Legislative Update

April 29, 2013

126th Maine Legislative Session

The work at the State House is very busy. Legislative leaders have instructed Committees to vote on all of their bills by Friday, May 17th. At this point in the session, more than 1,450 bills have been referred to 16 standing committees and one joint select committee.

A number of significant bills had public hearings in April, including many dealing with restrictions on firearms. The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee held hearings on more than 20 separate proposals to either regulate guns or modify Maine’s concealed weapons permit program. One of these bills, LD 265, was of particular interest to the business community. This bill, An Act to Repeal the Restriction on Employers Regarding Firearms Kept in an Employee’s Vehicle, would repeal a law enacted during the last Legislature. Under this new law an employer may not prohibit an employee with a concealed weapons permit from keeping a firearm in their locked vehicle while at work

If you would like to read testimony submitted for this or any other bill, you can access the Legislature’s Committee Testimony Display website and search by day, committee or bill name. There are numerous issues under consideration at the State House including: workers compensation, energy issues, food labeling and minimum wages.

Fiscal Realities
The Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs has been very busy analyzing the FY 2013 Biennial Budget proposals and working with the policy committees to assess the impact on state agencies and individual taxpayers. Now that the public hearings are completed, the hard work continues with no final outcome on how to meet the fiscal challenges.

Compounding the situation is the expected announcement by the Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission regarding new projections for state tax collections. The report forecast decreased revenues including a sharp decline in sales and corporate income taxes totaling more than $100 million in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. A change package proposal that reflects the RFC’s forecast will be included in the final budget deliberations. To read the details of the report, follow this link http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/MEGOV-78692b

There is an underlying dissatisfaction with many of the budget proposals. During the hearings there were repeated suggestions to raise taxes rather than pass cuts on to municipalities. The Taxation Committee has started to review bills that propose to increase revenues by either adding new taxes or allowing communities to tax at the local level. There are a number of possible scenarios that are being considered in order to balance the budget.

HOSPITAL DEBT
Governor LePage has been pushing for months to get Maine's hospital debt paid. The issue is the focus of the session as the Governor wants to link the state’s renegotiation of the wholesale liquor contract to the payment of the state's debt to Maine hospitals. The proposal is LD 239, “An Act To Improve the Return to the State on the Sale of Spirits and To Provide a Source of Payment for Maine's Hospitals.”

While recognizing the importance of the hospital debt issue, Democrats disagree with the Governor’s plan on how to address the liquor contract. Under the leadership of Sen. Seth Goodall, the Democrats presented their own plan. This proposal is LD 644, “An Act to Strengthen the State’s Wholesale Liquor Business.”

Recently, Maine’s attorney general ruled that Governor LePage’s plan to issue bonds to retire old hospital debt was Constitutional. And an analysis by the non-partisan Office of Fiscal and Program Review determined that the state would receive greater financial value with the Governor’s plan than the plan the Democrats put forward.

One issue that both sides were able to resolve is linking the use of the payment of the state’s Medicaid debt to hospitals as part of the liquor deal. Both bills include provisions to bundle the two issues together. With these hurdles behind them, the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee can get back to work on the details of the competing proposals.

Governor LePage began speaking with federal officials about possibly expanding Maine’s Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. The Democratic majority in the Legislature favors this expansion and the additional federal dollars that will cover the program's costs.

RECENT POLL
A recent poll from Pan-Atlantic SMS shows strong support for Governor LePage's policies. It also shows Governor LePage as a strong frontrunner for re-election in three-way races against top prospective candidates.

Print the 4/29/13 Legislative Update (PDF)

Legislative Update Archive

Print the 2/12/13 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 1/28/13 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 12/13/12 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 10/9/12 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 8/6/12 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 6/8/12 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 4/9/12 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 2/6/12 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 1/9/12 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 12/5/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 10/31/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 9/30/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 8/30/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 7/25/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 6/28/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 5/27/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 4/30/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 3/29/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 2/16/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 1/21/11 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 11/30/10 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 10/28/10 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 9/29/2010 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 8/26/2010 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 7/29/2010 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 6/30/2010 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the May 2010 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 4/28/10 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 3/30/10 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 1/25/10 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 1/10/10 Legislative Update (PDF)
Print the 12/22/09 Legislative Update (PDF)

Everything You Need to Know About Urgent Beer and Wine Matters

• Receive timely coverage about the most pressing issues, legislative debates and current topics facing Maine's beer and wine industry.
• Get the latest beer and wine industry news
• Learn how to get involved now