Vote shows bipartisan support for helping Maine catch up on solar NRCM news release AUGUSTA, ME – Today, the Maine House (119-28) and Senate (32-3) voted to override Governor LePage’s veto of a Resolve aimed at developing a comprehensive solar policy for Maine. LD 1263, sponsored by Rep. Sara Gideon of Freeport, was amended to Read More
Maine Legislature
The Natural Resources Council of Maine reviews every bill being considered by the Maine Legislature to determine which ones deserve support and which ones should be opposed based on their potential impact on Maine’s environment. Read more about the bills we are following and taking action on.
Bill Passed by House and Senate would Force LePage to Sell Conservation Bonds
The bill, sponsored by a Republican senator, is a response to the governor’s decision to withhold bonds from a state conservation program as leverage with lawmakers. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A bill that would force Gov. Paul LePage to sell voter-approved bonds received strong bipartisan support in Read More
Legislature Gives Veto-proof Approval to Bill that would Force LePage to Issue Bonds
By Christopher Cousins, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage’s blockage of voter-approved bonds, which he has used several times during his tenure in attempts to force his will on the Legislature, received significant pushback Thursday when the Senate voted 26-9 and the House voted 102-48 for a bill Read More
Maine Legislature Gives Final Approval to Efficiency Bill to Fix the “And” (LD 1215)
Senate Approves Bill Unanimously, Under the Hammer Sending it to the Governor’s Desk Statement of Dylan Voorhees, NRCM Clean Energy Director “We applaud the Senate and the full Legislature for final passage of this simple bill to uphold the clear legislative intent of the omnibus energy bill and save Maine people and businesses a billion Read More
Bill to Loosen Maine’s Mining Rules Overwhelmingly Rejected in House
By A.J. Higgins MPBN news story AUGUSTA, Maine – A proposal to loosen mining regulations in Maine has suffered a setback in Augusta. The Maine House overwhelmingly rejected the measure, which first emerged three years ago, after a Canadian corporation expressed interest in developing mining operations on land it owns at Bald Mountain in Aroostook Read More
Maine House Delivers Major Blow to Rewritten Mining Rules
The long, heated debate over opening land to digging for metals is replayed again before the bill is rejected in a 109-36 vote. By Steve Mistler, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A hotly debated bill that would rewrite Maine’s metal mining regulations was dealt a decisive setback Thursday in the House Read More
Loose Mining Rules Endanger the Proven Job Creators for which Maine is Known
By Jeff McCabe and Jen Brophy, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Metal mining is a boom and bust industry with a long record of polluting the water and leaving taxpayers to pay the cleanup costs in Maine and elsewhere around the country. More than 40 years after the Callahan mine in Brooksville Read More
LePage’s LMF Moves Threaten Democratic Process, Former Conservation Officials Say
The hold-back of land bond funds defies a voter mandate, say a former commissioner and deputy commissioner. By Richard B. Anderson and Mark Sullivan Portland Press Herald op-ed Next to its people, Maine’s bounty of natural resources is our state’s greatest asset. For more than a quarter-century, the Land for Maine’s Future Program, with overwhelming public Read More
LePage Violating State Responsibility with Public Reserved Lands Harvest Plan
By Catherine B. Johnson, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Gov. Paul LePage threatens to increase logging on Maine’s Public Reserved Lands beyond sustainable levels and divert the revenues to unrelated purposes. But his plans run contrary to the origins, unique characteristics and purpose of these Lands. Maine has about 600,000 acres of Read More
