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Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Revived efforts for Maine voters to elect constitutional officers founder
Voters cast their ballots at the Quimby School gymnasium in Bingham, Maine on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Michael G. Seamans/ Maine Morning Star) Renewed efforts by some lawmakers for the state to adopt a system where voters elect the state's constitutional officers again failed this year. Maine is an outlier in having the Legislature appoint constitutional officers and state auditors. Rather than giving that power to state legislators, most states popularly elect their treasurer, secretary of state and attorney general. States vary more on how they select auditors. For decades, some lawmakers have proposed changing the selection process, such as allowing the public to decide instead through a direct popular election, but such attempts have failed. The Maine House of Representatives and Senate killed all of the proposals to change the selection process this year. LD 455, sponsored by Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford), would have amended the constitution to require the popular election of the secretary of state, attorney general and state treasurer. Both chambers voted against it, so it died upon adjournment on Wednesday. LD 508, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook), sought to essentially do the same. The Senate indefinitely postponed it on June 11, killing the bill, on a motion from Bennett. Other bills, all sponsored by House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor), focused on switching to popular elections for specific positions. LD 150 proposed a constitutional amendment to allow for the popular election of the state treasurer. It also died after the Senate followed the House in rejecting it earlier this month. That's also the case for LD 147, which proposed a constitutional amendment to require the popular election of the secretary of state, and LD 149 that would do so for the attorney general. Bennett also offered an alternative election process for constitutional officers and the state auditor in LD 1193. Instead of a popular election, this bill would still have the Legislature elect these positions but with an open ballot system, under which a lawmaker's vote would be publicly available. However, LD 1193 remained tabled in the Senate upon adjournment. Since it was not one of the bills carried over into next year, the bill died when the Legislature adjourned on Wednesday. Sen. Richard Bradstreet (R-Kennebec) proposed in LD 1068 switching to popularly elect the state auditor, though not through a constitutional amendment. That bill also remained tabled in the Senate upon adjournment and died since it was not carried over. The state auditor is not a constitutional officer, however another bill, LD 1052, sought to make it one through a constitutional amendment. Sponsored by Rep. Suzanne Salisbury (D-Westbrook), the bill passed both chambers in initial votes, however failed enactment in the House, which was the crucial vote as constitutional amendments need to win the support of two-thirds of lawmakers for enactment. The bill was then placed on what's called the appropriations table because it required funding. Constitutional amendments ultimately have to be approved by voters even if they pass the Legislature, and therefore always have associated ballot costs. The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, which manages the table, decided not to fund LD 1052 this year but it will be carried over into next year for consideration. (More on that here.) Though, if funded next year, this bill would still face a steep path to passage given the failed enactment in the House. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine Democrats drop opposition to 'red flag' hearing
Jun. 10—Under intense pressure — and threats of a lawsuit — from Republicans and gun rights groups, Democrats reversed course and agreed to hold a public hearing on a citizens initiative that would make it easier to temporarily remove access to firearms from people who are in a crisis. Republicans announced the public hearing shortly before 11:30 p.m. Monday — only moments after Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, told state senators to expect an additional public hearing to soon be announced, though she didn't provide details. The hearing, scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday, will focus on a citizen initiative for extreme risk protection order, also known as a 'red flag law," which would allow a family member to petition a court to temporarily remove access to firearms of someone deemed a danger to themselves or others. Maine currently has a "yellow flag" law, which can only be initiative by police, who can only seek a court order after taking that individual into protective custody and provided them with a mental health evaluation. Republicans have been pushing for a public hearing ever since Democrats, who control both chambers, decided not to hold a hearing, citing a hearing on a similar bill last session that did not get a floor vote and the fact that it would ultimately be decided by voters. Republicans accused Democrats of violating a state law, enacted in 2019, requiring a hearing on any citizen initiative that is received when lawmakers are in session. "I'm relieved that my Democrat colleagues finally realized they could not get away with silencing the voices of Maine citizens to limit criticism of this radical gun-control proposal," Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, said in a written statement Monday night. "Even the most rabid gun-control activists realized that breaking the law to silence their opposition was not an acceptable way to move their agenda forward." The citizens initiative came forward in the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston in October 2023 and is certain to generate intense debate over gun rights and restrictions ahead of the November vote. Tensions over the call for a public hearing escalated during a late-night session in the Senate last week in which Republicans tried to force the issue through a series of floor votes. The votes fell along party lines with Republicans voting to move forward with a series of motions aimed at forcing action on a public hearing while Democrats voted against them. Democrats resisted holding a hearing, saying it's not required in the Maine Constitution. And last week, Daughtry said that a law enacted by a prior legislature could not bind the current group of lawmakers, which Republicans decried as "a dangerous ruling." The National Rifle Association announced last week that it was joining a planned lawsuit with the Sportsmen's Alliance of Maine and the Gun Owners of Maine. In a fundraising appeal, SAM speculated that Democrats don't want to hold a hearing because it will highlight opposition, including from Gov. Janet Mills, law enforcement and other Democratic lawmakers. Mills, a former attorney general, help negotiate the state's current "yellow flag" law and has opposed previous attempts to enact a "red flag" law, which exist in 21 other states. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After pleas from Republicans, last-minute hearing scheduled for red flag initiative
Hundreds of supporters and opponents of gun safety reforms rallied at the Maine State House on Jan. 3, 2024. (Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) After a push from Republican lawmakers, a public hearing for a red flag bill is scheduled for Wednesday. The Maine Legislature's Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing for LD 1378, which was born out of a citizens initiative process, at 3 p.m. on Wednesday — one week before the Legislature is set to adjourn for the session. Red flag laws, formally known as extreme risk protection orders, are a mechanism to temporarily confiscate one's firearms if they are deemed to be a threat by law enforcement or their family members. Maine's current 'yellow flag law' allows law enforcement officials to take away guns from someone considered a safety risk to themselves or others after an evaluation from a mental health professional. For several weeks, Republicans have been questioning why a public hearing was never scheduled for the proposal, which is already set to appear on the November ballot for voters to decide on. In a late night Senate session last Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook) attempted four maneuvers to force a public hearing for the bill. He argued that they are obligated by state law to hold a hearing, but his attempts were unsuccessful at the time. Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) said the Judiciary Committee still had possession of the bill, essentially saying it is up to the committee to decide what to do with it next. However, after another late Senate session Monday, the Judiciary Committee sent out a public hearing notice. 'The 'red flag' bill isn't a referendum to change the state flag,' said Assistant Senate Minority Leader Matt Harrington (R-York) after the meeting was announced. 'It is a proposal that infringes on one of our most protected rights.' The red flag proposal was brought about after the Maine Gun Safety Coalition collected more than 80,000 signatures in about two months in support of the initiative. Similar legislation was introduced last legislative session, but it died without a vote in the full Senate or House of Representatives. The Judiciary Committee held a public hearing in April 2024 for last session's proposal amid criticisms of the state's yellow flag law, which has faced scrutiny since an independent commission found that it should have been utilized to remove firearms from Robert Card II, who perpetrated the October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Standoff over red flag hearing continues in Maine Legislature, may go to court
Jun. 6—A partisan standoff over whether to hold a public hearing on a citizen-initiated red flag referendum is likely to stretch into next week's legislative sessions and could wind up in court. Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, tried late Thursday to force Democrats to schedule a public hearing on the referendum, proposing a series of floor motions in the Senate, all of which were rejected. He said Friday that he intends to introduce additional motions next week if Democrats still haven't agreed to hold a hearing on the initiative. "I don't think this thing is over yet," Stewart said. "If I had to wager a bet, there are some other motions I'm intending to make when we get back next week, assuming they still haven't done the right thing." The red flag proposal, if passed by voters, would make it easier to confiscate the guns of a person in crisis by allowing family members to initiate the process and by removing a required mental health evaluation. The proposal came forward in the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston in October 2023 and is certain to generate intense debate over gun rights and restrictions ahead of the November vote. Meanwhile, the impasse over a public hearing on the proposal has added to tensions at the State House as lawmakers are in the busy final days of the legislative session. Republicans point to a 2019 law that requires public hearings for citizen initiatives that are headed toward statewide referendum votes, unless lawmakers formally vote to waive the requirement. Such hearings have been held on other citizen proposals, but not all: A 2021 citizen initiative never received a hearing or the required waiver and was still sent to referendum and passed by voters. Democrats have so far not backed down, arguing in part that the Maine Constitution does not require the hearing and also citing legislative rules. Gun rights supporters who are opposed to the referendum proposal are pointing to the state law and threatening legal action against Democratic leaders, with one top advocate saying Friday that they have attorneys drafting a lawsuit. "When there's a state law on the books the Legislature can't just ignore it, so that will be the basis for the challenge," said David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsmen's Alliance of Maine, an advocacy group for gun owners and sportsmen that is working on the lawsuit. Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, which initiated the citizen's referendum, said in a written statement Friday that the group is "happy to debate this issue any time" and accused Republicans of playing "political tricks" by waiting until the end of the session to raise questions. "Now the National Rifle Association has joined them, parachuting into our state to muddy our Democratic process," Palmer said. "While they are doing that, we are focusing on the next five months, where we will be having this conversation publicly, talking to voters throughout the state, and in November every Maine voter will have the chance to make their voices heard." Citizens initiatives are brought forward by voters though a signature-gathering and application process. While the Legislature can choose to enact the proposals, they typically send them to statewide referendum votes. Maine's Legislature held a public hearing last month on the only other citizen initiative currently pending. That proposal would require photo identification prior to voting in Maine and put new restrictions on absentee voting. It also is headed for a fall referendum vote. Lawmakers also held a public hearing last year on the only citizen-initiated referendum they received in 2024, LD 2232, to limit contributions to political action committees that make independent expenditures. All four citizen initiatives in 2023 also received hearings. Legislative records, however, show that no public hearing or vote to waive the hearing was held for an initiative in 2021 that was aimed at stopping the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line through western Maine. At a committee work session on that initiative, a legislative analyst did not address whether lawmakers needed to hold a public hearing but did note some unique circumstances. Two weeks after the initiative was handed to the Legislature, lawmakers adjourned and the bill was carried over to a special session. Sen. Dick Bradstreet, R-Vassalboro, the sponsor of the 2019 law to require public hearings, said Friday that the circumstances of the 2021 case were different because lawmakers are supposed to hold the hearing in the same session in which they receive it and in that case they had just received the proposal when they ended up adjourning. He said the reason no hearing was held in 2021 was "kind of a technicality." LD 1378, the bill resulting from the red flag citizen initiative, was transmitted to the Legislature on March 27, during the current session that's scheduled to end June 18. "You really can't compare the two because in this case they're choosing not to have the hearing, even though the legal requirements are there," Bradstreet said. "Before, they could say they weren't in the same session. ... Now they're kind of flouting the law." Bradstreet said he didn't recall any outcry over the lack of a public hearing on the 2021 measure, but said there was less knowledge of the relatively new law at the time. He said he put forward the bill in 2019 because of a handful of initiatives that had been put forward around that time that were generating a lot of advertising. DISCERNING FACT FROM FICTION "I thought, 'How can people discern fact from fiction?'" Bradstreet said. "The only way to do that would be some type of hearing where people could question what the initiative does and what some repercussions would be, and where both sides would have a chance to present their arguments without the propaganda." In a late-night session Thursday, Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, rejected a proposal from Stewart to consider a formal waiver of the public hearing requirement to comply with state law, saying that his proposal was "not properly before the body." Daughtry said the Legislature's rules take precedence over statutes passed by prior groups of lawmakers regarding legislative proceedings and that Stewart's motion was asking for lawmakers to take an "unnecessary vote" on the citizens initiative. Daughtry also noted that the initiative was still before the Judiciary Committee, where she said it could have further action. A spokesperson for Daughtry and Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, the Senate chair of the committee, said Friday that they would not comment on the calls for a public hearing. Rep. Amy Kuhn, D-Falmouth, the House chair of the committee, did not respond to a voicemail message or email. Trahan, from the Sportsmen's Alliance of Maine, said his group in conjunction with Gun Owners of Maine and the National Rifle Association will focus their lawsuit on the 2019 law and argue that lawmakers need to either hold the hearing or vote by a two-thirds majority to waive it. The group is also fundraising to support the effort. Trahan said that just because lawmakers "got away with" not holding a hearing on the 2021 initiative, it does not mean it's not required in the law. "Why don't they just make this easy and hold the public hearing?" he said. "There's nothing to hide. Good public discourse adds to the debate." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Maine Republicans, gun rights groups try to force hearing on 'red flag' proposal
Jun. 5—AUGUSTA — Republicans and gun rights groups are ramping up pressure on Democrats to hold a public hearing on a so-called red flag proposal that's headed for a statewide vote in November. Republican lawmakers are accusing the majority of violating state law by refusing to hold the hearing because it will undermine their campaign to pass the law. If approved by voters, the citizens initiative would make it easier for family members to have firearms temporarily taken away from people who are in crisis and may pose a danger to themselves or others. Sen. Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, said at a press conference Thursday that if Democrats don't reverse course and hold a hearing, Republicans will try to force the issue through a series of floor votes. And the National Rifle Association said Thursday that it will join a planned lawsuit over legislative Democrats' refusal to hold a public hearing. Stewart said Senate Republicans plan to offer a flurry of proposals to put Democrats on the record as opposing a chance for the public to weigh in. "It doesn't matter how you break this one down," Stewart said. "There needs to be a hearing. It's abundantly clear they're in violation of Maine law. Once again, (we're) giving them an opportunity to do the right things here. But if by today that is not the case (and) that has not yet happened, you're going to see a flurry of orders put forward by Republicans in the Senate." Democrats, who control both chambers and control committees that conduct public hearings, say they don't need to hold a hearing because the question will be decided by voters. Gun safety groups collected signatures to force a fall referendum on the red flag law, which would allow family members to directly petition a court to temporarily confiscate firearms. Maine currently has what is known as a yellow flag law, which was negotiated by Gov. Janet Mills, gun rights groups and gun safety groups. It can only be initiated by police and requires a mental health evaluation before a court petition can be filed to confiscate a person's firearms. A state law requires that a public hearing be held on statewide referendum questions, unless that hearing is waived by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. And hearings have been routinely held for other referendum questions, including a recent hearing on a referendum to enact a voter ID requirement and additional restrictions on absentee voting. Lawmakers have three options when receiving a qualified citizens initiative: Enact it without changes, send it to voters, or send it to voters with a competing measure. Democrats have made clear this initiative will be sent to voters without an effort to pass it in the Legislature. Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, who co-chairs the Judiciary Committee, said she believes a state law requiring a hearing conflicts with the state Constitution, which doesn't mention the need for a public hearing. And since lawmakers have signaled they don't plan to enact the proposal, a hearing isn't necessary. Carney also noted last week that a hearing on a similar red flag proposal was held last session. But opponents of the referendum are clamoring for a hearing. The Sportsmen's Alliance of Maine issued an action alert this week, arguing that Democrats don't want to hold a hearing because it will highlight opposition, including from Gov. Janet Mills and other Democratic lawmakers. Mills came out against a red flag bill proposed last session, but the bill was never brought forward for a floor vote after an hours-long public hearing that drew a divided crowd. "Under Maine law, all ballot initiatives MUST receive a public hearing before going to the Maine voters," SAM's alert states. "But Judiciary Chairs and Maine Gun Safety Coalition allies are blocking that hearing. Why? "Because Michael Bloomberg and the progressive gun-control lobby know it could END their campaign. This is because a massive bipartisan coalition of Mainers, including Governor Janet Mills, law enforcement, and lawmakers, will discuss the dangerous and potentially deadly realities of this extreme law." Aids more Mills did not respond to a question about whether Mills would personally testify before the committee, which would be a rare and dramatic moment, or if her administration would testify on her behalf, which usually occurs. This story will be updated. Copy the Story Link
