By Michael Shepherd - June 16, 2023
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Democrats keep advancing bills the governor opposes. Now she has decisions to make. Former Gov. Paul LePage was known for his record-smashing veto total. His era gave way to full Democratic control of Augusta under Gov. Janet Mills, and the pen was a thing of the past with relatively few exceptions.

That trend may reverse itself in the next two weeks. Legislative Democrats are challenging the governor by advancing a ream of high-profile bills that she vehemently opposes. Several of them moved forward on Tuesday alone, priming the State House for a blockbuster end to the 2023 session.

Those included a tribal-rights bill that emerged from a committee on Thursday. As it stands, supporters including House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, look just short in the House of two-thirds majorities they need in both chambers to pass the bill over her veto. Overrides happened often in the LePage era, but Mills has never had one.

The House advanced a bill that would allow so-called safe injection sites in Maine. While they are supported by recovery advocates, they are federally illegal here despite the government not saying exactly how it will handle them. Mills' office has cited this as one of the reasons she opposes it. There are also logging measures championed by Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, that cleared his chamber on Thursday despite opposition from the state and forest products industry.

You can stack those on top of some other huge bills that are awaiting final action. Mills has taken a dim view of a paid family and medical leave proposal that her party is still trying to push through. She has opposed a $15 minimum wage bill that has passed the Legislature and is awaiting funding from members of the appropriations committee.

These are among the most far-reaching items under the dome this year. With lawmakers only scheduled to meet through Wednesday, time is running short for lawmakers to mollify the governor on them. It also looks like many of them have decided they are not going to. It will be on Mills to decide what to do.