AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives voted 91-53 Thursday to prohibit members from taking photographs or videos of each other during floor sessions.
The rule change, which split largely on party lines with Democrats supporting the prohibition and Republicans opposing it, comes as elected officials and politicians turn to social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook to get their message out.
Floor sessions are already live-streamed on the Legislature’s website, and Democrats said the rule change is meant to preserve decorum in the Legislature, although the state Senate does not have a similar prohibition.
“We frankly don’t see a purpose for this rule,” said Assistant Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle. Stewart said Republican members of the House sometimes had problems accessing the recorded floor session videos that are made available after floor sessions are live-streamed.
Stewart said there were already rules on decorum that could be enforced if members taking photos or videos of each other became a distraction. He said members should be able to reach Maine citizens on the platforms they use to get information, including social media outlets.
But House Majority Leader Matt Moonen, D-Portland, said the rule change was meant to prevent distractions from the Legislature’s work at hand. Moonen said other state legislatures and the U.S. Congress had similar rules in place.
“Practically, that means paying the institution of the House the respect it deserves and allows members to focus on the serious issues we are charged with considering,” Moonen said.
He later said the rule doesn’t prohibit members from taking self portraits or “selfies” or video recording themselves.
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