AUGUSTA - In a strong bipartisan vote, the Maine House advanced a proposal on Tuesday from Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, that would limit liability exemptions for electric utilities when their negligence of overhead high-voltage lines contributes to personal injury or damage to facilities. The vote was 101-33.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House gave initial approval Tuesday to a proposal sponsored by Rep. Grayson Lookner, D-Portland, to define solitary confinement as a means of better understanding its use in Maine's correctional facilities. The proposal was advanced by a vote of 78-58.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House voted Tuesday to give initial approval to a measure sponsored by Rep. Raegan LaRochelle, D-Augusta, that would safeguard state funding for public education. The vote was 99-38.

AUGUSTA - In response to the fire that devastated the Penobscot McCrum processing plant in Belfast early in the morning on Thursday, lawmakers representing Waldo County communities in the Maine Legislature, Sen. Chip Curry, D-Belfast, Rep. Scott Cuddy, D-Winterport, Rep. Jan Dodge, D-Belfast, Rep. Sherman Hutchins, R-Penobscot, Rep. MaryAnne Kinney, R-Knox, and Rep. Paige Zeigler, D-Montville, have released the following joint statement:

AUGUSTA - Rep. Mo Terry, D-Gorham, presented LD 2030, a bill aimed at encouraging energy storage companies to conduct business in Maine, before the Legislature's Taxation Committee on Wednesday. LD 2030 would create an exemption from sales and use tax for energy storage systems and would make qualified energy storage systems eligible for the business equipment tax exemption.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House voted unanimously to enact a measure Thursday to upgrade the clean water classification of the lower Androscoggin River, along with other Maine waters. The legislative action marks 50 years since the passage of the Clean Water Act, a landmark law spearheaded by former U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House voted Thursday to advance a proposal by Rep. Lori Gramlich, D-Old Orchard Beach, to increase behavioral health support for Maine's first responders. The bill earned initial approval "under the hammer," or by unanimous consent.

AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee held a public hearing Friday on a proposal to strengthen how the Maine National Guard prevents and responds to sexual assault and sexual harassment.

AUGUSTA - In a unanimous vote, the Maine House gave initial approval Thursday to a bill from Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, that would help identify the best land for clean energy development while ensuring the state's natural resources remain protected.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House enacted legislation Thursday to provide funding for the Maine Climate Corps, a program that gained unanimous support in the Environment and Natural Resources Committee last year, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Rielly, D-Westbrook.