District 8 Legislative Update - April 22nd, 2009
April 22, 2009 -
This is the State Legislature's April Vacation week. We have been working since January 5th, and it is good to take some time to catch my breath. I am enjoying the time in Portland by having meetings around town with constituents concerning education, economic development, youth projects and transportation.
Last Week's Top Issues
1) DirigoChoice;
2) Expansion of the Laptop Program to High Schools;
3) Department of Transportation's plans for new Exit 7 off ramps in Portland.
Thank you for your interest, and keep it coming!
Community Update - Constituents Visit Augusta
Remember when I asked everyone if they would like to see what happens in the Legislature? Well, Joel Sanchez and Anthony Alvarez did! They shadowed me for an entire day and got a chance to see inside the Legislature. Joel and Anthony witnessed the Senate Democratic Caucus meeting before our Senate session, and watched and listened to the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee work on bills. I hope others will be interested in visiting Augusta and join me.
DirigoChoice
In my last email, I asked you for your comments on health care in Maine.
Click here to read some of the responses.
Last week, the Insurance and Financial Services Committee heard several bills on health care in Maine. On Friday, April 17th, we had work sessions steeped in health care, especially the DirigioChoice program. DirigoChoice is Maine's four-year-old state-subsidized health care program. When it was founded, the program had expectations to cover 131,000 Mainers by delivering affordable and accessible quality health care. Unfortunately, the program has spent more time in the courts fighting for its funding stream than covering Maine's uninsured.
The major focus for reform of Dirigo is to find a sustainable funding stream. LD 1206, "An Act To Fund the Dirigo Health Program through a High-risk Pool," was one of the bills we heard on the subject. LD 1206 would require medical insurers to pay an assessment of up to $10 per person per month to support the costs of high-risk people and subsidize costs for Dirigo Health. This bill would also require Dirigo Health enrollees to complete health assessments as a condition of receiving subsidies, and would repeal the guaranteed issuance requirement for individual health insurance.
Click here to read about a different way to fund DirigoChoice.
Laptops in High Schools
Last week, I chaired the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee's public work session on the Maine laptop program. About thirty people spoke in favor of extending the program to high schools, and five spoke against it. Some of the supporters were 7th and 8th graders who spoke eloquently about how the laptop program has benefited them. These students spoke about the crucial access to research and current projects that laptops provide.
Opponents all agreed it would be great to have laptops, but opposed the cost shift that was occurring in schools. Currently, schools can use their technology funds to pay for all of their technology needs in their junior high and high schools. The proposed high school expansion, which is completely voluntary, would use most of the district's technology funds to pay for the computers. Opponents argued that various costs of the upgrade will fall on local communities: upgrading facilities for wireless, staffing requirements, and professional development needs for teachers. The reality is that many families do not have wireless internet at their homes right now.
What do you think?
My Bills - Update
LD 1127, "An Act to Define Services for Maine Runaway and Homeless Youth," passed unanimously last week out of the Health and Human Services Committee! This bill changed the definition of homeless youth to meet federal standards, and spelled out the comprehensive programs homeless youth providers must provide to obtain funding from the Department of Health and Human Services. LD 1127 will ensure that all funds dedicated to homeless youth go to providers in this arena only, and will ensure that the Department holds these providers accountable. Here is a picture of me with some youth from Portland's Preble Street Teen Center.
Closing
Thanks again to all of you for sending me your thoughts and ideas on how to make Portland and Maine better! I look forward to hearing more in the coming weeks.
-Justin
