Gov. Janet Mills took another conservative budgetary stance relative to many other Democrats this week, advocating for putting $20 million into Maine’s rainy day fund in a change package to her two-year budget proposal.
The Maine Senate reversed itself on Tuesday to support the repeal of a religious exemption to school vaccine requirements by a single vote, putting the controversial priority of Democrats who lead the Legislature back on track for passage.
It could be a stalemate day in the Maine Legislature on Tuesday, when lawmakers are scheduled to vote on bills including an equal-rights amendment, as well as proposals to expand and reduce the use of ranked-choice voting.
Democrats on a legislative committee endorsed a bill Friday that would have Maine switch from nominating caucuses to a state-run primary for the 2020 presidential election in a national transition away from the few remaining caucuses.
Most Democrats in the Maine House of Representatives reversed themselves on Thursday to uphold the first veto from Gov. Janet Mills, spiking a proposed ban on the sale of a blend of gasoline with more than 10 percent ethanol.
The administration of Gov. Janet Mills recently said it will end a small program that provides free, universal access to online Advanced Placement classes particularly valuable for high school students who want to attend out-of-state colleges.
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.
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.
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.
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.
