The Legislature is finally headed to Augusta for what may possibly be its last day of session for 2017, though don’t count on it. There is talk about a special session later this year, but for now, let’s concentrate on today.
The Legislature, which by law was supposed to adjourn for the year on June 21, is coming back to tie up loose ends, which include 27 bills vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage. Twenty-five of those vetoes were delivered to lawmakers on Tuesdayafternoon, including high-profile bills to raise Maine’s legal age to buy tobacco to 21 and a ban on cellphone use while driving unless your device is set up for hands-free operation. You can check out all the new veto letters by clicking here.
Left over from last month is a marquee solar energy bill that has been under debate for months, but which LePage is trying to kill. Lawmakers delayed final action on it in July while supporters tried to craft amendments that would garner the two-thirds votes needed for the bill’s survival.
That’s a relatively heavy load of vetoes for one day but far from LePage’s record. In April of 2016, the Legislature returned one final time on veto day and overrode 20 of 33 LePage vetoes. In June 2015, the House and Senate overrode 64 line-item vetoes in a state budget bill — each one requiring two votes — as well as more than a dozen line-item vetoes in the Highway Fund budget.
The vetoes shouldn’t take long, but amendments to the solar bill and possibly another bill that would make female genital mutilation a crime, could consume a lot of today. There also bond bills to deal with and a probably doomed attempt to remove a lawmaker from his seat, which you can read about in quick hits below.
One item on today’s Senate calendar that most lawmakers will have no trouble voting for is a sentiment that honors the New England Patriots for their historic 25-point come-from-behind overtime Super Bowl (that’s football if you’re not sportsy) victory in February.
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