This week, The Monitor is bringing you a preview of some of the bills our reporters are watching as the 132nd legislative session gets underway, from efforts to change the process for choosing several high-level state officials, to plans to better prepare for storms and improve transparency around how opioid settlement funds are spent.
We’re also bringing you a primer on how the legislature works and the nitty gritty on how a bill becomes a law.
And if you need to look up a bill or a refresher on who your lawmakers are, head over to our Statehouse Hub, which we’ll keep updated throughout the session with everything you need to know about the legislative process of individual bills and what your state lawmakers are doing in Augusta.
Health Care
By Rose Lundy
Sponsored by: Rep. Marc Malon (D-Biddeford)
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
The Office of Cannabis Policy has drafted a bill that would establish for the first time a mandatory testing requirement for the medical cannabis program in Maine.
Maine’s medical use program currently has no requirements to test for contaminants or potency, unlike the adult use, or recreational, cannabis program which requires testing for both.
In 2023, the state’s Office of Cannabis Policy released a report pushing for required testing in the medical cannabis program, but lawmakers instead pursued broad legislation intended to reduce stigma around the cannabis industry that largely loosened restrictions in both the adult use and medical programs.
Rep. Marc Malon, a Democrat from Biddeford, said he agreed to sponsor this new bill from the office because he was initially “stunned” to learn that there was no mandatory testing for the medical program.
“I think that has significant implications for the health of people who are using these products,” Malon said.
Medical cannabis cultivators and sellers previously told The Monitor that they would support mandatory testing but only under certain conditions, citing concerns about the consistency and accuracy of lab testing, and the possibility of the expense of testing pushing small-batch producers out of business.
In response, Malon said it is important to make sure the testing labs adhere to standards, as well. And he said he doesn’t want to put extra costs and burdens on the industry, but their business plan should include ensuring the products are free of contaminants.
“I don’t want to put anyone out of business,” he said. “On the other hand, if you are potentially selling contaminated products then I don’t have much sympathy for you.”
He said he expects it will be a “heavily debated bill” with passionate testimony.
“It deserves thorough deliberation and thorough examination of the language to make sure we are getting it as right as possible,” Malon said. “We want to make it so that compliance is something that is doable … and the end product of that is that consumers can feel confident in what they are purchasing.”
Sponsored by: Rep. Kristi Mathieson (D-Kittery)
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
Rep. Kristi Mathieson, a Democrat from Kittery, is bringing back a bill to sponsor foreign-trained physicians living in Maine after the measure gained bipartisan support last session but died on the appropriations table.
L.D. 105 would allow the Finance Authority of Maine to provide grants to institutions that are sponsoring internationally trained physicians to help them meet the requirements to become fully licensed in Maine. Mathieson said this is important to do, given Maine’s healthcare workforce shortage.
“It seemed almost inexcusable that we have this workforce that’s not able to actually use their skills to their best talents,” she said. “(This bill) seemed like a really nice bipartisan way of improving healthcare and accessing skills that were already existing in Maine.”
The measure was initially introduced last year and was based on recommendations in a 2024 report from a commission tasked with looking at ways to address the workforce shortages.
Mathieson, who co-chaired the commission, said she remembered some startling statistics from a presentation by the Maine Hospital Association: Maine hospitals were actively recruiting for 385 physicians while it took, on average, 277 days to recruit just one physician in Maine.
She added that Maine is the state with the highest percentage of physicians over the age of 60, which means there could be even more of a crunch as people retire.
The bill last year was supported unanimously by the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee and passed the House and Senate but ultimately died on the appropriations table.
Mathieson said part of the problem was that the bill came with a fiscal note of $2.5 million to create a sponsorship program that would fund 10 slots per year at institutions that are employing and training international physicians who have been issued temporary educational licenses to practice medicine in Maine.
The current bill will likely have a similar fiscal note, she said, which could also be a problem this time around due to the governor’s warning that the budget will be tight.
“I’d like to think that, regardless of where we are now, the Maine Legislature still believes that we want to train competent individuals, regardless of where they have come from,” Mathieson said when asked about any potential opposition. “I’d like to think that that’s not going to be a pushback but we’ll see what happens this time around.”
An Act to Prevent the MaineCare Program from Covering Abortion Services
Sponsored by: Rep. Kathy Javner (R-Chester)
Committee: Judiciary
This bill would repeal the section of Maine law that requires MaineCare coverage for abortion services. Under current law, “abortion services that are not federally approved Medicaid services must be funded by state funds within existing resources.”
Rep. Kathy Javner, a Republican from Chester, said she introduced the bill because she doesn’t believe taxpayer dollars should go towards abortion services.
“I want the Maine people to have [the] opportunity to be able to give their testimony about why they believe that this is not something that they want their tax dollars being spent on,” she told The Monitor.
Javner sponsored the same bill last session but it came out of the Judiciary Committee on an 8-6 “ought not to pass” vote and was voted down on the floor.
When asked if she thought it would go differently this time, Javner said “I do not.” But she added that she was still hopeful, especially given the budget shortfall of $118 million in MaineCare funding.
“(The U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) says that the state has to cover certain services, but then there’s an option list,” she said. “And I think that our options list in Maine has gotten quite lengthy.”
Abortion access in Maine is less restrictive than in many other states. Abortion is banned at fetal viability, which is about 24 weeks of pregnancy, but a recent law allows doctors to perform abortions after the cutoff when deemed medically necessary.
Last session lawmakers attempted to enshrine the right to an abortion in Maine’s constitution, but it fell short of the required two-thirds majority required to pass a constitutional amendment.
Sponsored by: Rep. Sam Zager, (D-Portland)
Committee: Health and Human Services
L.D. 93 would expand the universal childhood immunization program to provide and pay for immunizations for adults in the state.
The legislation was submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services. Rep. Sam Zager, a Democrat from Portland, said he agreed to sponsor it because it would reduce suffering caused by infectious diseases, save money for the state and help the economy by keeping working age people healthy.
The measure would expand the current child immunization program to also include adults up to the age of 64. Those over 65 are covered by Medicare. This program enables the state to buy vaccines in bulk, at a discount, for things like COVID-19, influenza, RSV and chickenpox, that would then be distributed to the institutions that administer them to patients.
“It does not require people to get vaccines. It simply makes the vaccines available for less money,” Zager said.
Zager, a family physician, said there could be some opposition from people who are suspicious of vaccines as a whole.
“To me, that’s a peculiar thing to be suspicious of because vaccines are one of the most beneficial technologies, innovations, inventions ever in human history,” he said.
The measure comes as national lawmakers consider noted vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but Zager said the central issue of this bill is that it reduces suffering and saves money: “It’s not a mandate.”
An Act to Ensure Quality in Personal Care Agencies
Sponsored by: Rep. Kristen Cloutier (D-Lewiston)
Committee: Health and Human Services
This bill, which was submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services, would require personal care agencies to post annual quality performance metrics on a publicly accessible website and allow DHHS to revoke the license of an agency that fails to “adequately satisfy the metrics or file reports required by the department.”
The measure would also allow DHHS to collect claims data, performance data and survey data to measure quality performance.
This legislation comes after new laws requiring personal care agencies to be licensed went into effect for the first time last year.
These agencies, which employ caregivers to help older adults and disabled people in their homes, are now subject to licensing requirements that established standards, mechanisms for oversight and enforcement actions for failing to comply. It also added an appeals process if an agency disagrees with an enforcement decision from DHHS
“The licensure process establishes minimum standards for quality, safety, and client rights that apply to all agencies providing these services equally regardless of payment source,” DHHS told The Maine Monitor at the time. “It also allows the department to address deficiencies through the licensing process, whereas the previous registration process did not include authority for direct enforcement by the department.”
Personal care agency owners at the time said they were generally supportive of the licensing change and the increased regulations, but worried it might force them to increase their rates, which could push potential clients to cheaper and less regulated options.
One owner said she was surprised when she entered the caregiving field to learn that personal care agencies weren’t licensed.
“We have our most vulnerable population and we have people going in with no real oversight so I do think licensing is a good thing,” she said.
Environment
By Emmett Gartner
An Act to Increase Storm Preparedness for Maine’s Communities, Homes and Infrastructure
Sponsored by: Sen. Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) Rep. Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) (Governor’s Bill)
Committee: Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs
Work session held Jan. 15: Listen here.
This bill, sponsored by Democratic and Republican leadership on behalf of Gov. Janet Mills, follows the interim recommendations from the Maine Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission.
“Last year, my administration and the Legislature made the largest investment in storm recovery and resilience in Maine history,” Mills wrote in a statement. “That funding was significant, but it’s clear that it was only a down payment on the critical recovery and resilience work Maine must do to prepare our people and communities for the storms we know will become more frequent and intense in the years ahead.”
The bill would create three new initiatives. The first, the Home Resiliency Program, operated by the Bureau of Insurance, would offer grants of up to $15,000 to homeowners for projects to make their homes more resistant to damage from severe weather events. The program would be funded by a one-time transfer of $15 million from the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation.
The legislation would also create a State Resilience Office within the Maine Office of Community Affairs, funded through a five-year federal grant. The office would support flood and storm damage prevention and public safety. In the future, the office would require an annual transfer of available balances from the Bureau of Insurance to the State Resilience Fund.
The third initiative would focus on supporting Maine’s Emergency Management Agency by establishing a new state fund with $750,000 matching funds to leverage the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “Safeguarding Tomorrow through On-going Risk Mitigation Revolving Loan Fund.” It would also add $10 million in the State Disaster Recovery Fund for matching to secure other federal dollars and dedicate $800,000 to improve the state’s emergency communications systems.
In an interview with The Maine Monitor, Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) said it’s more urgent than ever for Maine to strengthen its resilience initiatives under President Donald Trump’s threats to cut federal disaster assistance.
“We have to do everything we can to make sure that the Maine Emergency Management Agency has what they need, and that’s why the communication and improving the statewide communications is so vital,” Daughtry said.
The legislation is supported by a number of environmental advocacy organizations, including Maine Conservation Voters.
An Act to Establish the PFAS Response Program and to Modify the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination
Sponsored by: Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-York (Department Bill)
Committee: Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Lawmakers received a dire briefing on Wednesday about the dwindling budgets for Maine’s programs to detect and decontaminate harmful forever chemicals called PFAS from agricultural land and drinking water.
A bill sponsored by Sen. Henry Ingwersen (D-York) and crafted by the state Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry would continue efforts to mitigate PFAS contaminations afflicting Maine farmers.
It would establish the ‘PFAS Response Program’ to provide PFAS testing for any Maine farmer who requests it and financial assistance to mitigate the contamination of their farm’s land, livestock, produce or water.
The program would also coordinate with state agencies to establish Maine’s first-ever maximum contaminant level for PFAS detected within farm goods — helping farmers determine if their products may be too tainted with PFAS for purchase or consumption.
In an interview with The Maine Monitor, Ingwersen emphasized the voluntary intention of the program, saying that its purpose is not to punish farmers but to incentivize them to mitigate any potential PFAS contamination.
“I envision the program as a carrot to help farmers who want to sell clean products, not a stick to stop people from farming,” Ingwersen said.
To help finance these services the bill authorizes DACF to draw revenue through the sale or leasing of PFAS-contaminated properties previously acquired under an existing fund, partially addressing the shortfall that the state’s other PFAS programs are facing.
Resolve, Regarding the Operation and Future Capacity of State-owned Landfills
Sponsored by: Rep. Richard Campbell (R-Orrington)
Committee: Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
Bipartisan legislation from Rep. Richard Campbell (R-Orrington) would have the state explore ownership of the former Pixelle paper mill landfill in Jay for the disposal of the state’s wastewater treatment plant sludge and other special waste.
As Maine stares down a capacity crisis at the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town, the study would judge the viability of sending sludge to Jay while reevaluating and potentially renegotiating its contract with Juniper Ridge-operator Casella to mitigate PFAS contamination.
Maine once allowed sludge and sludge-derived compost to be spread on farmland, believing the practice to be a safe, sustainable and cheap way to dispose of human waste. But the state became the first state in the nation to ban the practice in 2022 after finding farms had become contaminated with PFAS.
The problem then became figuring out where to send the waste. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection accepted Casella’s application to expand Juniper Ridge last October, so long as the company analyzes the landfill’s odor and improves its treatment of the PFAS-laden leachate it receives from wastewater plants.
The department’s decision prompted a lawsuit from the Penobscot Nation, neighboring communities and environmental groups the following month, who have long claimed that the landfill’s positioning and pollution output are an environmental justice issue.
Sponsored by: Sen. Jeff Timberlake (R-Androscoggin)
Committee: Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology
For the second year in a row Sen. Jeff Timberlake (R-Androscoggin) is sponsoring a bill to remove the 100 megawatt cap that excludes large-scale hydroelectric projects like those owned by HydroQuebec from qualifying for Maine’s valuable renewable energy credits and counting towards the state’s renewable energy goals.
Whereas past versions of the bill have failed under opposition from environmental groups, there could be a new appetite for compromise this time around. The Governor’s Energy Office recently recommended that large-scale hydro be considered in a complementary program to the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, awarding it and other zero or low carbon energy sources like nuclear with so-called ‘clean energy certificates.’
While Timberlake’s bill would simply roll large-scale hydro into the state’s existing renewable portfolio, the GEO’s recommendation would silo it into a separate ‘Clean Energy Standard,’ which would help the state reach its goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2040 (the definition of “clean energy” has yet to be defined, but could be outlined in future legislation).
Environmental groups have opposed large-scale hydro’s inclusion in the state’s renewables portfolio because they claim it wouldn’t reduce electricity bills for Maine ratepayers and would reward Canadian energy conglomerate Hydro-Québec instead of small-scale renewables in Maine.
Timberlake contends otherwise and said he was interested in learning more about the GEO’s proposal.
“It would help with reaching that renewable energy quota that we try to reach here in the state of Maine … and I just believe it’s a true way to lower the cost of electricity to Mainers,” Timberlake told The Monitor.
Sponsored by: Rep. Dick Campbell (R-Orrington)
Committee: Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology
A bill from Timberlake’s Republican colleagues in the House would require owners of any size hydro-electric project to estimate the monetary value of the dam’s electrical or mechanical power and demonstrate a reasonable effort to sell the dam before the state allows for the dam’s removal.
The process outlined by the bill is reminiscent of the hoops that Dover-Foxcroft went through when considering removing its town-owned dam on the Piscataquis River.
The town completed multiple studies estimating the costs required to rehabilitate the dam to produce hydroelectricity, finding that the operation and maintenance costs would outweigh any profits for decades.
An Act to Support Municipal and County Actions on Dam Ownership
Sponsored by: Rep. Nina Milliken (D-Blue Hill) (Department bill)
Committee: Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
The third bill from a slate of dam-related legislation originates in the backyard of lead sponsor Rep. Nina Milliken (D-Blue Hill).
A swathe of Milliken’s constituents reside on Toddy Pond between Penobscot and Surry, one of three dammed water bodies at risk of dewatering should the state allow dam owner AIM Development USA to abandon its aging dams.
Milliken’s bill would beef up the state’s loosely-defined statute regulating dam abandonment by giving municipalities more time to consider ownership of a dam and empowering the state Department of Environmental Protection to require more information on the dam’s structural condition.
The Monitor has previously reported that the statute has never been tested before and the state’s Dam Safety Program does not enforce maintenance standards, causing concern from nearby residents that AIM’s dams may be in poor condition.
Sponsored by: Rep. Reagan L. Paul (R-Winterport)
Committee: Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
Another bipartisan coalition of legislators is coalescing around this bill that would extend the conservation easement on Sears Island to include the state-owned parcel of land designated for a port to assemble turbines for an offshore wind farm.
Sears Island, which lies just south of the port of Searsport and is connected by a causeway, is owned by the state of Maine.
A large portion of the island — 601 of its roughly 936 acres — is under conservation easement with Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Friends of Sears Island (FOSI) is the land management entity for the conserved land. The Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) maintains the 100-acre parcel on the western side of the island where the wind port would be built.
Maine’s plans for offshore wind development, however, hit a snag when the state was passed over in October for a $456 million federal grant that would cover most of the costs for the planned wind port. President Donald Trump’s January executive order largely halting the development of offshore wind projects complicates the state’s venture even further.
Labor, Elections, Courts
By Josh Keefe
Sponsored by: Rep. David Sinclair (D-Bath)
Committee: Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Maine’s indigent defense crisis has demonstrated that the state does not have enough defense attorneys to handle all the crimes it charges. Over the past few months, Maine has had around 900 criminal cases lacking an attorney on any given day.
One way to help close that gap is to charge fewer crimes. Attorney and state representative David Sinclair (D-Bath) believes Maine can help reduce its backlog of unrepresented cases by removing one crime from the books entirely.
L.D. 179 would remove what Sinclair called a “redundancy in the system” by removing Class E violating conditions of release from Maine’s list of crimes. Sinclair sponsored the bill with Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn).
A person charged with a crime can be released on bail either before or after they are convicted. Bail often comes with conditions, which vary and can include stipulations such as following a curfew, not returning to the scene of the alleged crime or maintaining employment.
If a defendant violates the conditions of their release, a judge can revoke bail and send them back to jail. If a person violates their conditions of release by committing a new crime, they can be charged for that crime.
Under certain circumstances, such as if the underlying crime is punishable by a year or more and jail, or if a defendant violates conditions by contacting an alleged victim or owning firearms, they can be charged with the more severe Class C violating conditions of release.
Removing the Class E violating conditions of release from the list of crimes would not impact a judge’s ability to revoke bail or charge new crimes, which Sinclair believes is enough for lesser infractions.
When charging Class E violating conditions of release, the courts open a new case, which requires a new attorney and more court time. The state charged the offense 8,725 times in 2024, said judiciary spokesperson Barbara Cardone.
A state already unable to staff all its cases doesn’t need to be charging these Class E cases, Sinclair said.
“It’s wholly unnecessary, and the cases are creating more backlog in a situation where we’ve already got an attorney in most cases, working with them on the first case,” Sinclair said. “Sometimes, they’re ending up with two attorneys. It’s senseless.”
Sinclair is confident the bipartisan bill will be picked up by the Senate if it passes the House.
“I think both parties and independents are recognizing that what we’ve been doing in the indigent defense space is not fully working, and we’ve got to find improvements,” Sinclair said. “This is low-hanging fruit.”
An Act to Require Employers to Disclose Pay Ranges and Maintain Records of Employees’ Pay Histories
Sponsor: Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor)
Committee: Committee on Labor
Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor) is trying again to bring pay transparency to Maine by reintroducing “An Act to Require Employers to Disclose Pay Ranges and Maintain Records of Employees’ Pay Histories.”
Last year, the same bill passed out of committee but was never taken up by the full House.
The bill would require all companies with more than 10 employees to include a salary range for prospective employees in any job posting. But the legislation wouldn’t just cover pay transparency during the hiring process, it would also add transparency to hired workers.
The legislation requires employers with more than 10 employees to keep records of salary ranges for each position, and then share that information with an employee upon request.
If Roeder’s bill becomes law, Maine would join a list of 14 states with similar pay transparency laws. They include all New England states but New Hampshire.
Roeder’s bill doesn’t specify any enforcement mechanism for violations. In Connecticut, an employee can bring a civil suit against an employer who breaks the law. Massachusetts issues a warning on the first offense, and then subsequent fines for additional violations.
The bill wouldn’t make employers pay employees any differently. It does, however, let employees request information on how much they are paid relative to coworkers doing the same work, said Roeder, the House chair of the legislature’s Labor Committee. And while the bill will benefit employees, it also could help employers, Roeder said.
“It’s just a way for people to avoid personnel problems, avoid getting in sticky situations with employees you want to retain,” Roeder said.
The legislation would likely make it easier for female employees, and members of other groups historically paid less than their counterparts, to negotiate equal pay. But Roeder said the legislation is for all workers, not for any particular group.
“I know straight white men who have gone to interviews and got pissed off because they thought it was going to pay a lot more, and they just wasted their time,” Roeder said. “It’s basically just leveling the playing field for everybody.”
LD 148: An Act to Provide for the Statewide Popular Election of the State Auditor
Sponsor: Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor)
Committee: Committee on State and Local Government
Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) introduced a series of bills this session that would change the process for choosing several high-level state officials, including secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and state auditor. The four bills all have numerous Republican house co-sponsors.
When it comes to state officials, Maine is an outlier in a number of areas.
The state is one of just five that doesn’t have a lieutenant governor, instead relying on the president of the Senate to take over in the event the governor cannot serve.
Maine’s governor is also paid less than any other state, just $70,000 annually. And unlike most states, Maine doesn’t let voters directly choose some of the most powerful people in state government.
Maine is the only state in which the legislature chooses the attorney general – in most states the attorney general is directly elected by voters, while in a handful of others, including New Hampshire, the attorney general is appointed by the governor.
Maine is also one of just three states where the legislature selects the secretary of state: 38 states directly elect their secretaries of state, nine others are appointed by their respective governors. Three states do not have the position. And Maine is one of four states that has lawmakers choose the state treasurer.
Secretary of state, attorney general and treasurer are all positions outlined in Maine’s Constitution, so Faulkingham’s bills, if passed, would start the process of amending the constitution to empower voters to select those positions. Transitioning the selection of the state auditor position to popular elections would not require a constitutional change.
Changing Maine’s Constitution requires that two-thirds of the legislature vote for the amendment. Once that happens, the amendment is placed on the ballot for voters. Ratification only requires a simple majority.
While Faulkingham’s effort is unlikely to be successful in the Democratic-controlled legislature, at least some Democrats seem to agree that it may be time to look at tweaking Maine’s Constitution.
LD 132: Resolve, to Establish the Commission to Study the Constitution of Maine
Sponsor: Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec)
Committee: Committee on Judiciary
This bill would establish a commission tasked with recommending “changes and amendments” to the state Constitution.
The legislation mandates the commission consider the following changes (although it is not limited to just these topics):
1. Strengthening Maine’s Declaration of Rights, Article I of the Constitution of Maine
2. Removing procedural minutiae from the Constitution of Maine that are better left to statute
3. Enabling the popular election of constitutional officers
4. Establishing 4-year terms for Senators
5. Reducing the number of members of the Legislature
6. Establishing a unicameral Legislature;
7. Allowing constitutional amendments to be initiated directly by the people of the State
8. Examining any constitutional resolutions introduced in the 132nd Legislature.
The bill mandates the commission consist of four members of the Senate and four members of the House, evenly split between the two major parties.
A constitutional law scholar, a member of one of the tribes of the Wabanaki Nations, a representative of the state chapter of a “national civil liberties organization” (likely the ACLU), the secretary of state or a designee would also serve on the commission. The chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court would also be invited to serve in a non-voting role.
LD 112: An Act to Promote Opportunities by Establishing a Student Wage
Sponsor: Rep. Mathew McIntyre (R-Lowell)
Committee: Committee on Labor
Unlike the federal minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 an hour for more than 15 years, Maine’s minimum wage increases with the cost of living (on Jan. 1, it went up to $14.65 per hour).
Republican Rep. Mathew McIntyre (R-Lowell) proposed a bill with several Republican cosponsors that would allow businesses to pay high school students half of that.
“An Act to Promote Opportunities by Establishing a Student Wage,” would create a separate minimum wage for secondary school students set at 50 percent of the state minimum wage. When the student graduates from secondary school, the employer must then pay them at least the standard minimum wage.
Several states and the federal government have minimum wage carve-outs for youth and students. Some small business owners in Maine have been pushing for similar exceptions for many years, said McIntyre.
“This is truly focused on trying to help the small businesses that are struggling and trying to create opportunities for the younger generation to learn and develop and grow and be mentored and apprenticed,” McIntyre said.
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal minimum wage does have exceptions for youth and students. People younger than 20 can be paid just $4.25 an hour for their first 90 days of employment, and full-time students can be paid just 85% of minimum wage if they work in retail, restaurants, agriculture or institutes of higher learning.
Asked if the bill could incentivize business owners to hire high school students instead of adults for some jobs, McIntyre said he didn’t see that happening.
“That is not at all what I’m attempting to promote,” he said. “And if that were to be the case, it would be corrected.”
In 2018, former Republican lawmaker Joel Stetkis (R-Canaan) introduced legislation that would have decreased the minimum wage and eliminated the cost of living adjustment. It also would have established a youth minimum wage that was 80 percent of the prevailing minimum wage. The measure ultimately failed.
Education
By Adrienne Washington
An Act to Increase the Minimum Salary for Teachers
Sponsored by: Sen. Teresa Pierce (D-Cumberland)
Committee: Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs
Sen. Teresa Pierce (D-Cumberland) is reintroducing a bill from last session with the aim of increasing the minimum salary for teachers to $45,000 for the school year beginning in the fall of 2026 and bringing it up to $52,500 by 2029.
Starting in 2030, the bill proposes increasing the salary by multiplying it by the cost of living adjustment. The current minimum salary for teachers is $40,000 per year.
The bill was passed last session, but ultimately left unfunded, something Pierce said is not unusual for the Maine Legislature.
“(It can take a) few years for things to finally make it through,” Pierce said. “I think what was particularly difficult about not having it happen in the last session was (that) it did have such strong support — bipartisan support.”
Pierce hopes that raising the minimum salary for teachers can help bring positive changes back to the school environment for students, and work environment for educators.
“We hope that that is one less barrier to people thinking about taking on this very worthy profession,” she said.
“This creates a level playing field around the state for our entry-level teachers,” Pierce said. “So that our best and brightest are considering this career.”
The Maine School Management Association, an alliance of educators from the Maine School Boards Association and the Maine School Superintendents Association, have not taken a position on this bill, but MSMA Executive Director Steve Bailey said that both organizations “have been conceptually in favor of increased pay and wages.”
A previous version of the bill was supported by the Maine Education Association and teachers who say that low pay led to staffing shortages statewide. Pierce said the monetary boost could bring some stability to schools statewide by establishing equal pay throughout the state.
“I think it’s an opportunity to really encourage people to live in so many parts of our state that are in need of teachers,” she said.
Sponsored by: Rep. Janice Dodge (D-Belfast)
Committee: Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs
Rep. Janice ‘Jan’ Dodge (D-Belfast) is a lifelong Mainer who has been involved in the arts as a music teacher in public schools for many years. She’s a musician who taught in Bar Harbor.
In December, Gov. Janet Mills signed an executive order establishing a task force to study the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence in Mainers’ daily lives.
Dodge said she didn’t want the arts to take a back seat in the midst of other contentious issues, so she proposed studying the issue as a complement to the work of the governor’s task force.
“I thought it was wise for us to have an angle related to the arts,” Dodge said.
The bill will direct the Maine Arts Commission to study efforts to protect artists from copyright infringement by artificial intelligence companies as well as federal efforts to monitor the educational use of copyrighted work.
“The bill is to protect artists and musicians from copyright (infringement) so that teachers will still have the rights that they do for educational purposes,” said Dodge.
In Dodge’s view, knowing the impacts and protections we have from AI are important as the technology impacts many aspects of our lives in the future.
“In every single legislative committee, in my opinion, there should be something that addresses AI protections.”
An Act to Make Menstrual Products Available in Certain Schools
Sponsored by: Rep. Kristen Cloutier (D-Lewiston)
Committee: Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs
This bill, sponsored by Rep. Kristen Cloutier (D-Lewiston), will focus on access to menstrual products in schools. It would require all schools grades six through 12 to make menstrual products available to students in all bathrooms.
Cloutier sponsored the same bill in 2023, but it did not pass.
Rep. Jan Dodge supported the bill and others to provide safe hygiene and sex products in schools. She specifically mentioned the pink tax, which is a gender-based price inequality on hygiene and other essentials.
“(It’s) difficult for those who are in financial hardships,” Dodge said. “We have some students who are staying home from school when they’re menstruating, if they can’t afford period products.”
An Act to Allow School Boards to Expel or Suspend Students Regardless of Grade Level
Sponsored by: Rep. William Tuell (R-East Machias)
Committee: Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs
Rep. William Tuell (R-East Machias) is hoping to reinstate the ability for schools to expel or suspend students regardless of grade level.
Tuell said he decided to pursue the bill after speaking with teachers in his community who want the disciplinary age to be expanded.
“They have some very violent and unruly children in these classrooms,” Tuell said, “to the point where everybody else is prevented from learning.”
Tuell said he hopes this can improve the environment in schools and in the classroom. But he knows it won’t be a one-and-done situation.
“It is a school by school issue, and it is a case by case,” he said.
Tuell also worked as a substitute teacher where he told The Monitor that he saw the issues play out firsthand, and that he’s seen rural schools with large classroom sizes where one challenging student can disrupt the entire class.
“That isn’t something that the other 20 kids in the classroom or the teacher should really be worried about,” Tuell said. “It’s probably one of the reasons why test scores are not where they should be.”
Ultimately, Tuell said he hopes that removing students in these situations can make it easier for students to learn in the classroom.
Sponsored by: Rep. David Sinclair (D-Bath)
Committee: Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs
Rep. David Sinclair (D-Bath) is sponsoring a bill with the aim of improving safety in public schools by requiring silent electronic notification systems in the classroom. It’s the first education bill he’s ever sponsored.
“I’d love to know (the safety measures in) schools in the neighboring communities…if there’s a better approach that we should be thinking about adopting,” he said.
Sinclair said a constituent reached out to share her concerns with him that she wouldn’t be able to reach her child during an emergency after the district implemented a program to place phones in a separate location during the school day. She recommended he take a look at Alyssa’s Law, which became the blueprint for this bill.
The change would equip classrooms with the notification system that automatically notifies the police, local law enforcement, and school security when manually activated. The system would be required to automatically notify parents when the system is used.
An Act to Restore Religious Exemptions to Immunization Requirements
Sponsored by: Rep. Gary Drinkwater (R-Milford)
Committee: Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs
A bill sponsored by Rep. Gary Drinkwater (R-Milford) would reinstate a religious exemption from immunization requirements for students in Maine K-12 schools and to employees of nursery schools, while also extending the exemption to health care practitioners.
In 2019, Gov. Janet Mills signed a law passed by legislators that removed religious and personal exemptions to immunization requirements, but the law didn’t take effect at the beginning of Sept. 2021, more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, when debates over vaccines were becoming increasingly heated nationwide.
“Every session since then, I have introduced the same bill,” Drinkwater said. “I don’t think [what happened] is constitutional.”
Last year, the change to immunization requirements helped the state reach herd immunity for school-required vaccination coverage for the first time since 2011.
Maine reported the lowest percentage of non-medical exemptions of any state in the U.S. in the 2022–2023 school year, according to figures from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
Prior to the implementation of the law, Maine was among the five highest states reporting non-medical exemptions for the 2018-2021 school years.
Sponsored by: Rep. Dick Campbell (R-Orrington)
Committee: Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs
Rep. Dick Campbell (R-Orrington) is sponsoring a bill that would make schools that receive state funding prohibit students assigned at birth as male from participating in athletic programs or activities that are “designated for females.”
A similar bill was presented by Rep. Beth O’connor in 2021 but died in the legislature. The bill would have excluded males from female sports and also would require any students who wish to appeal to provide a physician’s statement proving “the student’s internal and external reproductive anatomy.”
O’Connor told the Portland Press Herald at the time that she believed transgender women “have inherent athletic competitive advantages, including greater bone density and typically larger skeletal size and lung and heart capacity, that cannot be fully negated even after hormone treatment or surgery.”
The Monitor was unable to reach Rep. Campbell for comment.
Meagan Sway, then-policy director for the ACLU of Maine, called the 2021 bill “misguided and harmful,” in an interview with WGME, adding that the requirements could “jeopardize their mental health, (and) physical well-being.”
The 2021 bill was swiftly denounced by supporters of transgender rights and the University of Maine and died in the legislature. Various civil rights groups, including EqualityMaine and the Maine Women’s Lobby vowed to stop its passing.
Since then, Maine has extended protections for transgender athletes. In May, the Maine Principals’ Association updated its Gender Identity Participation Policy to follow the Maine Human Rights Act, which makes it against the law to deny a person equal opportunity to participate in athletic programs.
Under the change, students can now play on sports teams according to their gender identity, and allows schools to be the sole authority in determining a student’s gender identity for athletics. The new policy also forbids requests for medical records or official documents to establish a student athlete’s gender identity.
Campbell’s bill is part of a wave of similar legislation introduced around the country in recent years, much of which has been successful: bans barring transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports have been enacted in 26 states, according to Politico.
Public Health & Safety
By Emily Bader
Sponsored by: Rep. Michael Brennan, D-Portland
Committee: Health and Human Services
This bill would require that the 39 counties, cities and towns, or “direct share subdivisions,” that receive a portion of the opioid settlement funds submit an annual expenditure report to the Attorney General.
Maine is set to receive more than $230 million over the course of 18 years as part of nationwide settlements with the drug manufacturers, distributors and retailers accused of supercharging the opioid epidemic.
Under memoranda of understanding that Attorney General Aaron Frey signed with some of the counties, municipalities and school districts that were part of a massive multidistrict litigation case, the money is split three ways: half to the Maine Recovery Council, 30 percent to the direct share subdivisions and 20 percent to the Attorney General’s office.
But only the Recovery Council and the Attorney General’s office are subject to public reporting requirements.
Outside of public access laws, the direct share subdivisions — which includes all 16 Maine counties, Maine’s largest cities and other towns heavily impacted by the opioid crisis — are not required by the MOUs, state law nor the settlement agreements to publicly report how they spend their money.
“I just want to know what municipalities are choosing to spend their money (on),” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Michael Brennan, a Portland Democrat, said.
The settlement agreements include a long list of approved uses for the money that while extensive, still allow room for interpretation.
Several surveys conducted by The Maine Monitor found that many counties and municipalities have heavily invested in law enforcement programs, despite advocates’ warnings. Spending has ranged from $20,000 on handheld drug-checking devices for police departments to a $4.6 million investment in a regional recovery center.
“There’s always been that tension between spending money on law enforcement items as opposed to treatment resources,” said Brennan.
Rep. Amy Roeder of Bangor told The Monitor she also has a bill that would require direct share subdivisions to publicly report their settlement spending. As of Friday, the bill is still with the Revisor’s office.
Last summer, the attorney general’s office announced a five-year, $2.5 million contract with the University of Southern Maine’s Catherine Cutler Institute for the development of a resource center for the direct share subdivisions.
The center will help the counties and municipalities on their spending decisions, and the research and data generated by the center will be made available to the public, Attorney General Frey told The Monitor.
An Act to Improve Notifications Related to Substance-exposed Infants
Presented by: Rep. Michele Meyer, D-Eliot (Submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services)
Committee: Health and Human Services
Public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 4 1:30 p.m., Cross Building, Room 209. Listen here.
This bill, presented by Rep. Michele Meyer, an Eliot Democrat, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, changes language in the law regarding notification of a substance-exposed infant to DHHS.
As the law is currently written, any health care provider involved in the delivery or care of an infant that they know or believe to have been born substance-exposed due to a parent’s substance use (whether or not the substance is legal or illicit) must notify DHHS, which must then launch an investigation.
The bill would alter some of the language in the law, such as changing “investigate” to “review” cases of suspected substance exposure in an infant and would create a distinction between notifications to DHHS for suspected abuse or neglect versus substance exposure.
The bill would require DHHS to update its rules establishing a process for health care providers to identify substance-exposed infants, to notify DHHS and for how DHHS responds to such notifications.
There is currently no standard process or definition for a “substance-exposed infant” in Maine. Not all Maine hospitals define substance-exposed or affected infants the same way, nor do all of them include marijuana exposure.
Sponsored by: Rep. Kristi Mathieson, D-Kittery
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
This bill, sponsored by Rep. Kristi Mathieson, D-Kittery, appears aimed at reining in pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, powerful middlemen that negotiate prices between drug manufacturers and insurance carriers, supposedly to lower consumers’ prescription drug costs.
The bill is focused on curbing “discriminatory practices” by either insurance companies or pharmacy benefit managers within two realms: The federal 340B Program and reimbursements for pharmacies.
Under the 340B Program, eligible entities — which includes federally qualified health centers, hospitals, some specialized clinics and other Health Resources and Services Administration grantees — are able to buy outpatient drugs from manufacturers at significantly reduced prices.
Established in 1992, the program is meant to help “safety net providers” who care for particularly vulnerable patient populations cut costs and then pass those savings along to their patients.
Entities can contract with one or more pharmacies to provide pharmacy services and dispense drugs eligible under 340B to patients. (Any drug manufacturer that participates in Medicaid must also participate in 340B.)
This bill would prevent a carrier or PBM from “preventing or interfering” with a patient’s ability to choose a preferred pharmacy, regardless of whether the pharmacy participates in the 340B program.
It would also prevent a carrier or PBM from imposing additional requirements, restrictions or fees on entities or pharmacies that participate in 340B that non-participants do not have, and bar them from requiring billing claims to indicate if a drug was dispensed under 340B.
The bill would also require an insurance carrier or PBM to reimburse pharmacies for drugs or services for an amount that is at least equal to the national average drug acquisition cost. The reimbursement a PBM pays to a pharmacy may not be less than the amount it reimburses itself or an affiliate for the same drug or service.
PBMs and health insurance companies have seen significant consolidation over the past decade, where today, the largest PBMs and health insurance companies are owned by the same health care conglomerates.
This has created a system where PBMs offer independent pharmacies unfavorable contracts and paltry reimbursement rates, and has left consumers with fewer choices for their pharmacy provider and higher out-of-pocket costs.
In a scathing report released last summer, the Federal Trade Commission said that PBMs “exert substantial influence over independent pharmacies, who struggle to navigate contractual terms imposed by PBMs that they find confusing, unfair, arbitrary and harmful to their businesses.”
A Maine Monitor analysis of state pharmacy licensing data found that a third of Maine’s independent pharmacies closed between 2013 and 2024, higher than the rate of closures nationwide.
An Act to Eliminate the 72-hour Waiting Period on Firearm Purchases
Sponsored by: Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor
Committee: Judiciary
The bill, sponsored by Winter Harbor Republican and House Minority Leader, Billy Bob Faulkingham, and cosponsored by six other Republican lawmakers, would repeal a law that went into effect last year that established a 72-hour waiting period between the purchase of a firearm and its transfer from seller to buyer.
The waiting period applies to virtually all firearm purchases, including private sales. Violators are subject to fines.
Democrat Pegg Rotundo, a senator from Lewiston, introduced the waiting period bill almost exactly four months after the Lewiston mass shootings that killed 18 people. The bill had 78 cosponsors, all of whom were Democrats.
A number of Republican lawmakers objected to the bill and special interest groups, including Gun Owners of Maine and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, lobbied against the bill, which ultimately passed by slim margins in both chambers. Gov. Janet Mills allowed the bill to become law without her signature.
“We were very disappointed when that bill went into law without the governor’s signature,” Faulkingham told the Portland Press Herald, adding that the law “doesn’t align with our sporting heritage and tradition of gun ownership here in Maine.”
Last November, gun rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit challenging the waiting period. Earlier this month, the Maine attorney general’s office filed a motion requesting that a judge deny the group’s request to block implementation of the law.
Faulkingham said he doesn’t think the waiting period would have passed if not for the mass shootings, which brought “a lot of pressure and politicization on the whole gun rights issue.”
An Act to Establish a Program to Assist Residents of Large Recovery Residences
Sponsored by: Rep. Tavis Hasenfus, D-Readfield
Committee: Health and Human Services
This bill would direct the Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine State Housing Authority to develop a rental assistance program for people living at certified recovery residences with 20 or more beds.
The program, which would be administered by DHHS, would be available to any person who would otherwise be eligible for general assistance. Any person that receives assistance under this program would not also be eligible for housing assistance.
An Act to Limit Hypodermic Apparatus Exchange Programs to a One-for-one Exchange
Sponsored by: Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio, D-Sanford
Committee: Health and Human Services
This bill would limit syringe service programs to a 1-for-1 exchange of used needles for sterile ones. In addition to providing sterile needles, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention-certified syringe service programs offer other safer use supplies, like naloxone and test strips for fentanyl and xylazine, and serve as a connection to other services, from treatment for opioid use disorder to housing assistance programs.
For more than two decades, state rules restricted these programs to a 1-for-1 exchange. But in March 2020, Gov. Janet Mills issued an executive order that suspended the 1-for-1 rule. In September 2022, shortly after the executive order expired, the Department of Health and Human Services adopted a rule allowing programs to issue up to 100 needles more than a person turns in.
This rule change has come under scrutiny as communities statewide have grappled with what they say is a growing needle waste problem.
Last fall, Portland City Council rejected a proposal from Mayor Mark Dion to return to a 1-for-1 exchange. And in November, the Sanford City Council voted unanimously to adopt an emergency ordinance restricting Maine Access Points — the only syringe service program south of Portland — to a 1-for-1 exchange and banned the distribution of “starter kits,” which include 10 clean needles to new participants. The ordinance is in effect until late February.
Sanford city manager told The Monitor in November that syringe litter became a problem after Maine Access Points began operating there. He said the response from the Maine CDC to city officials’ concerns has been unsatisfactory.
This bill appears to be an escalation of Sanford’s efforts so far to limit syringe service programs. The bill is supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who represent Sanford: Bill sponsor Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio and co-sponsors Rep. Ann Fredericks and Sen. Matt Harrington. Mastraccio did not respond to a request for comment.
In a Nov. 6 letter to Buck and the Sanford City Council, Maine CDC director Dr. Puthiery Va said that a 1-for-1 exchange “would be detrimental to the public health and will not address the separate public health concern of needle waste.”
If passed, the law would apply to all 10 certified syringe service programs, which operate 19 sites statewide.
An Act to Allow Retail Pharmacies to Operate Remote Dispensing Sites in Rural Areas
Sponsored by: Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Somerset
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
Public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 4 1 p.m., Cross Building, Room 220. Listen here.
This bill would direct the Maine Board of Pharmacy to establish rules for the licensing and regulation of retail pharmacy “remote dispensing sites.” The bill is sponsored by Brad Farrin, a Republican senator from Norridgewock whose district includes rural swaths of Somerset, Penobscot and Kennebec counties.
The bill would allow retail pharmacies to establish these sites in areas that lack “adequate access to retail pharmacy services for the general public.”
Sites would have “remote oversight” by a licensed pharmacist and have minimum pharmacy technician staffing requirements.
A Maine Monitor analysis of state licensing data found that a tenth of pharmacies closed between 2013 and 2024, with all but five of Maine’s counties seeing a decrease in the number of pharmacies.
This trend has particularly affected rural communities, where the closest pharmacy could be more than half an hour away.
Farrin’s bill is cosponsored by four Democrats.
