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.

AUGUSTA - On Wednesday, the Legislature passed a biennial budget. It includes funding to improve dental health access for Maine adults with low incomes, an initiative from Speaker Ryan Fecteau to shift Maine's reliance on emergency-only dental coverage to a preventative dental care model to improve health outcomes and save the state money over time. The effort had received bipartisan support from the committee earlier this session when public health experts and economists agreed that the investment would save the state money and contribute to positive health outcomes for Maine people.

AUGUSTA - The Maine Legislature has enacted a historic bill Wednesday sponsored by Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, to provide voters with the opportunity to replace Central Maine Power and Versant with the Pine Tree Power Company, a consumer-owned electric utility.

LD 1708 was enacted "under the hammer" in the House and by an 18-14 vote in the Senate. Earlier recorded votes in the House earned support from Republican, Independent and Democratic lawmakers.

AUGUSTA - Today, the Maine Legislature voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strong, responsible bipartisan budget that includes 55 percent state funding for education, a full restoration to revenue sharing by the end of the Fiscal Year 2023, and critical funding for senior living facilities and direct care workers. The vote was 123-23 in the House and 32-2 in the Maine Senate.