Secretary of State Dunlap discusses impact of REAL ID implementation on Maine travelers

01/11/2016 03:57 PM EST

AUGUSTA - Travelers can continue to use their Maine driver's licenses as identification to board airplanes through the next two years, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced Monday, following a recent statement by the federal Department of Homeland Security.

The DHS is entering the final phase of the REAL ID Act, a federal law passed in 2005 that seeks to improve the security standards for state-issued identification. Beginning on Jan. 22, 2018, a REAL ID-compliant form of identification will be required for air travelers to board a commercial domestic flight. Those with drivers licenses issued from a state that is not REAL ID-compliant and has not received a deadline extension from DHS will have to provide an acceptable alternative form of identification, as listed on the DHS website at https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification .

Currently, the State of Maine is not REAL ID-compliant, but has received multiple annual extensions to fully comply with the Act, the most recent of which will expire in October 2016. Thus, Maine driver's licenses will continue to serve as acceptable identification for air travel until the Jan. 22, 2018 deadline - and possibly beyond that time, should Maine receive additional extensions.

According to the DHS, 23 states are now fully compliant with the REAL ID Act. Maine is one of 27 states that have received extensions for demonstrating steps toward compliance. Six states and territories - Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington, and American Samoa - are noncompliant and do not currently have extensions.

The DHS is encouraging states to become compliant with REAL ID in the next few years, since extensions will no longer be granted as of Oct. 1, 2020.

The State of Maine Legislature has voted against several provisions of the REAL ID Act, so a law change would be necessary to reach full compliance. Travelers are encouraged to check the REAL ID compliance status of the State of Maine on the DHS website at http://www.dhs.gov/real-id-enforcement-brief .

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announces ballot recount for House District 19 (part of Sanford, ME) as Republican Harrington seems to top Democrat Jean Noon by as little as 14 votes.

 

11/06/2015 01:21 PM EST

 

Democrat William F. Noon,

 passed from cancer on July 15, 2015

 

 

AUGUSTA - A recount has been requested and scheduled for the office of State Representative in District 19 (part of Sanford), Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced Friday.

Candidate Jean Noon (D) submitted her formal request for the recount on Wednesday, Nov. 4 based upon the unofficial preliminary results, which showed a difference of 14 votes between her and candidate Matthew A. Harrington (R). Independent candidate Victor E. DiGregorio, who garnered 111 votes, is not part of the recount.

Democrat Jean Noon,

Ran in special election to fill her late husband's State Representative position.

 

Matthew Harrington, Republican

May have beat Mrs. Noon by as little as 14 votes.

 

To view table link: http://www.maine.gov/sos/news/2015/district19recount.html

The recount has been scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13 at 9:30 a.m. in the Florian Room of the Maine Department of Public Safety Building, 45 Commerce Drive in Augusta.

Recounts are a public proceeding and are usually completed in one day. In a recount, the representatives of each candidate and staff members from the Department of the Secretary of State manually review each ballot to determine the official vote tally.

Results of the recount will be posted on the Maine Department of the Secretary of State website at http://maine.gov/sos/cec/ and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MaineSOS/?ref=hl and released to the media via email.

State law requires the State Police to collect the ballots for the recount and keep them in a secure State Police facility until the recount has been completed. The ballots are stored in tamperproof metal containers and are closed with specially numbered security seals and locks.

Mandatory Vaccine Bill Debated in Maine. Shared from WCSH6 News.

AUGUSTA, Maine (NECN) -- Maine lawmakers heard testimony from activists, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on both sides of the vaccine debate Monday.
A legislative committee is considering several bills that would change the state's policy on vaccines. One bill, LD 606, would eliminate the philosophical exemption to opt out of vaccines. Another bill, LD 471, would require parents to receive vaccine counseling from a doctor before opting out.
Rep. Linda Sanborn, D-Gorham, sponsored LD 471 because she said it strikes a compromise between the right to choose and the importance of public health.
"There is a lot of talk from celebrities about the risks [of vaccines], and a lot of that is unfounded," said Sanborn. "But that is the reason for the bill -- to make sure people are not responding to pseudo-science."

WCSH6

Proposal could regulate immunization exemptions in Maine

The vaccine debate drew a man from a famous family: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy told Maine lawmakers he is not anti-vaccine, but anti-CDC. Calling the agency a "cesspool of corruption," he urged lawmakers to protect a parents' right to choose, because he said the CDC cannot be trusted to make the best recommendations.
"Doctors looks at the CDC and say that's an agency that's concerned with public health, and public health only," Kennedy told NECN. "That's a real mistake."
Kennedy said there is evidence that certain vaccines can cause neurological damage to children, and many parents testified that they have seen those health concerns in their children.
"Maybe not every case of autism is linked to vaccinations, but [my son's] is," said parent Jodi Stebbens.
She said her son started exhibiting symptoms of autism just two days after receiving vaccines at the age of 2.
"I don't care if there's a scientific link that a bunch of bureaucratic scientists can connect to these vaccinations," said Stebbens. "I watched it with my own eyes happen to my baby."
But many others, including doctors, testified in favor of the vaccination bills.
"I'm confident in saying immunization does not cause autism," said Dr. Lisa Ryan, President of the Maine Medical Association.
Mother Jeri Greenwell told the committee that her son died of meningitis -- a death preventable by vaccine.
"Please take action now, and spare other families from experiencing this tragedy," said Greenwell.
It is unclear if the bills will clear the committee and head to the House or Senate. In written testimony, Gov. Paul LePage said he supports the philosophical examination, and thinks parents should be able to choose if their children are vaccinated.

Story shared from the pages of WCSH6 News  http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/local/2015/05/10/debate-over-vaccine-exemptions-comes-roaring-through-maine/27084945/