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Crown Politics

Maine moves closer to setting minimum teacher salary at $40,000

A bill to increase Maine’s minimum teacher salary to $40,000 won support in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, likely portending a victory for Democrats and the state teachers union, who have been working since 2014 to enact such a measure.

Senators say release of 30K additional H-2B visas will boost seasonal Maine businesses

Following the advocacy of Maine’s U.S. Sens. Susans Collins and Angus King, the federal government will release an additional 30,000 H-2B visas, with the application period beginning Wednesday and lasting for one week.

Maine Senate endorses modified paid leave mandate

A first-in-the-nation compromise bill that would mandate paid leave in 85 percent of Maine’s workforce is sailing for passage through the Democratic-led Legislature after easily gaining initial approval in a Senate vote on Tuesday.

More people are struggling with high drug prices. So Maine and other states are taking action.

For “big pharma,” a lion’s den might seem more hospitable than the Maine Legislature this year.

Janet Mills still hasn’t paid the full tab for her inaugural celebrations

The committee tasked with paying for Gov. Janet Mills’ January inaugural festivities still needs to raise just more than $67,000 to settle most of its tab from the Augusta Civic Center. Settling that debt may have to wait until early summer.

Maine Senate backs vaccine religious exemption, throwing fate of mandate bill into doubt

In a pressure-packed and surprising Thursday vote, the Maine Senate endorsed an amendment by a one-vote margin that would retain a religious exemption to school vaccine requirements that could throw the passage of a high-profile bill into doubt.

Angus King says William Barr is acting more like Trump’s lawyer than the people’s lawyer

U.S. Sen. Angus King joined a growing chorus on Wednesday blasting the U.S. attorney general’s handling of the Mueller report, saying William Barr is acting more like “the president’s lawyer than the people’s lawyer.”

Effort to expand abortion access in Maine rekindles spirited debate

Wednesday’s public hearing on a Democrat-backed bill that would increase the number of licensed medical professionals who can perform abortions in Maine provided the latest forum for the long-running debate over the legal procedure.

‘Franky’s Law’ would give animals legal advocates in cruelty cases

A bill that proposes creating a court advocate for the victims in animal cruelty cases would be named for Franky, the Boston terrier-pug mix stolen from his Winter Harbor home and killed last year, if passed into law.

Maine’s projected $87 million tax windfall creates small budget ‘cushion’

Maine is projected to beat revenue projections by $66 million in this budget year and nearly $21 million in the next two years, providing a small cushion to a tight two-year budget proposed by Gov. Janet Mills but not enough to fund many Democratic priorities.

Janet Mills creates task force to address problem ATV riders

All it takes is one bad apple to spoil the bunch.

Maine aims to fortify internet privacy protections that Congress weakened

A bill that could make Maine the first state to reinstate internet privacy rules similar to those nixed by a Republican-led Congress in 2017 was endorsed by a legislative committee on Tuesday in a move that bodes well for its passage.

How Janet Mills is moving to repair Maine’s relationship with its native tribes

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has signed into law a bill that will change the Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day.

Another poll shows Maine Republicans rallying around Susan Collins

Good morning from Augusta. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is a top target of Democrats and a little-known grassroots Republican has announced a primary challenge against her, but a poll shows the senator’s reshaped base is holding together in the approach to the 2020 election.

Maine moves closer to banning Native American school mascots

The Maine Legislature took a first step on Tuesday toward banning the use of Native American names, imagery and mascots in Maine public schools amid a long-standing controversy over the Skowhegan Indians nickname.

Maine House gives initial OK to removal of nonmedical vaccination exemptions

The Maine House of Representatives initially approved a bill on Tuesday that would repeal all nonmedical exemptions to school vaccination requirements, putting it on track to pass and create some of the most stringent immunization laws in the country.

Maine’s latest attempt to ban conversion therapy gains momentum

A bill broadly banning the use of conversion therapy on minors won bipartisan support in a legislative committee Thursday.

Common ground remains elusive on Maine’s latest gun-control effort

Overflow rooms were filled Monday at the State House complex as Mainers took turns providing testimony on Democrats’ biggest gun control push of the 2019 session — a revived “red flag” bill fought by gun-rights groups that still may have a compromise waiting in the wings.

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