By Rep. Kilton Webb, D-Durham 

In the Legislature, one of the issues I hear from constituents more than any other is that the rising cost of living is making it difficult for working families to make ends meet. The increasing costs of housing, health care, child care, groceries and other everyday essentials are making it harder for Mainers to get by, let alone get ahead. Energy costs are also near the top of the list.  

AUGUSTA – The Legislature’s Labor Committee voted unanimously of those present on Tuesday to advance a bill sponsored by Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor, that would ensure highway maintenance workers killed on the job in Maine receive death benefits commensurate with the danger of their profession.  

Roeder put forward the legislation after two workers from the Maine Department of Transportation (DOT), James Brown and Dwayne Campbell, lost their lives in the line of duty in a horrific accident on January 13. 

Photo: Rep. Kilton Webb, D-Durham, speaks with a local union member, Nicole Yim, about legislation to support workers’ rights during Labor Lobby Day at the State House last Thursday, March 5.

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AUGUSTA – The Legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee voted last week to advance legislation sponsored by Rep. Traci Gere, D-Kennebunkport, that would redevelop vacant school buildings into housing.  

By Rep. Ellie Sato 

With the second session of the 132nd Legislature in full swing, my colleagues and I have begun working on the supplemental budget – changes to the two-year budget the Legislature passed last year. This budget is one of the most important pieces of legislation in the second session, and it will play a critical role in shaping the direction of our state in the near future.

AUGUSTA – A measure sponsored by Rep. Dan Ankeles, D-Brunswick, to help protect drinking water from toxins received bipartisan support in an initial vote in the Maine House and Senate. The vote in the House was unanimous and the vote in the Senate was 21 to 13. 

AUGUSTA – Today, a measure sponsored by Rep. Kilton Webb, D-Durham, to help lower electricity costs for Maine families received unanimous, bipartisan support in an initial vote in the Maine House of Representatives.  

LD 2078 would create a sales tax exemption on all electricity sold and delivered to residential homes in Maine. Under current state law, only the first 750kw of electricity delivered to homes each month is exempt from sales tax. 

AUGUSTA – Last Wednesday, the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee voted to advance legislation sponsored by Rep. Ellie Sato, D-Gorham, that will provide clarity for employees at public libraries, schools and the Dorothea Dix and Riverview Psychiatric Centers that they cannot provide non-public documentation to law enforcement officers, including U.S.

AUGUSTA – On Tuesday, Rep. Julie McCabe, D-Lewiston, introduced a measure before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee that would help prevent the effects of cybersecurity attacks on Maine hospitals and ensure continuity of patient care when future cyberattacks occur.