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A Republican senator from Cumberland is asking the Maine Legislature to add political affiliation as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act.
The act currently protects against discrimination based on a person’s race or color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry or national origin. Republican Sen. James Libby proposed a bill to add political affiliation to that list, which the Judiciary Committee considered Wednesday morning.
“Never have I thought, in a non-partisan way, that we needed this more than we need it this year,” Libby said.
Libby previously proposed this addition to the Maine Human Rights Act last legislative session, but the Judiciary Committee voted against it.
On Wednesday, committee members and Kit Thomson Crossman, executive director of the Maine Human Rights Commission, which enforces these anti-discrimination protections, raised concern about the broad definition of “political affiliation” outlined in the proposed statute.
For example, Rep. Adam Lee (D-Auburn) asked Libby, “If I’m a landlord and someone has submitted a rental application in which they make clear that they’re a member of the Nazi Party and believe that all non-Aryans should be exterminated, it would be unlawful under this bill for me to refuse them a rental agreement on that basis?”
Libby responded, “Absolutely, that’s correct. We’re not making judgments here. It’s just across the board. It’s a pretty sweeping piece of legislation that you’re looking at, for sure. And I wouldn’t want that to happen, obviously, not a fan of the Nazi Party.”
Libby’s bill defines “political affiliation” as “belonging to or endorsing a party or a particular political philosophy, creed or ideal.” However, given the possible ramifications of such a broad definition, Libby said he’d be open to narrowing it to only include political party enrollment.
Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland) questioned how this bill would square with existing First Amendment protections. Thomson Crossman said claims about discrimination based on political affiliation would very likely involve First Amendment claims, an area she said the commission tries to stay away from.
“The Maine Human Rights Act addresses adverse treatment against individuals based primarily upon their innate characteristics,” Thomson Crossman said. “Generally, we’re talking about characteristics over which people have no control — sex, race, disability — or which involve a sincerely held belief, like religion and I think probably one could argue political belief falls perhaps in that category.”
Thomson Crossman said the commission anticipates it would receive “significant numbers of complaints” if political affiliation were to be added as a protected class and therefore would request another full-time investigator to handle that potential workload. The fiscal note for the bill includes appropriations of $104,212 and $109,891 for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27, respectively, for that position and other associated costs.
Thomson Crossman testified neither for nor against the bill. No one from the public testified for the bill or against the bill on Wednesday.
Other lawmakers are hoping to make adjustments to the Maine Human Rights Act this session, too.
Rep. Michael Soboleski (R-Phillips) has proposed a bill to remove gender identity from the act. Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) has proposed a bill to restore remedies for educational discrimination. Those bills do not yet have published text.
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