Special Session – District 8 Legislative Update

Eloise was sworn-in Thursday morning in a small ceremony in the Governor’s office, and took her seat for the special session we held. I look forward to working with Senator Vitelli over the next year-and-a-half.

There are also three education bonds totaling $35.5 million that will fund infrastructure upgrades to classroom and science labs at the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System, and Maine Maritime Academy. The package also includes $14 million for armory maintenance and renovations

While Democrats had hoped to include needed investments in research and development, this package was the result of laborious compromise, and we have received a promise from the Governor and legislative Republicans to take up an R&D bond in January of next year.

The $149.5 million bond package will be on the ballot this November, and I encourage everyone to support these important investments.

Also on Thursday, the Legislature unanimously passed a bill to address some systemic problems at the Riverview Psychiatric Center. Recently, Riverview has come under fire from the federal government regarding Riverview’s response to safety concerns. Riverview was at risk of losing its certification and federal funding.
The bill, LD 1515 is a small step forward in addressing the problem. As passed, the measure expands a mental health unit at the Maine State Prison and formed a committee to develop a long-term fix to the problems at Riverview.

On Wednesday, voters across the city approved the supplemental school budget of $1.9 million for the next school year. These funds are available due to the work we did on the biennial budget to restore and increase funding to public schools.
The bulk of that money will go towards covering teacher retirement costs that were shifted from the state to cities and towns. In addition, Portland will restore eight positions that had been cut under the previously approved budget.