Latest news with #RyanFecteau
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Legislative recap for Tuesday, June 10
Official notices posted in the Maine State House in Augusta. (Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) In an effort to stem the often lengthy debates and occasional partisan fighting that has encroached on valuable voting time, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau warned the chamber Tuesday that if they weren't able to get through enough bills this week, 'the chair will have to consider having a session on Saturday and Sunday.' Weekend work has yet to be determined, but the House did wrap before 8 p.m., comparatively early to recent late nights. One issue that always sparks debate is abortion, and with a slew of bills aiming to roll back the state's current protections, both chambers had their share of discussion late Monday and Tuesday. However, the Democratic majorities in the Maine Senate and House of Representatives ultimately shot down each effort. These include: LD 253, 'An Act to Prevent the MaineCare Program from Covering Abortion Services'; LD 886, 'An Act to Regulate Medication Abortions'; LD 887, 'An Act to Make Manufacturers Responsible for Proper Disposal of Abortion Drugs and Require a Health Care Provider to Be Physically Present During a Chemical Abortion'; LD 1007, 'An Act to Update the State's Informed Consent Laws Regarding Drug-induced Abortion'; LD 1930, 'An Act Regarding Acts of Violence Committed Against a Pregnant Woman'; and LD 1154, 'An Act to Require That Informed Consent for Abortion Include Information on Perinatal Hospice.' The bills were initially rejected by the House late Monday and laid before the Senate on Tuesday. Both chambers Tuesday also rejected legislation (LD 682) that would impose criminal penalties for performing an abortion, ban abortions passed viability unless in an emergency, and require reports on each abortion performed that would include race, marital status, and education level of the patient. (Read more about these and other related proposals here.) With papers frantically shuffling between chambers this week ahead of the planned June 18 adjournment, Maine Morning Star will highlight the biggest items of debate as well as legislation and issues that we've followed all session. Here's an overview of what happened Monday. After passage by the Senate earlier this month, the House voted 75-65 Tuesday night to back LD 1016, one of several proposals to support mobile home park residents in purchasing their parks. (Read more about the bill and the other proposals here. The budget committee also voted in some related funding into the budget on Tuesday.) A provision that would make it so a simple majority of each chamber can extend the Legislature's work beyond the statutory adjournment date appears likely to become law. With a 73-71 vote, the House enacted LD 1668 after both chambers gave their initial approval. Currently, two-thirds support in both chambers is needed. Lawmakers in the House and Senate on Tuesday backed the latest effort (LD 982) to provide the Mi'kmaq Nation the same rights to sales tax revenue on its land that the other three tribes of the Wabanaki Nations were granted in 2022. (Read more about this here). The Senate and House opted to 'indefinitely postpone' legislation (LD 4) that would establish year-round eastern daylight time, effectively killing the measure. A similar bill (LD 3) that requires approval by the federal government and also adopted by other states in the eastern time zone did pass and is headed to the governor's desk. Members of the House voted 78-69 and the Senate 18-14 in favor of legislation (LD 537) that would prohibit the doxing of a minor. Rep. Amy Kuhn (D-Falmouth) said the bill imposes common sense guidelines for the treatment of minors and provides important protections for their privacy and safety. Rep. Rachel Henderson (R-Rumford) said she took issue with the provision that allows a minor to be able to consent to having their image shared, 'rather than having a parent involved.' Following the Senate, the House voted Tuesday against a bill that would amend the constitution to require the popular election of the secretary of state, attorney general and state treasurer (LD 455). Both the House and Senate backed legislation (LD 259) to Establish the Criminal Records Review Commission in Statute, with the House voting 78-68 on Tuesday. Proponents said it would help cement and continue the work of the committee, which is tasked with reviewing issues with expunging criminal records and finding ways to prevent past convictions from holding people back from being productive members of their communities. (Read more about this issue here). An emergency bill (LD 1920) to prohibit the sale to a person under 21 years old of potentially intoxicating hemp products passed both chambers without a roll call. Because it is an emergency measure, it needs to secure two-thirds support in both chambers during enactment votes. The House met that threshold Tuesday night, with a unanimous 143-0 enactment vote. Legislation (LD 1571) to modify certification standards for full-time teachers in public charter schools as well as those for reissuance of educational technician certificates passed both chambers, with the Senate voting 18-14 on Tuesday. Both chambers have now backed legislation (LD 1427) directing the Criminal Law Advisory Commission to review and analyze the statutes of limitation pertaining to sex trafficking offenses committed against both adult and minor victims. After initially passing both the House and Senate, a bill (LD 1034) that would decriminalize adult possession of therapeutic psilocybin, found in some mushrooms, failed to garner a majority in either chamber during final enactment votes. Legislation (LD 1620) to regulate the testing of adult-use cannabis and related products was rejected by the House and Senate. LD 613, a bill supported by the Maine Medical Association that allows terminally ill patients to waive the current 17-day waiting period for access to life-ending medication, will go back to the Senate after the House voted to insist on passage of the bill Tuesday after the upper chamber voted Monday against the measure. After LD 1928 squeaked through both chambers last week, the Senate voted 14-20 against enactment on Monday leaving the bill, which would prohibit lodging establishments from using single-use plastic containers — such as mini shampoo bottles — in limbo. The House on Tuesday insisted on its position in favor of the bill. The House Tuesday insisted on its rejection of LD 371, which would remove the 100-megawatt maximum capacity limit for hydropower to qualify as a renewable resource under the state's renewable resource portfolio requirement. The Senate had supported the measure. (More on this issue here.) After initially backing a proposed constitutional amendment (LD 1052) establishing the state auditor as constitutional officer, the majority of the House voted against enactment, putting it in conflict with the Senate, which placed it on the appropriations table. The chambers split over a tax proposal (LD 1879) that would increase corporate tax rates and use that revenue to support the state's agricultural industries. After the House backed the measure 77-67, the Senate voted 13-18 in opposition. Critics argued the proposal would ultimately amount to a 'tax on consumers.' But tax committee chair Sen. Nicole Grohowski (D-Hancock) said farmers are competing with large corporations while operating on thin margins. The bill, she argued, gives the state a way to step up for them without placing the burden on working families. (Read more about the bill here.) The Senate voted 19-15 to pass legislation (LD 1138) that seeks to better align the state's transportation projects and planning under the Maine Department of Transportation and Turnpike Authority with the Climate Action Plan. During debate, Sen. Tim Nangle (D-Cumberland) said the state has limited resources to improve transportation and explained that the committee moved this bill forward because it addresses the simultaneous problems of climate change and a lack of transportation choices. Legislation (LD 1666) to expand ranked-choice voting to races for general and special elections for governor, state senator and state representative passed the Senate with a 20-14 vote. Senators voted 18-14 to pass legislation (LD 497) that clarifies the definition and regulation of significant vernal pools under the Natural Resources Protection Act. The House voted without a roll call in favor of a proposal (LD 1555) to create a tax credit for employers that pay for or provide in-kind child care for all employees. (Read more about the bill and other related proposals here.) LD 1099, which would exempt diapers from sales tax, passed without a roll call. The House also passed another tax-related measure (LD 1657), which would expand the use of tax increment revenue for affordable housing by adding authorized project costs, such as costs for the development, sale, and operation. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Boston Globe
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Supreme Court orders Maine House to restore vote of GOP lawmaker who ID-ed trans teen athlete online
Advertisement The Democratic-controlled House censured Libby after finding her viral post had violated its code of ethics by putting the student at risk. She was blocked from speaking and voting on the floor after she refused to apologize. Libby has argued that the punishment violates free-speech rights. She said the court's decision restores a voice in the Legislature for the thousands of constituents she represents. 'This is a victory not just for my constituents, but for the Constitution itself,' she said. Maine state attorneys argued that she still has other ways to participate in the legislative process, and would regain her voting power if she apologized. House Speaker Ryan Fecteau did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Supreme Court's order halts a lower court ruling that the sanction isn't severe enough to overcome legal blocks on courts intervening with legislative functions. Advertisement Libby's February post was about a high school athlete who won a girls' track competition. She said the student had previously competed in boys' track. Her post included a photo of the student and first-name identification in quotation marks. Libby's post went viral, preceding a public disagreement over the issue between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills. The Trump administration later filed a lawsuit against the state for not complying with the government's push to ban transgender athletes. Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press writer Mark Sherman contributed to this story.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
15 state attorneys general condemn Rep. Libby's censure as 'attack on Legislature' in letter
May 9—Fifteen Republican attorneys general filed a friend of the court brief in support of Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, charging that her censure in the Maine Legislature was politically motivated and amounts to viewpoint discrimination. The group, led by West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey, called in a Friday filing for the U.S. Supreme Court to grant Libby an injunction restoring her ability to vote and speak on the State House floor. They charge that Libby's censure is an "attack" on the Legislature's ability to function and represent Mainers. "Perhaps a little too often, applicants come to this Court warning that some decision being challenged is poised to undermine (or even end) our republican form of government," the group wrote. "This time, though, the shoe fits." Maine House Democrats voted to censure Libby in February over her Facebook post that featured the first name and photos of a transgender high school athlete. Libby filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court late last month, asking that her speaking rights be restored while a federal court in Maine considers a lawsuit she filed against House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, which argues that the censure violates her — and her constituents' — First Amendment Right to free speech. Lower courts have already ruled against Libby's request, citing Fecteau's right to legislative immunity — the legal doctrine that prevents lawmakers from being sued for their legislative acts. But the attorneys general argue in their filing that censuring Libby does not qualify as a legislative act, and it is therefore not subject to immunity. "Even if one could say this suspension was a legislative act, it is of such extraordinary character that it cannot be protected," the group argues. "Representative Libby's suspension disenfranchises all of District 90's voters. And it does so as retribution for the very sort of speech that a legislator must offer — speech on one of the important issues of the day." They add that the issue of whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in girls and women's sports is the subject of active debate across the country, and they note that Libby's comments were made outside the Legislature. McCuskey was joined by 14 other Republican attorneys general, including those from Florida, Iowa and Louisiana. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has repeatedly stated that it was Libby's conduct, not her views, that earned her the censure, including in a court brief filed Thursday. "Like other censures of Maine House members, the censure resolution required Rep. Libby to apologize for her conduct — not recant her views," Frey wrote. Libby, who has refused to apologize, said in a response to Frey filed Friday that critics demanding she do so are exacerbating the harm against her. "The Speaker cannot insist on an apology to his satisfaction," Libby wrote, "any more than Speaker Johnson could insist on congressmembers' declaring 'Trump is Making America Great Again' as a condition of voting." She further charges that legislative immunity does not apply to her censure vote, and claims that Frey's "version of legislative immunity is limitless," and could, for example, be used to ban legislators who did not attend a certain university from voting. Copy the Story Link
Fox News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Maine Democrats respond to SCOTUS appeal over Rep Laurel Libby's censure for trans athlete post
Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby is seeking U.S. Supreme Court intervention in her lawsuit to overturn her censure for a social media post that identified a minor trans athlete. Now, the Democrat defendants have filed their response to the high court. The defendants, Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau and House Clerk Robert Hunt, represented by Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, defended the decision to censure Libby for the February post in their response on Thursday afternoon. "Like other censures of Maine House members, the censure resolution required Rep. Libby to apologize for her conduct—not recant her views. Rep. Libby has steadfastly refused to comply with this modest punishment, which is designed to restore the integrity and reputation of the body," the response read. "Her refusal places her in breach of a centuries-old rule of the Maine House, Rule 401(11), that Rep. Libby previously agreed, along with all of her House colleagues, would govern House proceedings. Rule 401(11) provides that a member found by the body to be in breach of its rules may not participate in floor debates or vote on matters before the full House until they have 'made satisfaction,' i.e., here, apologized for their breach." When the Democrat majority in Maine's House of Representatives voted to censure Libby on Feb. 25, it originally offered to restore her voting and speaking rights if she apologized for the post. But Libby told them she wouldn't apologize. Libby previously told Fox News Digital that Fecteau called her the day after she made the social media post, which identified a trans athlete who won a girls' pole vault competition, on Feb. 18. "He found it objectionable and asked me to take it down. At the same time, I asked him if he would support Maine girls and support policy that stopped discrimination against Maine young women in sports, and he declined to answer," Libby said. "The main criticism all along from the Democrats is that it was a picture of a minor." Libby added that no one from the trans athlete's family or high school reached out to her about the post. She has also argued the athlete was already publicized in other media. The Portland Press Herald published a recap of the event, mentioning the athlete. Libby filed her lawsuit against Fecteau to have the censure overturned on March 11. But Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose ruled against Libby in her case on April 22. DuBose, appointed by former President Joe Biden in January, ended up presiding over the case after every district judge in Maine refused to take it. Judges John C. Nivison, John A. Woodcock, Lance E. Walker, Karen F. Wolf, Stacey D. Neumann and Nancy Torresen signed recusal orders shortly after the case was initially filed. No reason was given. DuBose ended up with the case and ruled in favor of Fecteau. Then the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against Libby. So now Libby is seeking U.S. Supreme Court intervention. Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department announced a lawsuit against the State of Maine for its continued defiance of Trump's executive order to keep biological males out of girls' and women's sports and for violations of Title IX. Libby attended the press conference alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Two school districts in Maine, Maine's Regional School Unit No. 24 and MSAD No. 70, have taken matters into their own hands and amended their local sports gender eligibility policies to ban transgender athletes from girls' competitions, aligning with Libby and Trump. Attention to the issue was magnified this past week after a trans athlete won multiple events at a girls' track meet. A trans-identifying athlete who competed for North Yarmouth Academy in Yarmouth, Maine, in the Poland-NYA-Yarmouth-Seacoast meet, won the 1600-meter race with a time of 5:57.27, blowing away the second-place runner who finished with a time of 6:16.32. In the 800-meter event, the trans athlete had a closer first-place finish with a time of 2:43.31, just around a second better than the second-place finisher with a time of 2:44.87. A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it is "only fair to restrict women's sports to biological women." The poll also found that 60% of residents would support a ballot measure limiting participation in women's and girls' sports to biological females. This included 64% of independents and 66% of parents with kids under age 18. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Emergency bill would restore full MaineCare payments to hospitals
May 7—AUGUSTA — A bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers launched a last-minute attempt Wednesday to free up $118 million in MaineCare payments to health care providers that were delayed until late June after a previous proposal collapsed. But the emergency measure immediately faced an uphill climb. Senate Republican leaders continue to oppose the proposal, and an effort by House Democrats to skip the committee process and public hearings and move right to floor votes generated opposition from Republicans, including a co-sponsor. House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, sought to fast-track the bill, which had three Republican co-sponsors, by suspending the rules that require bills to be referenced to a committee for a public hearing and work session before any votes by the full House or Senate. The maneuver caught Republicans by surprise and prompted one of the Republican co-sponsors to object. A majority of the House members supported the bill, but it was sent to the Senate without the two-thirds support needed to enact the emergency measure and immediately provide the funding. The Senate did not take up the bill Wednesday. "I'm sure there's a lot of confusion happening right now — I know for me there is as well since we were not told anything like this was happening," said Rep. Amanda Collamore, R-Pittsfield, a co-sponsor of the bill. "What is concerning to me is that we are usurping the tradition and the rules of our body by not allowing the public to have a chance to speak on a bill. ... I do not support this not being sent to committee and waiving those rules." Fecteau, however, said Democrats were seeking to waive the rules because similar proposals have already received public hearings and been debated in committees and in each chamber has part of two separate budget bills, and he didn't want to consume valuable committee time or scarce resources, including nonpartisan staff time. "The rationale was, if this bill was going to be introduced, it should just have an up-or-down vote, since the policy matter at hand has already been debated in both chambers," Fecteau said. Initial votes in the House did not bode well for reaching the 101 votes needed to enact the bill as an emergency. The House voted 69-63 to waive the rules, and a Republican effort to kill the bill failed by a 85-55 vote. Senate Republican leaders, who previously blocked an emergency bill to pay MaineCare providers, do not appear to have changed their position. Those senators demanded other reforms to MaineCare before supporting the funding. MaineCare is the state's version of Medicaid, the public health insurer for people with low incomes. "Nothing has changed and the (D)emocrats are still not willing to reform a program that is completely broken," Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, said in a text message. The MaineCare funding is already included in a budget bill approved by lawmakers and signed by the governor. But the funding will not become available until June 20, because most Senate Republicans withheld their support, preventing the budget from taking effect immediately as an emergency measure. In addition, there is also an effort to block the approved budget from taking effect through a people's veto campaign. If conservative activists secure the required signatures and file them with the state, the funds allocated in the budget will remain frozen until a statewide referendum in November. Until the funding becomes available, health care providers are receiving reduced reimbursements for services they continue to provide — a scenario putting many providers and services at financial risk, especially in rural areas. PROVIDERS EAGER FOR RELIEF Jeff Austin, a spokesperson for the Maine Hospital Association, said his members are eager for financial relief — even if it's only by a few weeks. "It's been very difficult," Austin said of the impact of curtailed reimbursements to his members. "It's a significant amount of money in a short period of time. So, shaving off even a couple of weeks of the pain would be helpful." Rep. James Dill, D-Old Town, submitted the after-deadline bill to restore full MaineCare payments to health care providers as soon as the bill is approved by two-thirds of the Legislature and signed by the governor. Dill said he brought the bill forward in response to concerns from constituents, including health care workers who are worried about layoffs and patients worried about the loss of services. He hopes to convince opponents to support his bill, which would allow health care facilities to access funding that has already been approved by the Legislature and endorsed by the governor. "They realize the money is just sitting there," Dill said. LD 1948 is co-sponsored by three House Republicans: Collamore and Reps. Amy Arata of New Gloucester and Dean Cray of Palmyra. But, even if House Republicans join Democrats in supporting the measure when it comes back form a second vote in that chamber, it still faces hurdles in the Senate. Republican leaders in the Senate have demanded a series of amendments that would cap enrollment and seek work requirements for able-bodied recipients, among other things. House Republicans had already voted in support of the MaineCare funding during previous negotiations after winning a concession from Democrats to reform General Assistance, a safety net program that is mostly funded by the state. "I just felt that with it passing once in the House we could just (act on) this one piece because everybody in there either knows somebody, has constituents or has facilities in their district that could be hurt badly by not getting this funding," Dill said. Dill hopes to pick up the four votes needed in the Senate to reach the two-thirds threshold needed to enact the emergency measure and then win over House Republicans who objected to fast-tracking the bill. "I will talk to a lot of (my co-sponsors) again and get them to go along with it," he said. Copy the Story Link
