Last week, I delivered the Democratic Radio Address, had two bills come out of committee, and started the next steps to cover 70,000 Mainers and pay back our hospitals.

Community Event

On Monday, I was proud to walk in the Portland Memorial Day Parade. It was particularly special for me because I was able to join my father-in-law, a veteran of the Vietnam War. The Grand Marshall of Parade was Albert Caron, a 91-year-old veteran of World War II. After the parade, I joined Mayor Michael Brennan and spoke about the sacrifices Maine Veterans make for our state and country. Maine has one of the highest percentages of veterans in the whole country.

Weekly Radio Address

This past weekend, I had the honor of delivering the Democratic Radio Address. I spoke about the great work the Legislature has been doing, particularly with LD 90, our workforce development bill, and the comprehensive energy bill developed by the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. I also addressed the Governor’s obstructionism, as he has vowed to veto both of the bills.

I hope you’ll take a listen, and I’d love to hear what you think.

 

Click here to listen.

Governor’s Tax Shift

Earlier this year, Governor LePage introduced his two-year budget that proposes a massive $424 million tax shift to cities and towns. More than 60 towns and school districts have signed resolutions against the LePage budget.

Yesterday, Democrats urged our Republican colleagues to stop this tax shift and restore critical funding by delaying the implementation of the unfunded income tax cuts passed in 2011. The tax cuts passed in 2011 provides the top one percent, those earning more than $350,000 per year, a tax cut of almost $3,000, while middle income families will see a return of a little more than $100. By delaying these cuts, we can prevent a massive property tax hike as proposed by the Governor’s budget on working families. Simply, we need a course correction. Now is not the time for these tax breaks for the wealthy. We can not afford it.
Click here to read more from the Bangor Daily News.

Local Impact
The Governor’s proposed budget is already having a negative impact on our communities. Yesterday, we received some difficult news for Portland Schools. The Portland School Board announced that approximately 49 full-time education positions will be eliminated from Portland public schools.
This is regrettable news for our community but, sadly, not unexpected. The Governor’s budget proposes drastic cuts to education. For too long, we have asked our schools and teachers to do more with less. This is counterproductive to our collective goal of making our classrooms the best learning environment for our students.

 

The Governor’s budget does not work. It simply passes the buck. This is not responsible. We need a budget that reflects Maine values, and a budget that we can afford. Now is not the time to be giving the wealthy a tax break when we cannot adequately fund our classrooms. Budgets are about priorities, and we must make choices that make Maine strong where families and communities thrive.

Healthcare and Hospitals – Next Steps

Now that LD 1546, our bill to cover 70,000 Mainers and pay back our hospital debt, has been vetoed, Democrats are looking forward to other ways we can accomplish these goals. The issues addressed by this unified bill are inextricably linked, and we can not do one without the other, even if they move forward as separate bills.

This week, the Health and Human Services Committee will take up LD 1066, a standalone bill to accept federal funds to expand access to healthcare. To ensure the best deal for Maine, the committee will adopt a major amendment that states if the federal government does not meet their obligations for reimbursement, then Maine can opt-out at any time.

This amendment gives Maine the flexibility to accept federal dollars with little risk. The bill for repaying the hospitals is also moving forward with the Governor introducing a new bill that is almost ready to be referred to committee.

Bills Submitted

MPBN Board

In recent years, state funding for MPBN has been cut and they have even dodged a few budgets where they were defunded entirely. With this cloud of uncertainty, MPBN has been proactively changing its economic partnership with the state of Maine. If MPBN is to move confidently into a sustainable future, it must be able to build their board of trustees like any other nonprofit. There are currently nine board members mandated by statute, and every named interest in statute supports this change.

I introduced LD 1551 on behalf of MPBN, to repeal the state mandated board requirements. After some deliberation, the Education & Cultural Affairs Committee decided to reduce the number of state mandated board appointments from nine to two, with one Gubernatorial appointment and one representative from the University of Maine System.

Tenant Brewers Bill
On Tuesday, after working with the State Police and Peak Organic Brewing, the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee unanimously passed LD 1548, the bill that allows Peak Organic to continue brewing at the Shipyard Brewing facility.

This is great news, and the bill now moves to the full legislature for a vote.

Closing

We’re entering the final stretch of the session, and I hope to hear from you about any issues in front of the legislature.

 

-Justin