AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine legislators began the new session Wednesday planning to tackle the state’s opioid crisis, the rollout of legalized marijuana and the minimum wage increase, and the fate of a psychiatric care hospital.
They started delving through reams of bills as lobbyists from Uber Technologies to the Nature Conservancy to the National Rifle Association began their seasonal practice of registering with the state.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Troy Jackson announced legislation Wednesday to protect Maine patients if Congress repeals the federal health care law. Lawmakers also are considering whether to create a special panel to handle legislation on the opioid crisis.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s New Year’s resolution suggests he wants to avoid the fireworks of recent years. LePage told WVOM-FM this week he won’t call legislators names or pick on individuals. Last summer, LePage left an expletive-filled message for a Democratic legislator and asked him to make the voicemail public.
LePage’s budget proposal to legislators is due Friday. He wants to lower taxes on the rich to make up for a new income surtax on Maine’s highest earners. The surtax, approved by voters in November, provides funding for public schools and is one of the highest tax rates on top earners in the nation.
Lawmakers and state officials will spend months handling issues related to legalized marijuana and the minimum wage hike, both approved by voters in November. A state agency is suggesting lawmakers create a cannabis advisory commission, and LePage is asking legislators to re-authorize employers to pay certain workers below the minimum wage if they make up the difference in tips.
The governor also has called on legislators to address the prospects that Maine could lose millions of dollars in federal funding on two fronts: longstanding problems at Riverview Psychiatric Center and Maine’s failure to meet all federal workforce participation requirements for welfare recipients dating back to the mid-2000s. The federal government has said that Maine failed to make key paperwork deadlines and corrective plans to avoid such penalties, which can be appealed.
On a related issue, LePage wants a secure psychiatric facility built in Bangor instead of Augusta, where construction would require the approval of a group of legislative leaders. Legislators are calling for more information on LePage’s proposal for the privately-run facility, which would free up bed space at Riverview.
LePage says they’re playing political games and delaying construction. The legislative leaders are nonetheless holding a hearing Thursday on the administration’s previous proposal to build the facility in Augusta.
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