This Week in Augusta – 6.29.2015 edition

Date: June 29, 2015

Legislators return to Augusta on Tuesday for what are
expected to be lively days of railing against recent controversial action by
Governor LePage regarding the withholding of funding of the Goodwill-Hinckley
School and the decision of trustees to revoke their decision to hire House
Speaker Mark Eves as the new president. 
Speaker Eves is threatening to sue the Governor.  Attorney General Janet Mills is being
implored to investigate.  Secretary of
State Matt Dunlap is being asked if the Governor can be declared mentally
incapacitated.  And several legislators
are calling for the Governor’s impeachment. 
For his part, the Governor maintains that Speaker Eves did not have the
professional qualifications to run the school; that the appointment was
politically motivated; that Speaker Eves is an active opponent of charter
schools; and, that Speaker Eves recently helped cut funding the Governor uses
to provide support to Goodwill-Hinckley and other charter schools. 

But legislators are not returning to Augusta in order to
sound off on the Goodwill-Hinckley matter; they are returning to Augusta to
finish the legislative session and deal with more vetoes including an expected
veto of the 2016-2017 State Budget.

Before legislators left town last Wednesday night they voted
to extend the session by another five legislative days.  No more extensions are allowed by law;
however, state law does allow legislators an additional day to consider vetoes
(Title 3, Section 2, Maine Revised Statutes).

SESSION

Senate & House – 10 a.m. Tuesday; other days and
convening times to be announced

http://legislature.maine.gov/

LEGISLATION

As of today 1,449 bills have been printed.

BUDGET VETO SHOWDOWN

Governor LePage has until midnight this Monday to veto the
entire 2016-2017 State Budget (LD 1019). 
His veto is expected and based on the enactment votes two weeks ago
(31-4 in the Senate and 105-42 in the House), a veto is likely to be overridden
and a shutdown of state government avoided.

VETO MESSAGES ARTICULATE PLAINLY

Here are more examples of Governor LePage’s directness in
articulating why he vetoed a particular piece of legislation.  He has a reputation for reading every bill
before deciding to sign it, let it become law without his signature, or veto
it.

  • “A hallmark of our administration has been to
    make Maine a more business friendly state. This legislation attempts to do the
    exact opposite by preventing the State of Maine from honoring commitments made
    to businesses through the BETR program. The result is a law that unfairly
    targets businesses that chose to make capital investments in both our state and
    local communities.”  Excerpt from June 22
    veto message on LD 279.  Veto overridden.
  • “This bill is completely unnecessary as it does
    nothing to change the status quo. The information it requires the Department of
    Education to publish has already been published and the protection it seeks to
    provide to educators for discussing these issues already exists as part of
    their collective bargaining agreements. The proper solution to the issue of
    “opting out” of statewide assessments is to implement a new testing
    system that eliminates the problematic issues involved while still complying
    with federal law. The Department of Education has already begun the process to
    do this with the collaboration of twenty educators from across Maine. Passing
    this bill instead, will only cause further confusion among educators and
    parents alike and interfere with Maine’s tradition of local control for
    education.” Excerpt from June 22 veto message on LD 695.  Veto sustained.

IN THE PIPELINE

Numerous unanimous and divided reports have been voted on at
the committee level are awaiting floor action in the Senate and House or are on
the Governor’s Desk awaiting his action.

Budget & Taxes

Improve tax expenditure transparency and
accountability (LD 941 – unanimous Ought to Pass as Amended committee report)

Healthcare

  • Study the design and implementation of options
    for a universal health care plan in the State (LD 384 – awaiting final action
    in the Senate)
  • Protect Maine consumers in the individual health
    insurance market (LD 1344 – awaiting final action in the Senate)

Labor

  • Regarding sick days and benefits of an employee
    who is terminated while on sick leave (LD 445 – Ought to Pass as Amended
    report; on the Special Appropriations Table)
  • Promote privacy in social media accounts of
    workers (LD 686 – unanimous Ought to Pass as Amended report; on Special
    Appropriations Table)
  • Strengthen the right of a victim of sexual
    assault or domestic violence to take necessary leave from employment (LD 921 –
    amended to replace bill with increase in penalty; on the Special Appropriations
    Table)

Miscellaneous

  • Improve disclosure procedures in small claims
    (LD 451 – unanimous Ought to Pass as Amended report)
  • Establish a commission to study transportation
    funding reform (LD 706 – on the Study Table)

Related Content: Small Business News | Maine

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