By Michael Shepherd - Jan. 3, 2022
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📷 House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, gets emotional while speaking with tribal members including then-Chief Maggie Dana of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, left, following the House passage of a tribal sovereignty bill at the State House in Augusta on April 12, 2022. (AP photo by Robert F. Bukaty)

Good morning from Augusta. There is one day until the Maine Legislature convenes for work in 2023.

What we're watching today

Tribes are putting pressure on the governor ahead of her inauguration. Last year was a landmark one for the state-tribal relationship, with Gov. Janet Mills and the Legislature setting aside a sweeping tribal sovereignty measure in favor of a more limited sports betting and tax relief compromise. But that progress is not stopping tribes from re-upping their advocacy efforts in 2023.

One night before the Democratic governor's Wednesday inauguration, tribal officials will be just down the street from the Blaine House at the Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta for a gathering at 6 p.m. Tuesday that is open to lawmakers and the press. The Wabanaki Alliance said leaders will outline a path to "continue our fight for equal justice under Maine and federal law."

Maine stands out nationally because its relationship with tribes is governed by a 1980 land-claims settlement. The agreement has had the effect of blocking the tribes here from the benefits of federal laws. They are armed with new information now. A recent Harvard University study found while per-capita income of non-Maine tribes has grown by an inflation-adjusted 61 percent since 1989, that of the Wabanaki tribes has only grown by 9 percent.

While Mills took office vowing to improve long-strained relations with the tribes and has been a partner with them in key negotiations, she has also been the major obstacle to their wider sovereignty push. She opposed an earlier version for its "sweeping" nature and also lobbied members of Congress to slow down a bill led by Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine's 2nd District, that would have allowed tribes here to benefit from future laws.

Top Democrats in the Legislature have split with the governor all along on this issue, while Republicans have generally lined up against the tribes in these wider discussions. But new House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, was the tribes' major legislative ally and has hit the ground running in her new position, touring tribal lands in a December series of visits celebrated by the tribes.

"Whatever I can do, I will, to build off of the work of recent legislative leadership to improve the relationship with tribal government," Talbot Ross said in a statement.

That statement shows her posture going into the new year, with tribes looking to capitalize on a third-straight term of Democratic control. We will get a sense of what the tribes are pursuing when bill titles are released later this week, but it looks like Mills is going to have to negotiate more in 2023.

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News and notes

📷 House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, speaks during a news conference with members of the House Republican leadership in Washington. (AP photo by Jacquelyn Martin)

🗑 A messy vote for speaker awaits Maine's U.S. representatives.

◉ Maine's two Democratic members of the lower chamber, Chellie Pingree of the 1st District and Jared Golden of the 2nd District, will be sworn in for new terms on a Tuesday that will be far messier for majority Republicans.

◉ After leading his party to their narrower-than-expected majority, outgoing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is struggling to consolidate enough votes to win the speaker's gavel. One ally told Punchbowl News that he has only a 5 percent chance of doing so as he prepares to force votes today and a Politico reporter said he expects 20 members to oppose him on a first ballot.

◉ McCarthy needs 218 votes or a majority of members voting for a named candidate. He can keep members voting as long as a majority of the chamber supports him. The session could last all day and the second ballot could be key in determining whether another candidate is needed.

◉ Democrats will place their new leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, into nomination as well. Golden twice opposed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, but he has not criticized Jeffries. He should be with his party here, but his office did not respond to a request for comment.

🎤 We get our first look at Mills' inaugural finances today.

◉ The governor's second swearing-in comes on Wednesday night at the Augusta Civic Center, with appearances from singer-songwriter Dave Mallett, former presidential inauguration poet Richard Blanco, the Pihcintu Multi National Girls Choir of Portland and the Franklin County Fiddlers of Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, Mills' hometown.

◉ Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the festivities kick off around 5 p.m. Mills is expected to speak later in the evening. Her inaugural committee also has to file its first report disclosing fundraising and spending with the Maine Ethics Commission by the end of the day on Tuesday.

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What we're reading

❓ Police are trying to determine the motive of a Maine man charged in a machete attack against New York City police on New Year's Eve.

🛁 Here's how you can save money by further electrifying your home in 2023.

📇 A Maine court reporter is retiring and a digital system is replacing her.

😷 Lewiston's mayor accused councilors of trying to muzzle him.

🐟 Industrial-scale fish farms are years away from opening in Maine.

⛽ Be ready for gas prices to go back over $4 this summer.

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