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| 📷 Secretary of State Shenna Bellows looks towards a camera as she speaks to the public during a Facebook Live feed that was part of ranked-choice tabulations at a state office building in Augusta on Nov. 15, 2022. (Morning Sentinel photo by Rich Abrahamson via AP) |
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💰 The state might owe money to a top Republican's political group.
◉ A lawsuit filed in late 2020 by the political committee run by House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, against Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' office looks to be winding down to a conclusion that amounts to a Faulkingham victory, with a filing last week in federal court showing the sides have reached a settlement agreement in principle.
◉ It is over Faulkingham's failed referendum push to bar noncitizens from voting in local elections. His side contended that the state's ban on out-of-state signature gatherers is unconstitutional and it has won two early decisions, including one from a federal appeals court in July.
◉ Bellows warned lawmakers in 2021 that changes to this law may be forced by the courts. That seems to be happening. She told lawmakers last week that a settlement could also leave the state on the hook for legal fees, amounting to a rare payment to a lawmaker's political fund.
💨 Lawmakers try to fix an issue that roiled the cannabis industry last year.
◉ One of the first measures moving forward in the new Legislature is a bill from Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, that would define "cannabis paraphernalia" under Maine law to separate it from similar products that require tobacco licenses for stores to sell. The marijuana committee will work on the bill today.
◉ Last October, the state's cannabis regulator issued guidelines saying stores needed tobacco licenses to sell electronic smoking devices, rolling papers or pre-rolled joints. The state backed down later after outcry from the medical marijuana industry, but Attorney General Aaron Frey advised lawmakers to make a legal fix during the 2023 session. |
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