DownloadStatus: Rules rejected
The Legislature defeated metallic mining rules submitted by the Department of Environmental Protection. The same rules were submitted to and rejected by the 126th Legislature. The Environment and Natural Resources Committee spent significant time reworking the rules this session and voted 8-5 to approve them. However, the rules still did Continue...
Status: Bill vetoed by Governor; veto override successful
The Legislature restored energy efficiency funding to the Efficiency Maine Trust. In March, the Public Utilities Commission slashed $38 million from energy efficiency programs. The funding cut was the result of a clerical error in the omnibus energy bill of 2013 – the word “AND” had been erroneously omitted. Rep Continue...
Status: Bill vetoed by Governor; veto override failed
The Governor continues to withhold Land for Maine’s Future funding, approved by voters in 2010 and 2012. LMF supports the conservation of farms, forests, waters and recreational access. The Governor held the bonds hostage in 2013 until a hospital debt was paid. The debt was paid and the Governor promised Continue...
Status: Bill died
The Legislature voted against diverting timber harvesting revenue from public land stewardship. One of Governor LePage’s priorities has been to increase timber harvesting on public lands and use the revenue to fund unrelated heating programs. The Legislature rejected this proposal, as did the 126th Legislature in 2014 (see LD 1838) Continue...
Status: Bill died
The Legislature defeated regulatory “takings” legislation, which would have required the state to pay landowners if future laws passed by the Legislature arguably reduced their property values significantly. If the state could not afford to pay, the landowner would have been permitted to disregard the law. This legislation threatened to Continue...
Status: Passed
Immediately after the failed LD 1378 override vote at the end of the 2015 session, Majority Leader McCabe amended a different bill, LD 1454, to direct the governor to release the LMF bonds. The bill passed with a majority in both chambers and was sent to the governor’s desk. At Continue...
Status: Bill passed; signed into law by the governor
The governor introduced a bill withdrawing state consent for the federal government to designate a national monument. A national monument is a place protected for its natural, scientific, or cultural significance under authority granted by the federal Antiquities Act. The bill was an attack on a potential monument designation in Continue...
Status: Bill vetoed by governor, veto override failed.
The governor vetoed a bill enacted by the legislature to expand Maine’s solar capacity ten-fold over five years. LD 1649 included provisions to build community solar projects, update net metering, create solar jobs, and reduce electricity costs for all ratepayers. The Senate considered and rejected an undermining amendment that would Continue...
Status: Bill defeated
In 2015, the legislature authorized a commission to study the funding structure of Maine’s Public Reserved Lands – a network of over a half million acres of public land that includes some of Maine’s most outstanding natural features. Public Reserved Lands are managed for a variety of resource values including Continue...