep. Mo Terry, D-Gorham, to serve as House Majority Leader and Rep. Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, as Assistant Majority Leader.

Terry replaces termed-out Rep. Michelle Dunphy as House Majority Leader, while Cloutier replaces current Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, who earned the House Democratic nomination to serve as Speaker of the House. A final vote on that position will be taken by the entire House of Representatives on Dec. 7 when the Legislature convenes for swearing-in day.

AUGUSTA - Maine House Democrats on Thursday nominated Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, to serve as Maine's Speaker of the House for the 131st Legislature.

AUGUSTA - A law sponsored by Rep. Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, to bolster Maine's workforce education and training programs, has been implemented by the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) to fund eight "Strengthening Maine Workforce" projects across the state.

AUGUSTA - A new law sponsored by Rep. Melanie Sachs, D-Freeport, establishing the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority, has earned three awards for its impact on the revitalization of communities throughout Maine.

AUGUSTA - Rep. Jessica Fay, D-Raymond, has been named House chair of the newly-created PFAS Fund Advisory Committee. The committee, established in the Fiscal Year 2023 supplemental budget that was passed by the Legislature earlier this year, will make recommendations on how to utilize a $60 million fund to provide relief to Maine farmers that have been impacted by PFAS contamination.

The leaves are beginning to change and the mornings are becoming colder here in Dover-Foxcroft, meaning that winter is right around the corner. Around town, many of our neighbors have already expressed their concerns to me about struggling to heat their homes this winter due to the rising costs of oil and electricity. According to the Governor's Energy Office, as of September 26, the average price of heating oil in northern Maine has risen almost 70 percent over the past year, increasing from $2.71 per gallon to $4.51 per gallon.

AUGUSTA - Rep. Lori Gramlich, D-Old Orchard Beach, will deliver the keynote address at the First Annual Coastal Conference hosted by SOS Saco Bay on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The conference will focus on the challenge of confronting rising seas and coastal erosion, and Gramlich's remarks will provide an overview of climate change and its implications on Maine's shoreline and the economy.

Thanks to up to $500 million in federal and state funding, and the work my colleagues and I in Augusta did to advance access to high-speed internet for rural Mainers, we have a monumental opportunity to close the digital divide once and for all. Our leaders must prioritize solutions that bring broadband connectivity to communities still living without it and avoid proposals that will waste the finite funds we have or do little to address the factors driving our state's internet divide.