By Rep. Robert Saucier
It has been an honor to serve as your state representative of House District 147 for the past four years. As I transition away from the Legislature, I want to thank my constituents for their input and support. One of the most rewarding parts of the job was helping people from inside and outside the district.
Hearing from you made me a better legislator and helped me craft and work on policy that helped Presque Isle, Aroostook County and all of Maine.
Even in a divided government, we in the Legislature were able to come together across party lines to pass laws that benefited Maine people. As a veteran, it was an honor to serve on the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, and I am extremely proud of the work we did for our servicemen and women over the last four years.
During my first term in the House of Representatives, we passed legislation to grant all veterans in-state tuition rates at Maine public universities and community colleges. We also ensured that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans receive a property tax exemption that other veterans were already benefiting from.
In my second term, we passed a series of bills to help our veterans. We eliminated the income tax on pensions for military families and passed legislation to allow Vietnam veterans to receive an existing veterans’ property tax exemption that their counterparts from other conflicts were already able to access. We also will now provide a gravestone for deceased veterans with no next of kin.
Just this year, we passed a new law based on the work of the Commission to Strengthen and Align the Services Provided to Maine Veterans that makes long overdue investments in the state Bureau of Veterans’ Services. It also takes steps to address homelessness and transportation needs and helps veterans and Maine National Guard members attend college.
For Maine’s hardworking families, we passed measures to provide property tax relief. We doubled the Homestead Exemption to $20,000 for all Maine families and protected revenue sharing to support local services.
Another priority we focused on was helping Maine’s older adults. To address the issue of aging in our state, the Legislature passed a slate of initiatives in 2015 to help Maine seniors, including increasing property tax relief for seniors, investing in affordable senior housing, increasing pay for direct care workers who care for seniors, providing tax credits for caregivers and preventing cuts proposed by the governor to programs that help low-income seniors pay for medicine.
The Legislature also came together to fight the deadly opioid crisis, an epidemic that is growing at an alarming rate. Too many Maine people are dying from drug overdoses. We worked together to pass a $3.7 million package to enhance law enforcement, treatment and recovery efforts, recognizing that we must have a broad approach to addressing the crisis.
We also passed funding for peer recovery programs in underserved areas of Maine and expanded access to the overdose-reversal medication naloxone. The new law allows pharmacists to immediately dispense naloxone to family or friends of potential overdose victims.
Locally, I worked with state officials to ensure that Maine’s snowmobile trails remain connected. As winter approaches, I am glad to know our local economy won’t suffer as snowmobilers from all over the state visit our area. I also worked passionately to bring much-needed high-speed internet to Aroostook County. Unfortunately, this bill did not get the funding necessary to pass, but I am hopeful that it will be addressed soon. Our small businesses and economy will prosper when they have broadband internet access.
There is still much to do on these fronts and others. I hope that the Legislature continues to work together on bills that support hardworking Mainers.
Thank you again for the past four years. It has truly been an honor.
Rep. Robert J. Saucier (D-Presque Isle) can be reached at 227-1160 or via email at saucierforpi@gmail.com.
