A lawyer representing the federal Department of Labor is in Maine to interview unemployment hearing officers and others who attended a controversial lunch meeting six weeks ago with Gov. Paul LePage.

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers will release a tax reform plan Wednesday, which includes slashes to the state’s income tax and hikes to the sales and excise taxes.

A dramatic tax overhaul proposal will be revealed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The proposal would slash the state’s income tax rate in half, as well as raise sales and excise taxes and eliminating exemptions.

For the past three months, the media spotlight has been on several hot-button topics, including the state’s next two-year budget, Medicaid expansion and using a renegotiated state liquor contract to repay Maine’s hospital debt, but the most costly advocacy efforts have been focused on trash — specifically, where it comes from, where it goes and how it’s disposed of.