A proposal for a new Department of Child and Family Services wins strong support in the Maine Senate amid efforts to reform the state’s troubled child welfare system, but the Mills administration wants the idea studied first.
maine legislature
Posted inElections, Local & State, Politics
Legislature sends national popular vote proposal to Gov. Mills
Gov. Janet Mills has 10 days to sign it, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature.
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Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Ban on paramilitary activity passes by 1 vote in Maine House
The bill would ban paramilitary activity intended to create public disturbances or violence.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Legislature sends shoreland zoning enforcement bill to Gov. Mills
The governor is expected to sign L.D. 2101 to strengthen shoreland zoning enforcement — inspired by a series of violations at a property in Raymond owned by an Auburn businessman.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine dairy farms are dwindling. A task force is being set up to find out why.
Maine has lost one-third of its commercial dairy farms since 2020. Emergency legislation signed by the governor calls for a task force to identify ways to keep the heritage industry healthy for decades to come.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Maine House advances bill giving Wabanaki tribes more say over prosecution of crimes
The bill would expand tribes’ authority over certain crimes that occur on their land while the state would continue to maintain jurisdiction over the most serious offenses.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Proposal to join national popular vote movement heads for passage in Maine Legislature
The bill faces one more vote in the Maine Senate before being sent to Gov. Janet Mills, who has not weighed in on the proposal.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, Politics
Maine lawmakers add more environmental hurdles to a possible lithium mine
The new conditions, which would require legislative approval, would double the number of test borings required to prove the area is safe for open-air mining and cut the maximum size of the pit in half.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Legislature moves to delay referendum on Maine state flag until 2026
A bill passed by both the House of Representatives and Senate would change the referendum date from this fall to November 2026 and establish a commission to assist the secretary of state in approving the design of the flag.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Constitutional right to abortion falls short of needed support in first vote by Maine Senate
A majority of senators voted in favor of L.D. 780 and it faces more votes, but the bill failed to meet the two-thirds majority that would ultimately be needed to send the measure to voters.