The Maine Legislature adjourned just after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday without completing much of its major work amid a political stalemate caused by House Republicans who refused to add days to the session.
Both parties in the Senate, along with House Democrats and independents, united to push for an extension, but minority Republicans in the House denied them the two-thirds majority required in that chamber to allow the extension.
An order to add three days to the session — which statutorily was to end on April 18 — failed to garner a two-thirds majority in the House at just after 6 p.m., in a 82-66 vote. That leaves the fate of dozens of legislative bills uncertainand totally dependent on whether the Legislature comes back this year for a special session.
The vote came following an afternoon of debate and waiting as legislative leaders met behind closed doors.
House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, emerged in the early afternoon with a proposal she presented as a compromise, but it gained little traction with Republicans, who said they were wary of the proposal because they believed Gideon had previously violated their trust.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Gridlocked Maine lawmakers adjourn, leaving mountains of unfinished work,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Christopher Cousins, please follow this link to the BDN online.
