AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Republican Gov. Paul LePage didn’t have the authority to shutter a minimum-security prison last month without obtaining legislative approval, a judge ruled, as lawmakers considered whether to fund the prison for another year.
Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy granted a temporary injunction sought by the attorney general, unions and the Washington County Commission. She concluded that only lawmakers, not the Department of Corrections, have the authority to close the Downeast Correctional Facility.
The decision, issued late Wednesday, vindicates critics of the governor’s heavy-handed tactics, Commission Chairman Chris Gardner said.
“He overstepped his bounds. He’s merely a governor. There are three branches of government, and they all have to be respected,” he said Thursday.
The governor’s administration removed inmates from the facility on Feb. 9, even though the facility was funded by lawmakers through the summer.
What happens next is unclear, however.
The judge stopped short of ordering all the inmates to be returned to the prison, and deferred to the corrections commissioner on operations of the facility, including programs, staffing levels, and pay for workers.
With the decision as a backdrop, the House voted 83-53 Thursday to extend funding for a year but failed to reach a two-thirds threshold for emergency legislation. Funding is currently in place only through June.
The funding measure now moves to the Senate, which has the option of changing the bill’s emergency status to allow for passage by a simple majority.
LePage’s office declined to comment, saying it does not comment on litigation.
The Republican governor contends the prison is too costly and inefficient to continue operating. The prison costs about $5 million a year and provides jobs and prison labor to the surrounding community.
The governor’s actions didn’t sit well with lawmakers from Washington County, or the corrections officers who lost their jobs.
Two former correction officers, Daniel Ramsdell and John Mills, who together have 45 years of seniority, said Thursday that they were forced to retire early, making them lose out on full benefits, because of the governor’s actions.
“He’s a bully,” Mills said. “Flat-out.”
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