An abbreviated briefing today as we await Gov. Paul LePage’s two-year budget proposal . . .  When it comes to fiscal policy, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Gov. LePage have a lot in common. Both believe that tax reductions on individuals and businesses are the best way to grow an economy, and both have signed legislation […]

Upstage LePage? Gov. Paul LePage ticked off quite a few educators with his comments Wednesday about the Maine school system, the teachers union, superintendents and the Maine School Charter Commission. However, to Democrats, the timing of his comments was as annoying as what he said. Several Democratic lawmakers were quick to note that LePage’s impromptu […]

For the most part, the LePage administration and the Democratic majority in the Legislature have guarded their policy agendas like nuclear launch codes. The Dec. 5 cloture date for agencies to submit legislative requests has given some hints — some stronger than others — about the administration’s plans. However, details in that list of 145 […]

      — Gov. Paul LePage wants to lift the cap on the number of charter schools that can be certified over the next 10 years. Lawmakers included the limit in 2011 when Maine became the 41st state to allow charter schools. The reason? The charter school law is new. So are the applicants, […]

Here we go …  The 126th Legislature officially convened Dec. 5, but the real work begins this week. The Legislature’s budget-writing committee will get back to work Tuesday digging into Gov. Paul LePage’s $35.5 million curtailment order. The panel nibbled around the edges last week, but expect department heads to begin appearing before the panel […]

Gov. Paul LePage has released a video defending the tax cuts that were enacted in 2011 as part of the state’s two-year budget. LePage says in the clip that Democrats have been lying about the tax cuts, which were supported by a two-thirds majority of the Legislature when the budget was passed in 2011. The […]

U.S. Sen.-elect Angus King announced his Washington, D.C. political team on Friday. On Saturday, King is expected to release his Maine-based team.  The announcement is expected to happen around noon.  There are a lot rumored candidates, but one person seems likely to be on the list. Travis Kennedy, the former chief of staff for the […]

A couple of gun control advocates have made some follow-up points to Friday’s story about Rep. Brian Duprey’s bill to allow concealed firearm permit holders to bring their guns to public schools. First, one took issue with a quote from Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, that Wyatt Earp may have been ok with guns in Tombstone, […]

A gun-rights advocate who served on the Yarmouth School Committee is calling on Maine lawmakers to pass legislation to allow educators to have guns in public schools.  State Rep. Brian Duprey, R-Hampden, appears to share that view.  Duprey posted on Facebook Wednesday that he’s submitted legislation that will allow anyone with a concealed firearms permit […]

Legislative leaders released the long-awaited list of committee assignments for the 126th Legislature.  Below is the complete list.  Although we’ve yet to see much of the new Democratic majority’s policy agenda, a few committees will are likely to see a lot of action, particularly the Appropriations Committee, which handles budget-writing and is the last stop […]