Legislative recap for Thursday, June 5
The dome of the Maine State House in Augusta. Sept. 5, 2023. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star)
With a citizen-led campaign to impose voter ID requirements heading to the ballots, lawmakers discussed the issue at length Thursday before rejecting a legislative proposal mirroring the ballot initiative.
Several Republican members of the Maine House of Representatives said if returning clothes and buying cigarettes requires photo identification, so should voting. They alleged rampant voter fraud by noncitizens, which Maine's Secretary of State has said is not the case.
Democrats pushed back, saying Maine already has a robust system to prevent fraud, and that requiring voter ID would disadvantage students, seniors and people with disabilities. With a 72-69 vote, the bill, LD 38, was rejected.
'There is a fundamental difference between having to show an ID to buy alcohol or tobacco products or returning an unwanted item to a store,' said Rep. Kelly Noonan Murphy (D-Scarborough).'None of those things are sacred rights granted to us in the Constitution. And therefore, imposing barriers on that right … is un-American.'
With papers shuffling between chambers this week, Maine Morning Star has compiled a slightly more pared down roundup again for Thursday, focusing on the biggest items of debates as well as legislation and issues that we've followed all session.
Here's an overview of what happened Thursday.
Both chambers have now passed an amended version of LD 1726, which seeks to improve planning for the future of the energy grid. The House supported it with a 75-69 vote, and the Senate followed suit passing the bill 19-13 Thursday afternoon.
After LD 1928 squeaked through the House with a 72-70 vote, the Senate passed it 17-15. This bill would ban single-use plastic containers — such as mini shampoo bottles — at lodging establishments starting in 2030.
Although Rep. Michael Soboleski (R-Phillips) said the well-intentioned legislation overlooks sanitation concerns and poses challenges for businesses, others praised it for its potential to chip away at plastic use in the state.
'A conservative estimate is that this bill could eliminate as many as 73 million single-use plastic bottles per year from Maine's waste stream as we struggle to recycle our way out of the catastrophe of microplastics, that is meaningful action,' said Rep. Vicki Doudera (D-Camden).
Although the proposed net energy billing reform that could save ratepayers more than $65 million has yet to hit the floors, the Senate and House passed an amended version of LD 839, which would create a fund to offset transmission and distribution costs associated with the policy that would otherwise be passed onto ratepayers.
Additionally, lawmakers backed a bill requiring internet providers to treat all broadband internet traffic equally, a concept commonly referred to as 'net neutrality.' LD 536 passed the House 79-66, while the Senate gave its approval Thursday.
With a 74-67 House vote, both chambers supported LD 246, which asks courts to consider a sentence other than imprisonment for primary caregivers.
Rep. Adam Lee (D-Auburn) said the bill is needed because 'the research is clear, children with incarcerated parents are more likely to face mental health challenges, exhibit behavioral problems, experience social isolation and suffer from economic hardship. These children are also more likely to perform poorly in school and have higher absentee rates.'
With a 73-69 vote, the House also passed LD 1859, a bill that would offer regional hubs for childcare, which can serve as access points in communities, tailored to the needs of those families. The Senate approved it Wednesday.
Both chambers have now rejected LD 1476, which sought to impose a new lodging fee to help fund homeless shelters in the state.
A heavily amended version of LD 1787 passed in the Senate after the House gave approval Wednesday. The bill initially sought to allow candidates for district attorney, sheriff and county commissioner to participate in the Maine Clean Election Act, but the version now being considered was amended to increase the contribution limits for gubernatorial seed money donations. (Read more about other proposals related to changing Maine's clean elections here.)
Legislation (LD 1900) to grant authority to certain Wabanaki Nations to develop tribal power districts and recognize the authority for child support enforcement passed the House 75-67 on Wednesday and Senate 20-12.
There was also bipartisan support for LD 1886, which would extend the current penalties applied when a motor vehicle violation results in death to violations that result in serious bodily harm.
Lawmakers killed a proposal (LD 1461) to prohibit school boards from adopting a mask mandate unless directed by a health agency.
So far, the Legislature has only supported modest refinements to the state's paid family and medical leave. That approach continued Thursday, when two more bills looking to amend the program were rejected.
LD 1169, which would allow employers to get a refund for any premiums paid into the state's plan if they are approved to use a private substitute plan, was voted down 73-68 by the House and 18-14 by the Senate. Both chambers also rejected LD 1400, which looked to exempt certain public school employees from the program.
And the Senate cast a final enactment vote for LD 588, which would give agricultural employees the right to engage in certain concerted activity, which includes talking about wages, working conditions and other employment matters with other employees or the employer. (Read more about that here.)
After the Senate narrowly voted it down, the House passed LD 1535, which would require the Public Utilities Commission to gather a group of municipal, police and fire officials to discuss the high electricity usage related to illegal cannabis grows in the state. During discussions Wednesday, Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec) said the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee is carrying over legislation into the next session that could provide a more comprehensive approach, including this sort of study.
The Senate insisted on its original vote Thursday night.
Leaving it in limbo, the House did not again take up LD 810, the bill seeking to modify the law born out of a 2021 referendum question requiring the Maine Legislature to approve any new high-impact transmission lines.
It fell shy of passage in the House with lawmakers voting 72-75 before ultimately killing the bill under the hammer. However, the Senate passed the bill 18-16 Wednesday.
During an evening session, the Senate rejected LD 1036, which would prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to tenants solely because they rely on programs such as General Assistance or housing vouchers. Since the House passed the proposal 72-70 on Wednesday, the lower chamber will need to take it up again.
Sen. Chip Curry (D-Waldo) said this is an important issue, but asked the Senate to reject the measure simply because the Judiciary Committee is carrying a similar bill into the next session to allow more time to work on it.
Although the House rejected LD 1236 earlier in the day on Thursday, the Senate voted 22-10 in favor of its passage after a failed 16-16 vote to reject the bill and impassioned floor speeches about the importance of addressing the presence of fentanyl in the state.
The amended version of the bill seeks to create a Class A crime for aggravated trafficking of fentanyl when it results in an overdose.
While no one refuted that fentanyl poses a crisis, Curry said the state can't incarcerate its way out of it. Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart said he supports a multipronged approach to solving the substance use crisis including access to treatment and other supports, but argued that this bill could bolster that.
The Senate advanced two bills that aim to support mobile home park residents in purchasing their parks. (Read more about that here.)
Maine is one step closer to joining its New England peers who all have so-called food waste bans on the books now that the Senate has approved a slightly amended version of LD 1065. The bill would prohibit significant generators of food waste, which could include schools, hospitals, food producers and others, from disposing of food waste if they are close to a facility that could compost or otherwise dispose of the waste.
The House passed a bill (LD 1078) expanding access to needle exchange programs in a 74-65 vote. The bill would allow certified programs to operate additional locations within the same county. (Read more about our syringe service program coverage here).
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