Starting July 1,Enforcement of the Polystyrene Foam Ban Begins

Implementation of a state law that prohibits restaurants, stores, and a wide variety of other eating establishments including places in the entertainment, hospitality, recreation, and tourism industries; catering establishments; correctional facilities; hospital...

Series of Bills Enacted Related to ‘Forever Chemicals’

Maine lawmakers have passed a set of bills aimed at addressing the growing problems posed by “forever chemicals” that have shut down several farms and contaminated dozens of private wells across the state. Lawmakers approved multiple bills dealing with the...

Bill To Form Consumer-Owned Utility Rejected

The Maine Senate voted down a bill to form a consumer-owned utility to buy the assets of Central Maine Power and Versant Power, reversing the results of initial Senate action and considerably dimming the bill’s chances of passing the Legislature this session. The...

Plastic Bag Ban Goes Into Effect July 1

Maine’s plastic bag ban takes effect July 1, after which most retailers will be barred from bagging customers’ purchases in plastic bags. Customers will either have to bring their own reusable bags, opt for paper bags for which they will pay a mandatory 5-cent...

June 18, 2021 Legislative Update

The Maine Legislature put in a couple long days this week with both the House and the Senate wrapping up the Legislative session with two evenings that went into the next morning. The full Legislature will likely be called back for “Veto Day.” Veto Day is when the...

Maine House Supports a Bill That Shifts Recycling Costs

The Maine House of Representatives late Wednesday endorsed a first-in-the-nation bill that would shift some recycling and waste disposal costs from local taxpayers to producers of hard-to-recycle packaging materials. The bill, from Rep. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth,...

Maine Legislature Approves New Broadband Agency

Legislators approved the creation of a new public authority to coordinate investing tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for broadband infrastructure in Maine. Both houses of the Legislature passed L.D. 1484, establishing the Maine Connectivity Authority...

Maine House Supports CMP, Versant Power takeover bid

Legislation that would ask Maine voters to buy out the state’s major utilities and put the electric grid in control of an elected board initially cleared the House of Representatives on Tuesday, though it still faces a potential veto from Gov. Janet Mills, who has...