Mills signs bill authorizing spending of $1 billion in federal rescue plan funds
On a party-line vote the majority Democrats in the Maine Legislature approved a bill to authorize the spending of over $1 billion of federal American Rescue Plan funds and Gov. Janet Mills signed it into law. The bill fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for...
Maine Legislature Sustains Mills’ Veto Of Consumer-Owned Utility Bill
The Maine Legislature has sustained Gov. Janet Mills' veto of a bill that would've asked voters to buyout the state's two largest utilities and replace them with a consumer-owned electric company. The House voted 68 to 65 to override the governor's veto, but that was...
Governor Mills Asks Lawmakers to Continue Working to Reach 2/3 Support Needed to Immediately Implement Recovery Plan
After the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee voted out along party lines legislation to implement the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, Governor Janet Mills issued a statement urging lawmakers to continue working to achieve the 2/3 bipartisan...
Maine Democrats advance $983M plan for COVID-19 aid
Majority Democrats in the Maine Legislature voted late Wednesday to advance their plan to spend nearly $1 billion in federal COVID-19 aid, breaking with Republicans who voted to endorse a smaller proposal. The legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs...
Central Maine Power Customers Will See A Double-Digit Rate Increase Next Month
Central Maine Power customers will see more than an 11% increase in their bills, starting next month, which will cost the typical residential ratepayer more than $100 a year. The Maine Public Utilities Commission approved the increase Wednesday. The regulators...
Governor Mills signs 1st-in-the-nation bill to shift recycling costs to packaging producers
Governor Janet Mills signed a controversial bill on Monday that will make Maine the first state in the nation to charge producers of packaging products for recycling or disposing costs and use the money to fund local recycling programs. The measure, sponsored by Rep....
Governor Mills Urges Legislature to Further Consider Consumer Owned Utility
Governor Janet Mills vetoed LD 1708, An Act to Create the Pine Tree Power Company. In her veto message, the Governor called the recent performance of Maine’s utilities “abysmal” and said that “it may well be that the time has come for the people of the State of Maine...
Governor Mills Signs Bill to Expand Access to Child Care
Governor Janet Mills signed into law LD 1712, a bill that will expand access to quality, affordable child care in Maine. The new law seeks to replicate a successful program in Somerset County modeled after the successful Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership. Under...
Maine’s energy costs rank among highest in US, study shows
A new study shows the costs of heating and cooling your home or fueling your car are high. Maine’s energy costs ranks as the sixth-most expensive among the states and the District of Columbia, according to an analysis published last week by financial website...
Maine joins debate over how to define environmental justice
Maine has about eight months to come up with a definition of environmental justice that will guide new legislation in the state. That task comes on the direction of a law passed by the Maine Legislature. With that law, Maine joins a growing group of states enacting...