Lawmakers left Augusta shortly after midnight May 2 after considering dozens of gubernatorial vetoes in a highly partisan 2014 legislative session that often seemed like a pre-election scrimmage.
Key bills and their Veto Day outcomes include:
Supplemental State Budget (LD 1858) – Veto overridden by a vote of 28-7 in the Senate and 134-12 in the House. Governor Paul LePage may call a special session later this year to deal with what he views as a gimmicky approach that does not really solve funding problems in the Medicaid program.
www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1858&snum=126
Workers’ Compensation Employee Representation (LD 1641) – Veto sustained by a party-line vote of 19-16 in the Senate. LD 1641 would have made it more difficult for employers and their representatives to ask questions of injured workers. That part of the WC law hasn’t changed in decades. This issue may resurface in 2014.
www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1641&snum=126
Medicaid Expansion (LD 1578) – Veto sustained by a vote of 94-53 in the House. This was the second of two expansion bills vetoed in 2014 and sustained by a mostly party-line vote. Both sides of the issue plan to make it a centerpiece of the 2014 elections.
www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1578&snum=126
Small Business Job Creation Bond (LD 1827) – Veto overridden by a vote of 31-4 in the Senate and 118-28 in the House. This $12 million bond item will be on the ballot in November.
www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1827&snum=126
New laws take effect August 1, 2014, unless they contain a different effective date.
