AUGUSTA - Rep. Tiffany Roberts, D-South Berwick, presented LD 1800, An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Small Enterprise Growth Program, before the Committee on Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business on Tuesday.

AUGUSTA - House Majority Leader Michelle Dunphy, D-Old Town, introduced LD 1780, An Act To Allow Unorganized Territory School Staff to Receive Annualized Pay, before the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs on Tuesday.

AUGUSTA - Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, D-South Portland, introduced legislation Tuesday to amend the Maine Constitution to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on the sex of an individual. The proposal, LD 344, is part of a 50-year effort Galgay Reckitt has been involved in to get states to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment.

AUGUSTA - Rep. Richard Evans, D-Dover Foxcroft, introduced legislation Tuesday to improve health care affordability and increase options for comprehensive coverage for individuals and small businesses in Maine. If passed into law, LD 1778 would require the Office of Affordable Health Care, an independent, nonpartisan agency, to analyze barriers to affordable health care and develop proposals on potential methods to improve affordability and coverage.

AUGUSTA - Rep. Mike Sylvester, D-Portland, House chair of the Legislature's Labor and Housing Committee, issued the following statement in response to several Portland Pie Co. employee's decision to walk out of work Sunday in protest against the company's handling of COVID-19 cases in the restaurant.

AUGUSTA - The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld Maine's first-in-nation law yesterday to require pro rata cable bills. First sponsored in 2020 by Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, the Pro Rata Law requires a cable system operator to grant a subscriber a pro rata credit or rebate if that subscriber requests service disconnection three or more working days before the end of a monthly billing period.

AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee will take up a bipartisan bill in January sponsored by Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, to protect public safety facilities from public utilities suddenly terminating or disconnecting service without advance notice and approval.

AUGUSTA - Today, Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, and House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, released a memo outlining the plan for the Maine Legislature to convene in January. The full Legislature will convene in-person at the State House Wednesday, Jan. 5 and Jan. 26 to conduct legislative business.

Presiding Officers plan to release a further session schedule in late January and will continue to evaluate the operations of the legislature on a regular basis.

Last month, I had the privilege to attend a virtual Legislative Breakfast hosted by Maine Health for the York County legislative delegation.

While we knew anecdotally that the pandemic has been adversely impacting our health care system in many ways, we were given data to substantiate that the mental health care crisis, which has existed for years, has been greatly exacerbated by the pandemic and reimbursement rates that have not kept up for decades.

I would like to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season and a very happy and healthy 2022. As we approach the end of what has been another challenging year, this is a suitable time to gaze upon the landscape and prepare for the upcoming new year. Despite the circumstances presented to us as legislators in 2021, we were still able to accomplish many positive milestones for the people of Maine. That said, and projecting forward, there remains much to be done to improve the lives of Maine citizens.