AUGUSTA - A measure from Rep. Maggie O'Neil, D-Saco, to establish the Maine Forest Advisory Board earned final approval from the Legislature in the early hours of Friday morning.
AUGUSTA - A measure introduced by Rep. Lynne Williams, D-Bar Harbor, that gives Maine's small medical marijuana growers and caregivers a greater say over any new rules generated by the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) became law Thursday.
AUGUSTA - A bill to strengthen Mainer's privacy rights, LD 1021, sponsored by Rep. Steve Moriarty, D-Cumberland, is now law.
The impetus for this bill came from concerns about stalking by drone or unmanned aerial vehicles. The Maine Criminal Codes statute governing privacy violations previously only prohibited audio recording in a private location, leaving an unintended loophole open for invasions of privacy by drone or other visual recording devices.
AUGUSTA -Gov. Janet Mills held a signing ceremony Wednesday for a bill sponsored by Rep. Lydia Blume, D-York, that will help the state prepare for the amount of sea level rise that is scientifically predicted to occur by the turn of the next century. Present at the signing were many of the scientists who helped develop and analyze the data used to prepare the bill.
AUGUSTA - A bill to reduce child access to loaded firearms by enforcing the use of safe storage became law Thursday. LD 759, sponsored by Rep. Vicki Doudera, D-Camden, states that a parent, foster parent, guardian or other person caring for a child, who acts with criminal negligence by storing or leaving a loaded firearm where a child under 16 years of age can gain access to and use the firearm, can be charged with having committed a Class D crime.
AUGUSTA - A bill to create a funding mechanism to support hunger relief efforts in Maine sponsored by Rep. Mo Terry, D-Gorham, received funding approval Thursday from the Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs.
AUGUSTA - A bill to establish the Maine Accidental Drug Overdose Death Review Panel, sponsored by Rep. Richard Evans, D-Dover-Foxcroft, was signed into law last week by Gov. Janet Mills. The panel will study the circumstances leading up to accidental overdose deaths and use the information gained to prevent future deaths.
"I believe this panel will give us an important tool for lowering opioid overdose deaths," said Evans. "If we can learn about the events that tend to lead toward overdoses, we can see whether there were opportunities to change the trajectory of lives."
AUGUSTA - Funding for a bill sponsored by Rep. Jessica Fay, D-Raymond, to improve the pay of long-term care workers was included in the biennial budget passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor on Thursday.
AUGUSTA - A measure to establish the Maine Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program administered by the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), LD 1327, sponsored by Rep. Kyle Bailey, D-Gorham, was signed into law last week.
AUGUSTA- A bill defining intentional releases of more than 15 balloons as an act of littering is now law. LD 1023, sponsored by Rep. Genevieve McDonald, D-Stonington, addresses an issue that fishermen have wrestled with under the radar for years.
