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 .

Lebanon's Maine State Senator, Ron Collins Invites Students to Participate in the Senate's Honorary Page Program.

 Augusta – Senator Ron Collins (R-York) would like to invite local students to visit the State House to take part in the Senate’s honorary page program during the second session of the 127th Legislature, which convenes in January.
As an honorary page, students take part in the legislative session by distributing documents and assisting legislators on the floor of the Senate. 

“Serving as an honorary page is an excellent way for students to get a close-up, hands-on understanding of state government,” said Sen. Collins. “They are able to learn about the legislative process, get to know the folks who represent them in Augusta, and hopefully gain a new level of enthusiasm for civic engagement.”
Parents or teachers can call the Maine Senate Majority Office at  (207) 287-1505 to sign up a student or group of students. Please have the name, grade, hometown, and school name ready for each student. In addition, please also have in mind a few different dates that would work well. For January and February, the Senate will largely be in session only on Tuesdays and Thursdays with more days of the week added in March and April.

Governor Sends Letters to Treasurer and Legislative Leadership Regarding Bonds

 

December 14, 2015

AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage today delivered a letter to Legislative leadership and the State Treasurer clarifying his position and future intentions regarding bonding in 2016. In the letter the Governor indicates he will issue $5 million in Land for Maine’s Future bonds, which were ratified in 2012. Authority to issue another $6.47 million in LMF bonds was allowed to expire in November, due to Legislative inaction.
“My position all along has been that if wealthy landowners are going to benefit from selling their properties to the publicly funded LMF program, then senior citizens and other low-income Mainers should get a commensurate benefit,” wrote Governor LePage. “LMF bonds pay to take large tracts of land off the local tax rolls, which forces local property taxes to go up. All of this combines to increase taxes on the Mainers who can least afford it: middle-class families, the working poor, senior citizens and others on fixed incomes.”
“Make no mistake, I respect the will of the people. They elected me twice to bring fiscal responsibility and common-sense reform to state government, which includes managing our state’s debt and rooting out greedy politicians.”

Attorney General Janet Mills Issues Statement Regarding Opinion of the Justices on Governor's Veto Actions

Maine Attorney General Janet Mills (from Google Images)

 

(AUGUSTA) The Maine Supreme Judicial Court today answered questions posed by the Governor regarding adjournments of the Legislature and his veto powers. Attorney General Janet T. Mills has issued the following comment regarding the Court's Opinion (OJ-15-2). http://www.courts.maine.gov/opinions_orders/supreme/lawcourt/2015/15me107oj.pdf

*"The Office of the Attorney General is pleased with the full and complete responses to the Governor's questions elucidated in the unanimous 47 page opinion today. The Opinion of the Justices is on all fours with all the research conducted by our Office and with the Opinion of the Attorney General of July 10, 2015. We are also pleased that the Court ruled expeditiously so as to avoid any further unnecessary debate and confusion. The answers to the Governor's questions are clear, unambiguous and completely consistent with his own past practice and with that of every other Governor in recent memory. Except when the Legislature has adjourned sine die, the Chief Executive has ten days (excluding Sundays) within which to return any bills with his objections. By his failure to do so, he has forfeited the right to veto any of the bills at issue."*

Attorney General Mills expressed her thanks to Deputy Attorney General Susan Herman and Assistant Attorney General Phyllis Gardiner for their efforts in this matter.

SAD60 Students to Take Standardized Testing or Risk Graduation

 

 

Re-Posted from the Truth in American Education Webiste.

You can find more HERE:

 

http://truthinamericaneducation.com/

 

Maine Students Warned Assessment Opt-Out May Cost Graduation

June 3, 2015 By Shane Vander Hart

A.P. Dillion pointed out this disturbing article out of Maine.  The Bangor Daily News reports that the Maine Education Commissioner says students who opt-out of Smarter Balanced may not graduate.

As debate over standardized testing ramped up in the Legislature, the Maine Department of Education again cautioned parents and school administrators this week about the possible fallout from opting out of statewide assessments. Among the potential repercussions — a school could withhold a student’s diploma.

“No one is going to force a child to sit and take the test,” Acting Commissioner Tom Desjardin said in a written statement released Wednesday. “[Parents and students] do not, however, have a right to be shielded from the consequences of that act, which could range from action by the school district or loss of federal funding for the school.”

The article notes several school districts who make taking the standardized test a graduation requirement.  This is mainly done to make sure a school district achieves the 95% participation benchmark required under No Child Left Behind.

In SAD 60, if parents want to opt their children out of the Maine Educational Assessment, they must sign a form stating that they understand that all schools in Maine are required by federal law to have 95 percent of their students tested or the school could face financial penalties.

It’s unclear how many other districts in the state have similar graduation requirements. Neither Desjardin nor the Maine School Management Association could name others off hand, and no reliable record exists on the varied graduation requirements in districts across the state.

However, student handbooks available on school websites indicate that Old Town High School and Lake Region High School in Naples also require students to take the state assessment in their junior year in order to graduate.

Lake Region Principal Ted Finn said Friday that in his five years at the school, which has had the requirement since the 1990s, no student has failed to graduate because they didn’t take the test. Students have failed to graduate, but never solely because they didn’t take the state test, he said. As of Friday, no juniors at Lake Region had opted out of this year’s exam.

The Maine Legislature is considering a bill, LD 1276, that would end the state’s participation with Smarter Balanced.  A bill, LD 695, that would codify and clarify a parent’s right to opt their student out from standardized assessments will be considered by the full House and Senate even though it was not recommended by legislative education committee.

The Alliance For Solar Choice Looks to Stop Legislation Preventing the Use of Solar Panels on Maine Residences.

Stop legislation that will kill your right to energy choice and eliminate solar in Maine

Mainers, speak out against utility attacks on solar energy. Stop legislation that will eliminate rooftop solar and threaten your ability to generate your own power.

 

Right now, utility backed legislation is pushing an end to critical solar policies and pushing more taxes on Mainers to stomp out energy choice and competition in Maine.

You can stop utility attempts to keep Mainers captive to their constantly rising rates. Call on your elected officials to oppose anti-competition amendments that kill net metering and add more taxes in LD 1263.

 

For More Information, and to add your name to the list of Maine residents who oppose this bill, please visit this website for The Alliance for Solar Choice:

http://action.allianceforsolarchoice.com/page/speakout/stop-legislation-that-will-kill-your-right-to-energy-choice-and-eliminate-solar-in-maine

 

Representative Karen Gerrish Announces Next Step in Removing Concealed Weapon Permit Mandate

From the pages of our State Representative, Karen Gerrish....

 

 

 

Maine Senator Eric Brakey

 

Maine takes major step toward removing

concealed weapon permit mandate

From the pages of the Bangor Daily News

 

By Scott Thistle, Sun Journal

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Posted June 01, 2015, at 5:28 p.m.

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine House of Representatives on Monday voted 83-62 to approve a bill lifting the state’s permit requirement for carrying a concealed handgun.
The vote Monday is the culmination of a decades-long effort by gun-right advocates to remove restrictions on lawful gun owners and follows a 21-14 vote in the state Senate last week that also removed the permit requirement.
It is expected the bill, LD 652, sponsored by Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, will be signed into law by Gov. Paul LePage, making the state the sixth without any permit requirements for carrying a hidden firearm.
LePage has long said he supports the right of Maine citizens to possess firearms as the state’s Constitution, even more explicitly than the U.S. Constitution, protects gun ownership rights, stating, “Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.”
Supporters of the bill said the measure doesn’t change who can legally own and carry a weapon but simply legalizes carrying concealed weapons.
Current state law allows handguns to be carried openly, in a holster where they are visible, but not hidden beneath clothing or in a purse. There also are several areas — including the Legislature, public schools and courtrooms — where only law enforcement officers are allowed to legally carry firearms.
Those prohibited by state and federal law from possessing a firearm would still be prohibited under the change, supporters of the bill said.
“A currently prohibited person is still a prohibited person,” said Rep. Karen Gerrish, R-Lebanon, speaking in favor of the bill. “LD 652 does not change who may legally possess a firearm. Criminals will not be allowed to carry under this law; mentally ill individuals will not be allowed to carry under this law; none of the federally prohibited people, domestic violence and drug felons, will be able to carry under this law. This law only affects law-abiding citizens.”
Gerrish said those who would carry a gun illegally are not going to apply for a concealed weapons permit anyway.
“As we all know, criminals do not care about rules of law,” she said. “They are not going through any background checks, taking gun safety classes or going through any permitting process. Bad people will always do bad things. The permit system does not stop criminals from carrying guns.”
The bill’s opponents said they believed it would lead to a more dangerous and deadly Maine, one of the safest states in the country. Some who have been screened by state or local police and denied permits for a variety of reasons would now be able to pack heat, they said.
“I believe this bill will lead to the greater availability of concealed weapons in the hands of people who have no business owning guns at all,” said Rep. Janice Cooper, D-Yarmouth.
Cooper said hundreds of people who have been previously denied a concealed handgun permit would now be able to legally carry a hidden firearm.
The Maine State Police testified in support of the change, noting the state’s current permitting system was ineffective and that most of those who applied for the permits were granted them.
Maj. Christopher Grotton of the Maine State Police said that in the past four years, the agency has issued more than 36,000 concealed handgun permits and has denied only 251 applicants.
Lawmakers in the House did amend the bill, making it clear that individuals carrying a concealed handgun must be at least 21 years old and that those who carry must inform law enforcement they have a gun when stopped or questioned by police.
Those changes to the bill will be considered by the Senate in the days ahead.
The bill still allows a person to apply for a concealed weapons permit under state law, which in some cases allows an individual to also carry concealed weapons in states that have permitting laws and reciprocity with Maine on the topic.
Top Democrats expressed their disappointment after the vote.
“Maine’s existing gun laws work. Mainers have a long, rich tradition of responsible gun ownership while also having the lowest crime rate in the United States,” said House Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick. “The repeal of these sensible laws is very troubling.”
Rep. Lori Fowle, D-Vassalboro, House chairwoman of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, opposed the bill.
“I’m deeply disappointed that we were not able to defeat this bill,” Fowle said. “I firmly believe that the permit process improves public safety in a reasonable manner. I am thankful that we passed the amendments that address the concerns law enforcement raised.”
The House vote Monday is a major victory for Brakey, a Libertarian-leaning Republican, who is serving his first term in the Senate.
He has long argued putting on a jacket that covers a handgun — that otherwise would be legal to have — shouldn’t be an act that makes a person a criminal.
“It’s great that we have finally gotten to a place where people understand the importance of this protection and are comfortable enough to let our Maine citizens exercise the same freedoms that the state of Vermont allows their citizens to exercise,” Brakey said after the House vote.

 

What's New in Maine's Legislature? Hunter's Red, Putting ME to Work, and the Governor's Veto List

 

Six new LePage vetoes includes nix of ‘Taylor’s Law’ intermediate driver program

May 26, 2015Daily Brief

By Christopher Cousins                         

Good morning from Augusta, where the Legislature is returning to town after most members had four-day weekends. May they be fresh and ready for some serious lawmaking. 

Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves of North Berwick will learn whether lawmakers on the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee will buy into his “Put ME to Work” bill, which seeks to invest $5 million over the next five years in the state’s community colleges to build partnerships with private businesses. Under the partnership, the businesses would chip in either matching funds for in-kind services to help the education system establish a new pipeline of workers for jobs with high wages and good benefits. 

While the bill does have some Republican support among its sponsors, it was dismissed earlier this year by Gov. Paul LePage, who said the state is already forging relationships with private businesses and doesn’t need to spend money to keep it going. 

One of the bill’s Republican sponsors in Sen. Andre Cushing of Hampden, who is also hoping for a positive vote from the Labor Committee today on LD 1364, which would make changes to the state’e Pine Tree Development Zones, which offer a range of incentives for businesses. Cushing proposes to extend the cycle of benefits for businesses while lowering their costs by striking a provision that the businesses offer group health insurance. It would also introduce a new way of calculating the base salary the businesses must pay to employees, going from an annual average to a weekly calculation based on quarterly Census figures. 

The Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee will decide on some interesting bills that could affect hunters and fishermen, including an amendment to the Maine Constitution — which would have to be approved in a referendum — that would “protect people’s right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife.” Sponsored by Rep. Karleton Ward, R-Dedham, the referendum would also clarify that hunting and fishing is the preferred method of wildlife management in Maine. 

Is red the new orange? Up for both a public hearing and work session is an interesting proposal by Senate President Mike Thibodeau of Winterport, which is unlikely to find much support: An Act to Allow Hunters Whose Religion Prohibits Wearing Hunter Orange Clothing to Instead Wear Red.

While I don’t know the story behind Thibodeau’s sponsorship of this bill, I’m guessing he brought it forward at the request of a constituent. I’m also guessing that the fact blaze orange is a long-established signal to sportsmen in the woods to hold their fire, lawmakers won’t be eager to make any changes. 

As we’ve stated before in the Daily Brief, it’s difficult or impossible to establish what the House and Senate will do, usually until minutes before they go into session. . Calendars for the House and Senate are published each evening before session but they are very much in flux. Bills can be pulled from or added to the voting agenda at any moment, and often are. We’ll do our best to keep you posted. 

Keeping track of hundreds of bills moving through the process will become more difficult as the Legislature nears adjournment next month. If you want to stay abreast, follow the State & Capitol Daily Brief, or better yet sign up to receive it every morning in your email inbox. — Christopher Cousins 

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Veto watch

Governor LePage vetoed six more bills on Friday afternoon:

• LD 134, a Resolve to Study the Impact of Winter Ticks on the State’s Moose Population, sponsored by Rep. Roland Martin, D-Sinclair. “As the Legislature is well aware, I generally do not support resolves or studies because I believe the people of Maine have sent us to Augusta to act,” wrote LePage in his veto letter. “We are not a taxpayer-funded think tank.” LePage also wrote that Maine is already collaborating with New Hampshire on a winter tick study.
• LD 464, An Act to Improve Science and Engineering Education for Maine’s Students, sponsored by Rep. Michael Devin, D-Newcastle. LePage vetoed the bill because he said it requires schools to change their science curricula without providing funding.
• LD 525, a Resolve to Direct the Department of Health and Human Services to Report on Efforts to Reach in Rural Areas Persons Who are Elderly, Disabled or Mentally Ill, sponsored by Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville. LePage wrote that he vetoed the bill because it is duplicative to work already being done by a range of state and local agencies.
• LD 682, An Act to Ensure the Administration of Written Driving Tests, sponsored by Rep. James Gillway, R-Searsport. LePage wrote that he opposes changes to Maine’s driver education programs.
• LD 737, An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Learner’s Permits and Intermediate Licenses, sponsored by Sen. Kimberley Rosen, R-Bucksport. This bill has been dubbed “Taylor’s Law” though the legislative process in memoriam of 15-year-old Taylor Darveau of Bucksport, who died in an October 2013 car crash in a car being driven by a 16-year-old with an intermediate license. It is against Maine law for intermediate drivers to carry passengers who are not immediate family members unless an experienced driver is also on board. This bill would offer families decals to put on their vehicles, which would serve as notices to other drivers and law enforcement officers that an intermediate driver is behind the wheel. “This particular decal could allow criminals to easily identify vehicles in which the driver will most likely be alone and young,” wrote LePage.
• LD 880, An Act to Permit Rate-adjustment Mechanisms for Water Utilities, sponsored by Rep. Barry Hobbins, D-Saco. LePage said he opposes this change to the rate-adjustment process because he said it doesn’t provide enough inclusion in the process for rate-payers.

Article from the Bangor Daily News. Like them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/bangordailynews?fref=ts

 

Two Maine Native Peoples Pull Representatives from Maine Legislature

AUGUSTA, Maine —Two American Indian tribes are pulling their representatives from the Maine Legislature in protest over their treatment by the state.
Wayne Mitchell, of Penobscot Nation, and Matthew Dana, of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, said Tuesday that they will no longer serve in the Maine House of Representatives.
Tribal representatives are not allowed to vote in the House but can vote at the committee level and introduce bills.
The tribes have clashed with Republican Gov. Paul LePage's administration over a variety of issues, including fishing quotas and gambling.

Last month, LePage rescinded an executive order that sought to promote cooperation between the state and the tribes, saying that efforts to do so have proved unproductive.
The LePage administration issued a statement Tuesday afternoon saying, "The governor had hoped his 2011 executive order would have improved the relationship between the state and the tribes. Since then, the tribes have had difficulty working together, and they have not been cooperative in working with the state."
Dana said Tuesday that he can no longer participate in a system that "perpetuates a paternalistic attitude."
Maliseet Rep. Henry Bear said while their tribe fully supports the Penobscot and Passamaquaoddy tribes, they are taking a different course of action and will remain in the Legislature.

The Maliseet chief is scheduled to meet with LePage on Friday, Bear said.
A spokeswoman for Speaker of the House Mark Eves said the tribes' withdrawal was very unexpected.
Spokeswoman Jodi Quintero said Eves is concerned by the tribes' actions and will work to convince the tribes to return to the Legislature.

Posted originally by WMTW8 News.