By Michael Shepherd with Billy Kobin - May 19, 2023
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📷 Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, flashes thumbs up to a voter at the polls in Lewiston on June 14, 2020, while he ran for Maine's 2nd Congressional District. (BDN photo by Troy R. Bennett)

Good morning from Augusta. There is a short legislative committee schedule today, including morning hearings on housing bills and a business tax overhaul led by Gov. Janet Mills.

What we're watching today

Maine Republicans flip the script on Democrats in some early votes on interesting bills. It is a rough time to be a Republican in the State House during the third-straight term of Democratic control. Some are still having early success in flipping the chambers against their leaders, though it should not be read as a trend so far.

One notable example of this came this week, when Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, was able to get a bill exemption gold and silver coins from the state sales tax. It passed by just a two-vote margin in the Senate, while the House required three roll-call votes to get it through in a 71-67 vote that saw 10 Democrats buck the rest of their party.

Brakey, a libertarian-leaning Republican, billed this proposal as a measure aimed at fighting inflation, since gold prices have been historically stable. The administration of Gov. Janet Mills opposed it, saying it would erode the sales tax base, particularly when combined with other measures in that policy area. The governor's opposition may doom the bill, but the coalition is notable.

It is happening on some other issues as well. Rep. David Boyer, R-Poland, a Brakey ally, won a Tuesday vote in the House on a bill that would force a Maine governor appointing an interim U.S. senator to pick someone with the same political affiliation as the senator being replaced. It was delayed in the Senate this week.

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, was on the losing end Thursday on a progressive attempt to limit document preparation fees at car dealerships, something that was opposed by the industry. A coalition of Democrats and Republicans rejected the measure in a whopping 101-32 vote.

As you can see, the House is the center of this sort of activity now. It will be harder for Republicans to flip the floor in the Senate, where Democrats outnumber them 22-13. The upper chamber may be able to stem any losses that Talbot Ross and her leadership team see in the House, but it will be worth watching any issues for Democrats there over the next month or so.

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News and notes

📷 Maine Assistant House Minority Leader Amy Arata, R-New Gloucester, high-fives Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, at the State House in Augusta on Dec. 7, 2022. (BDN photo by Troy R. Bennett)

📝 Republicans build out budget demands with talks up in the air.

◉ Those aforementioned legislative Republicans continue to build out their list of demands for supporting an eventual budget deal after Mills rolled out a spending plan last week that has faced resistance from the left and right.

◉ Leaders said on Thursday that they want not only the $400 million in income tax relief that they have been lobbying for as well as a sales tax cut, a review of additional positions in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and a repeal of controversial solar incentives, among other things. They did not share specifics on many of those proposals, although Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, teased more to come next week.

◉ "It makes state government even bigger while making working families smaller," House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, said of Mills' proposal.

◉ Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, the health committee co-chair, said Thursday he is not aware of any recent discussions between the two parties on budget issues or compromises, but he rebuffed the GOP calls to reduce the proposed DHHS budget.

🧪 Maine's PFAS lawsuit against chemical giants goes to federal court.

◉ The state's March lawsuits claiming the chemical companies 3M and DuPont de Nemours, Inc. introduced so-called forever chemicals illegally and "in the pursuit of profit" were consolidated and moved to a Maine-based federal court on Thursday, records show.

◉ Attorney General Aaron Frey's lawsuit is being waged by private lawyers working with the state, following large awards for governments across the country and staggering liabilities for chemical giants. It will be a hard road, with DuPont already citing a complex 2017 merger as a potential shield.

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What we're reading

🚬 Democrats advanced a bill to make Maine the third state to fully ban flavored tobacco.

💍 An under-17 marriage ban is set to pass here despite lingering opposition.

🚌 The return of Bangor's Saturday bus service is a big lift for this worker.

🐺 Does Maine have wolves? It depends on your definition.

🦞 Maine’s 102-year-old "lobster lady" inspired a children’s book. Here's your soundtrack.

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