AUGUSTA - On Monday, the Legislature's Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee voted in favor of several line items in the budget change package, including funding K-12 public schools at 55 percent, and increasing revenue sharing to 4.5 percent for 2022 and 5 percent for 2023. All of today's committee votes were unanimous, 12-0. 

AUGUSTA - A measure sponsored by Rep. Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, that will reduce barriers for career advancement and strengthen Maine's workforce by expanding English language acquisition and workforce training programs was signed into law last week by Gov. Janet Mills.

AUGUSTA - A bill from Rep. Paige Zeigler, D-Montville, to increase the membership of the Lincolnville Sewer District Board of Trustees from three members to five was signed into law by Gov. Mills last week.

LD 1625 came at the request of the chair of the Board of Trustees, Paul Lippman, who shared with Zeigler the difficulty in finding trustees, the amount of work the board handles and why two additional members would be beneficial for all.

AUGUSTA - A bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Sylvester, D-Portland, to foster the development of a new green energy economy in Maine by promoting manufacturing education and employment was signed into law this month by Gov. Janet Mills.

"My son and I thought up the bill one day while he was hanging out with me at work," said Sylvester. "He was studying wind and solar power at school and asked me why we couldn't make these products in Maine. We decided that Maine should make and develop the tools of a green economy and be the seller rather than the buyer."

AUGUSTA -Gov. Janet Mills signed into law last week a measure by Rep. Maggie O'Neil, D-Saco, directing the state pension system to divest from fossil fuels. The law is the first of its kind in the United States.

Maine is now the first state in the nation to commit to fossil fuel divestiture through legislation.

AUGUSTA - A bill to investigate alternative uses for several dormant rail corridors in Maine, LD 1370, sponsored by Rep. Art Bell, D-Yarmouth, was signed into law last week by Gov. Janet Mills.

AUGUSTA - In recognition of Juneteenth, Assistant House Majority Leader Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, has released the following statement:

AUGUSTA - A bill from Rep. Jay McCreight, D-Harpswell, that increases voter access to the ballot and provides clearer guidance for both voters and municipal officials overseeing elections was signed into law Wednesday.

AUGUSTA - A bill by Assistant House Majority Leader Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, to incorporate African American studies into Maine's statewide learning standards is now law. The measure, signed by Gov. Janet Mills Wednesday, includes proposals introduced by Sen. Louie Luchini, D-Ellsworth, to also require the study of genocide and the Holocaust.

AUGUSTA - The Maine House voted to advance a measure Thursday sponsored by Rep. Heidi Brooks, D-Lewiston, that would allow Maine to adopt a single-payer health care model contingent on federal law.