Legislators put the state on a path to legal production and sales – guided by rules more conservative than first proposed – and the first shops are likely to open in spring 2019.
Scott Thistle
Scott Thistle is the State House reporter for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He has covered politics and government in Maine since 2006. Prior to that he served as the State House reporter for the Duluth News Tribune in Duluth, Minnesota. A Maine native, Thistle has worked in journalism since 1990, when he got his start at a weekly newspaper in rural Oxford County, Maine. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and an active volunteer with the National Ski Patrol. He resides with his wife, Amy and his two sons Finn and Kai, in Auburn, Maine.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Legislature returns to take up LePage vetoes of key bills, including legalized marijuana
A host of other unfinished business remains for lawmakers as well, but no agreement is in hand to continue the legislative session.
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Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Lawmakers return to work next week. The question is what they can get done.
They can take up any bills vetoed by the governor, but partisan differences may interfere with efforts to vote on unfinished legislation.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
More bogus petition signatures end Republican Max Linn’s run for U.S. Senate
The secretary of state says the Bar Harbor businessman is ineligible for the June primary because he lacks the required number of petition signatures, and a criminal investigation into potential fraud is possible.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Maine judge orders reopening of probe into invalid signatures submitted by U.S. Senate candidate
The campaign of state Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, contends that Max Linn didn’t collect enough valid signatures from registered Republicans to appear on the June primary ballot.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
From Medicaid expansion to pot sales, partisan stalemate in Augusta leaves key issues unresolved
A late-night impasse over adjournment has members of the 128th Maine Legislature vehemently blaming political opponents, with time running out and the fate of unfinished legislation unclear.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Maine Secretary of State proceeds with plans for ranked-choice voting in state primaries
Senate Republicans, who unsuccessfully asked a court to block the system, now say they will introduce a bill to require Maine State Police to transport any ballots needed for retabulation, if necessary.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Ranked-choice voting will be used for June primaries, Maine supreme court rules
Answering legal questions posed by the state Senate, the court says the voting method is the law in Maine.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Bill to help low-income families with education costs becomes law without LePage signature
The funds will be available to those who are eligible for, but do not receive, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families benefits.
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LePage will need to flip votes to sustain veto of the recreational marijuana bill
Supporters got more than the two-thirds margin needed to override a veto when initial votes were cast, but history has shown that Republican lawmakers are willing to switch sides to support the governor.