By Michael Shepherd and Jessica Piper - March 1, 2022
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Good morning from Augusta.

What we're watching today

In an interview, Maine's junior senator said Russia should be seeking an "offramp" in Ukraine. The BDN's Jessica Piper caught up with U.S. Sen. Angus King on Monday to talk about the major issues facing Congress right now. The conservation was centered on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. King noted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was escalating the conflict while he should be seeking an "offramp" in the face of withering Western sanctions that tanked his nation's economy on Monday.

The Maine independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats praised President Joe Biden for rallying united opposition to Putin and said the question now is whether the U.S. and allies can get Ukraine enough weapons to maintain their resistance. He said Putin's actions reek of "desperation" while rallying Ukrainians and stoking hatred of Russia there.

"The idea of bombing civilians in a country that you're hoping to occupy and make part of your country just makes no sense," he said.

King predicted Congress would fix the Electoral College count, though he redoubled his call for a Democratic voting-rights package. Both King and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, have been among the key senators pushing for Congress to overhaul the antiquated Electoral Count Act by clarifying the vice president's symbolic role in determining the next president and make it harder for members to challenge presidential electors on the chamber floors in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Leading Senate Democrats who have been reeling from the defeat of their signature voting-rights push were slow to embrace this kind of a fix. It has also not been clear whether the sides could come to a deal that attracts enough Republican senators to overcome the 60-vote filibuster. King said he thought Congress would "come together on a bipartisan resolution," but he reiterated his belief that a bigger voting-rights package is needed after scores of ballots were rejected on the heels of a new Texas voting law.

"[Republicans] keep talking about election fraud, but there's no evidence of any kind of widespread election fraud in Texas or Maine or anywhere else," he said.

The senator was not discussing his political future. King openly suspected in 2018 that the year would mark his last election. Now 77, his retirement ahead of the 2024 cycle would likely set off a scramble for the seat among Democrats and Republicans. But current events left him unwilling to his discuss any electoral plans. He told Jessica to check back in roughly a year.

"For goodness' sake, you're not seriously asking that question in the midst of everything we're doing now?" he said.

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What we're reading

— Gov. Janet Mills called on state regulators to block the future sale of Russian vodka and asked stores and restaurants to stop selling what they have. Many governors embraced the symbolic gesture of support for Ukraine on Monday. The Democratic governor's move was preceded by a call from former Gov. Paul LePage, Mills' Republican opponent in 2022, to block such sales. Plenty of Maine stores did not wait for official action.

— A federal shift on masks still leaves recommendations in place for an outsized group of medically vulnerable Mainers. Last week's federal policy change suggested 70 percent of Americans do not have to wear masks indoors. Less attention was paid to the fine print, which says vulnerable people even in counties with medium COVID-19 transmission should talk to their doctors about precautions including masks. That group included three Maine counties as of last week, while the rest have higher transmission with indoor mask recommendations in effect for everyone.

— Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, hit the Mills administration for "behind-the-scenes games" over the future of a Kennebec River dam. His bill aimed at forcing state regulators to take existing hydropower into effect in forming river management plans was born out of a conflict between a major dam owner and environmentalists looking to protect the endangered Atlantic salmon. Jackson is lining up with paper interests reliant on the Fairfield dam and their union workers against environmental groups and the state on this bill.

— A state ethics watchdog escalated their battle with the American Legislative Exchange Council. A 3-2 majority of the Maine Ethics Commission voted Monday to let staff to use subpoenas to continue investigating whether the national conservative group violated state contribution limits by allowing two Republican lawmakers here to use proprietary software. ALEC has not participated in the investigation so far and the move could lead to litigation.

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Follow along today

9 a.m. Maine's Revenue Forecasting Committee will meet to discuss its planned March update to the state's revenue forecast. Through January, state revenue has continued to outpace projections and the previous year's figures. The update could leave even more wiggle room for lawmakers as they begin considering Mills' $850 million surplus spending package. Watch here.

A bill from Rep. Jay McCreight, D-Harpswell, that would establish 8-foot "medical safety zones" around health care buildings and make it a misdemeanor to block access will get a hearing in the Judiciary Committee. Many cities set up buffers around abortion clinics that were struck down in a 2014 Supreme Court decision. Portland repealed one before that. Watch here.

9:30 a.m. Hearings on the governor's budget continue with a joint meeting of the appropriations and education panels. Watch here.

10 a.m. The health panel will be briefed on a state program that allows judges to compel people to participate in community mental health treatment after the 2019 death of a man in treatment sparked calls for reform. The panel will hear two oversight bills on the subject. Watch here.

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Correction: Monday's Daily Brief misstated the day of a phone call between Collins and Biden on the president's Supreme Court nominee. It was Friday.

📷 Lead photo: Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, left, and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., walk to the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, May 28, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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