AUGUSTA - In a bipartisan vote, the Maine House advanced a bill on Thursday sponsored by Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, that would restrict future utility ownership by foreign governments.

LD 697 as amended would require the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to deny any future purchase of a Maine utility by a foreign entity if it risks losses to reliability, customer privacy and safety, regulatory capacity or the state economy.

State legislators welcome Terra Gallo of Cumberland and her parents to the State House Thursday. Gallo was awarded the 2022 Legislative Memorial Scholarship for Cumberland County. From left to right, stands Rep. Steve Moriarty, D-Cumberland, Susan Gallo, Terra Gallo, David Gallo, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, and Rep. Morgan Rielly, D-Westbrook, with Rep. Kathy Javner, R-Chester, at the rostrum.

Contact:

Jackie Merrill [Moriarty, Rielly], c. 812-1111
John Bott [Javner], o. 287-1440

Rep. Thom Harnett, D-Gardiner, and Rep. Allison Hepler, D-Woolwich, welcome the Hall-Dale High School girls' basketball team to the State House Thursday.

The team was recognized by the entire House of Representatives for winning the 2022 Class C State Championship.

Contact:

Jackie Merrill [Harnett, Hepler], c. 812-1111

Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, D-South Portland, welcomes the Southern Maine Community College men's basketball team to the State House Thursday.

The team was recognized by the entire House of Representatives for winning the 2022 U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association Division II championship.

Contact:

Jackie Merrill [Reckitt], c. 812-1111

AUGUSTA - Ahead of the U.S. Senate's historic vote today to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, Assistant House Majority Leader Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, has released the following statement:

AUGUSTA - Rep. Allison Hepler, D-Woolwich, spoke at an event Wednesday to advocate for organ donation and to share her own story as a donor spouse. In 1997, Hepler lost her husband after a work place fall, but because of his decision to be an organ donor, he saved multiple lives.

"Organ donation when your loved one is dying is not a decision to make. It's just what you do," said Hepler. "I think of it as a final act of love."

AUGUSTA - Today, Speaker Ryan Fecteau and Governor Janet Mills joined child care workers to celebrate a bill to recruit and retain Maine's child care workforce. The bill,

AUGUSTA - Gov. Janet Mills recently signed into law two bills sponsored by Rep. Tiffany Roberts, D-South Berwick, aimed at facilitating economic investments in businesses throughout Maine.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House gave initial approval Tuesday to a bill sponsored by Rep. Michele Meyer, D-Eliot, that seeks to restore Maine's once successful child welfare system. The House advanced the measure "under the hammer," or by unanimous consent.

The proposal comes in response to the worst year on record for children's deaths involving abuse, neglect or in households with prior involvement with child protective services in 2021.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House gave initial approval Tuesday to a proposal by Rep. Lori Gramlich, D-Old Orchard Beach, to strengthen law enforcement education and training standards in Maine. The bill was advanced "under the hammer," or by unanimous consent.