The Legislature Returns
January 7, 2022 The Maine Legislature has begun Committee meetings for the Second Regular Session of the 130th Maine Legislature. This week the Environment and Natural Resource Committee voted Ought Not to Pass on LD 1532 An Act To Protect Maine's Air Quality by...
Maine’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $12.75 Per Hour in 2022
Pursuant to Maine law (Maine statute 26 MRS 664), effective January 1, 2022, the state minimum wage will increase from $12.15 to $12.75 per hour, based on data recently made available by the U.S. Department of Labors Bureau of Labor Statistics. Maine law requires...
Mills Administration Unveils Local Fiscal Recovery Program to Distribute $119 Million in American Rescue Plan Act Funds to Maine Towns and Cities
The Mills Administration unveiled a fiscal recovery program to distribute $119.2 million in Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to local governments across Maine. The Local Fiscal Recovery Program is a State pathway to infuse Federal funds...
Special election set to fill House District 86 seat
Governor Janet Mills and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows signed a proclamation announcing a special election for the Maine House District 86 seat will be held Tuesday, November 2, 2021. This House seat was previously held by Representative Justin Fecteau, R-Augusta,...
Maine Referendum Would Create Hurdle To Consumer-Owned Utility
Opponents of a proposal to replace the state's privately owned electric companies with a consumer-owned utility have crafted a referendum that could create a new hurdle. Opponents of the proposal to buy out Maine’s two privately held electric utilities are launching a...
Governor Mills Cosigns Governors’ Letter Supporting Green Investment In Congressional Spending Bills
Governor Janet Mills has joined her counterparts from nine other states to urge congressional leaders to prioritize climate-change projects in the big spending bills under consideration on Capitol Hill. Mills and other Democratic governors from California to...
Maine AG solicits proposals to assist state with legal claims related to PFAS and PCBs
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is soliciting proposals from qualified law firms to assist the State of Maine with potential legal claims involving polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Maine. PCBs and PFAS are...
Federal Judge To Decide Whether Janet Mills’ COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Is Constitutional
A federal judge will decide whether Maine’s mandate that health care workers be vaccinated or lose their jobs violates the U.S Constitution because it does not include a religious exemption. U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy heard oral arguments on a motion for a...
State tax revenues continue be higher than anticipated
Maine’s state government had a budget surplus of more than $40 million for the month of August, officials with the governor’s office said. The office of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said the $42.4 million surplus for the month beat expectations by nearly 12 percent....
Democrats, GOP strike deal to redraw Maine’s 151 House districts
Democrats and Republicans struck their first major redistricting deal on Tuesday, when a bipartisan panel released an agreement to redraw the state’s 151 House districts. It is the first set of consensus legislative maps released by the commission. Lawmakers released...