The measure cleared the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee with majority Democrats favoring the change and Republicans opposing it.
Scott Thistle
Scott Thistle is the State House reporter for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He has covered politics and government in Maine since 2006. Prior to that he served as the State House reporter for the Duluth News Tribune in Duluth, Minnesota. A Maine native, Thistle has worked in journalism since 1990, when he got his start at a weekly newspaper in rural Oxford County, Maine. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and an active volunteer with the National Ski Patrol. He resides with his wife, Amy and his two sons Finn and Kai, in Auburn, Maine.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Uncategorized
Maine adapted election rules for the pandemic; bills would make changes permanent
Measures call for continuing the use of ballot drop boxes and an absentee ballot tracking tool.
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Posted inLocal & State, News
Direct-care agencies urge Maine lawmakers to raise reimbursement rates
The Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee is considering several bills that would boost the pay for those who provide direct care to Mainers with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Posted inLocal & State, News
After meeting with Biden, King praises broadband investment plan
Maine’s junior U.S. senator, an independent, was among a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers who met with President Biden on Monday about a proposed $2.3 trillion infrastructure package.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News, Politics
Immigrants in Maine could regain access to health care benefits
Legislation sponsored by Assistant House Majority Leader Rachel Talbot Ross of Portland would roll back a 2011 change that prohibited non-citizens from receiving state Medicaid benefits.
Posted inElections, Local & State, News, Politics
Bills requiring photo ID for Maine voters poised for defeat in Legislature
On a series of party-line votes, 3 bills that would require voters to show photo ID at the polls were rejected by majority Democrats on the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Lawmaker wants new state department to protect Maine kids
Sen. Bill Diamond of Windham makes his proposal in response to children’s deaths that exposed weaknesses in Maine’s system for protecting children from abuse and neglect.
Posted inElections, Local & State, News, Politics
Legislation would allow unenrolled voters to cast ballots in Maine party primaries
The bill is one of several that would increase voter participation in primaries or streamline the balloting process by rescheduling the newly created presidential primary from March to June.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News, Politics
Legislature’s oversight panel expects answers about failed contract for human resources software
The state’s administrative and financial services commissioner will appear before the committee Friday to answer questions about a $22 million contract dispute with Workday, a Silicon Valley vendor.
Posted inElections, Local & State, News, Politics
Bill would audit Maine election results as a way to promote voter confidence
The legislation is supported by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who says Maine should join 34 other states and increase transparency in elections.