Good morning from Augusta, where lawmakers will return on Monday to handle at least some of the 42 recent vetoes issued by Gov. Paul LePage. But it’s unclear when they’ll be able to find a path to finishing the pile of more substantive unfinished work before adjourning for 2018.
A bill that the Legislature killed this year is resurfacing as a potential linchpin in an eventual deal to end the session, though no deal seems imminent. It would require groups trying to get referendum questions on the ballot to collect signatures more equitably between Maine’s two congressional districts.
While it may be part of a deal, a lot still has to happen before striking one.The referendum bill was a response to proponents’ feelings that signature-gathering is too focused in populous areas of southern Maine. Groups now have to collect a number of signatures from voters that equals 10 percent of the voters in the last gubernatorial election to get a question on the ballot. The new proposal would set the same threshold at the district level.
To read the rest of “A dead bill could be part of the roadmap to lead Maine Legislature out of gridlock,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.
