After a closed-door session Friday, the Maine ethics commission voted 5-0 not to pursue an investigation into a complaint against a state lawmaker.
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 inElections, Local & State, News, Politics
Bill to allow online voter registration nears final approval
The Senate supported the measure on a 22-12 party-line vote, with Republicans in opposition, a day after it won preliminary approval in the House.
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Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
In closed-door session, state ethics commission will hear complaint of lawmaker’s conflict
The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Campaign Finances will meet in an executive session Friday to consider a conflict of interest complaint against a member of the Legislature.
Posted inElections, Local & State, News, Politics
Open primaries bill clears both Maine House and Senate
The House voted 92-52 to support allowing unenrolled voters to vote in a party’s primary without having to register in that party.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Bill to eliminate cash bail in Maine for minor crimes advances
On a 10-2 vote, the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee endorsed a bill that would prohibit jailing suspects who can’t pay bail on most misdemeanor charges.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
House Democrats reject bills to roll back Maine governor’s executive powers
The votes came after Rep. John Andrews, a Libertarian from Paris, refused to comply with masking requirements in the State House, delaying a House floor session by more than an hour.
Posted inElections, Local & State, News, Politics
Bill to open primaries in Maine gains support from Olympia Snowe
Former Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe has joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers and former lawmakers seeking to open Maine’s party primaries to unenrolled voters.
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Legislature returns to State House for final push on key bills Tuesday
After being away since March 2020, lawmakers will be back in the Capitol to finish their work on dozens of bills, including a supplemental state budget package that adds $187 million to public school funding.
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Sen. Collins says colleagues missed an opportunity to get to the bottom of Jan. 6 insurrection
Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked passage of a bill that would have set up a nonpartisan commission to investigate the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol spurred on by former President Donald Trump.
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Maine House speaker stands ground on COVID mask mandate
A policy requiring that people entering the State House wear face coverings remains, even with mask mandates lifted in other places.