Maine lawmakers approved dozens of bills Wednesday on the final day of the legislative session, including funding for reproductive care and homeless shelters and a ban on untraceable firearms, also known as “ghost guns.”

They also sustained the five vetoes Gov. Janet Mills has issued so far this year on measures including workplace protections for farmworkers and a prohibition on the seizing of tribal lands by eminent domain, but did not take up a proposal for a competing measure on the red flag referendum that will go to voters in November.

Mills issued a written statement Wednesday night congratulating lawmakers on finishing their work for the year and on the investments that were included in the state budget.

“While I might not agree with every measure, I appreciate the work of members on both sides of the aisle and in both houses of the Legislature,” Mills said. “As a former legislator, I know how challenging it is to create solutions to complex matters after listening to your constituents and debating civilly with your colleagues, while also maintaining responsibilities to family, friends, work, and community.”

The bills that were passed Wednesday will now be sent to Mills, who has the option to veto them or sign them into law. When the Legislature is in session, bills that Mills does not sign or veto can become law without her signature, but since lawmakers have now adjourned for the year, any bills that the governor does not sign may not become law until the next session, when the governor will be able to deliver a veto or allow the bill to become law.

Bills that were approved in the session concluding Wednesday will take effect Sept. 24, unless they were passed as emergencies or the bill text noted otherwise.

FINAL BILLS PASSED 

The bills that received final approval Wednesday include LD 143, which allocates up to $3 million in additional funds for reproductive care and family planning services, and LD 698, which would provide a one-time allocation of $4.5 million to support emergency homeless shelters.

Lawmakers also gave final approval to LD 1126, which would prohibit undetectable firearms and require serial numbers on firearms. The bill originally called for funding for additional positions in the Maine Department of Public Safety, but the agency informed lawmakers that those positions were not needed, so the funding was removed. The measure received final approval in the Senate by a one-vote margin Wednesday, passing 17-16.

The Maine Gun Safety Coalition applauded lawmakers’ final approval of the bill.

“No matter our political background, we should all agree that there’s no good reason someone who would fail a background check should be able to buy gun parts separately and assemble one at home,” said Nacole Palmer, the coalition’s executive director, in a written statement. “Our grassroots coalition applauds lawmakers for working to close this dangerous loophole and ensuring that all firearms go through the same process, whether they’re purchased at a dealer or assembled at home.”

Other bills that received final passage and will be headed to Mills include LD 163, which would require insurance coverage of nonprescription birth control; LD 172, which requires the Maine State Police to maintain a publicly accessible website of all open missing persons cases in the state; and LD 1164, which would provide tribal nations in Maine with exclusive rights to offer electronic table games like poker, roulette and blackjack.

Lawmakers also made last-minute efforts Wednesday to pass other remaining bills, though not all were successful. In the Senate, Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford, who announced this week that he is leaving the GOP to run for governor as an unenrolled candidate, attempted to have lawmakers take up two bills that would establish a statewide tracking system for sexual assault forensic examination kits, but the effort was rejected both times.

Rep. Valli Geiger, D-Rockland, later chastised lawmakers in the House for the same bills failing to be finally approved. “What are the results of not passing this?” she said. “Women can have no expectation of justice if they are raped … Here in Maine, the only state that does not track and test, we have no way of identifying serial predators in our state.”

VETOES SUSTAINED, RED FLAG NOT ADDRESSED

Lawmakers on Wednesday recalled a bill they had previously passed and sent to Mills, LD 1666, which would expand ranked choice voting to include the governor’s and state legislative races. The bill was sent back to committee and carried over to the next session.

They also voted to sustain all five of the vetoes Mills has issued so far this year, which have included bills to prohibit the state from taking tribal lands through eminent domain and increasing workplace protections for farmworkers.

In her veto message last Friday, Mills said state law already has restrictions on seizing tribal land through eminent domain, including a provision that requires substitute land be provided so tribes don’t experience a loss. She warned that if the law was later determined to be flawed lawmakers would not be able to amend it without the approval of the four tribal nations.

Mills has also vetoed LD 588, which would have increased protections for farmworkers who discuss working conditions and pay. Mills noted that the bill is identical to one she vetoed in the previous Legislature and said last week that it would add new regulatory burdens on farmers.

Lawmakers adjourned Wednesday without taking up a proposal to add a “competing measure” to the November ballot that will include a referendum to enact a red flag law that would make it easier for weapons to be removed from a person in crisis.

Rep. Jennifer Poirier, R-Skowhegan, had sought to introduce the measure after a last-minute public hearing on the red flag proposal was held June 11. The citizen-initiated red flag question is expected to go to voters in November after lawmakers took no action on it following the public hearing.

Poirier’s proposal called for additional funding for mental health services and would have required school resource officers to undergo training on Maine’s yellow flag law every two years. The existing yellow flag law requires a mental health evaluation before a person’s weapons can be temporarily confiscated and cannot be utilized by family members, while the red flag proposal can be used by family members and does not require the evaluation.

“I’m disappointed the people of Maine will be robbed of a choice,” Poirier said Wednesday. “I’m disappointed the concerns of law enforcement have seemingly fallen on so many deaf ears, and I’m disappointed to feel that politics sometimes take priority over integrity.”