Legislators fail to override any of Gov. Mills vetoes, so far
Legislators in the Maine Senate and House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to sustain the five vetoes issued by Gov. Janet Mills so far this session, including a measure that would have prohibited the state from being able to seize tribal land for public use.
Before taking up LD 958, House lawmakers debated whether the bill was 'a solution in search of a problem,' as the governor contended, or whether it is a 'fundamental matter regarding sovereign governments,' as Rep. Adam Lee (D-Augusta) put it.
House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor), who sponsored the bill, said he put in the bill 'so the state could not use eminent domain to take other people's property.' He added, 'The needs of society never make it okay to take other people's property.'
Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Aaron Dana said that the concern expressed by some of his colleagues that the tribes would block the construction of power lines and highways was unfounded.
'The tribes are still going to allow that, because we need access to those same infrastructures,' he said. 'We just would like to protect and have a stronghold on what 1% of lands we have remaining here in what we call the state of Maine, which was traditionally all Wabanaki Nations' lands at one point.'
Ultimately, the House voted 77-63, falling short of the two-thirds of support needed to override a veto.
Vetoed legislation only needs to return to the chamber in which it originated, so members of the House also took up LD 1328, which sought to create culturally appropriate and trauma-informed housing recovery residences for underserved or underrepresented individuals. Without discussion, they voted 40-100 against overriding the veto of that bill.
The Senate voted 18-14 to sustain Mills' veto of legislation (LD 588) that would have protected the right of farmworkers to discuss working conditions.
Mills' veto of LD 1802, which would have created a statutory right to counsel at state expense for indigent defendants because there is a risk upon conviction that the accused may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment, was also sustained in the Senate by a vote of 3-28.
The Senate then voted 16-16 to override the governor's veto of legislation (LD 1731) that would require the state ferry service to consult with an advisory board on matters related to the service, budget, strategic planning and major operational decisions.
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