The dome of the Maine State House in Augusta. (Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star)
In the sleepy interim between the end of the legislative session and the ramp up to the November election, a handful of lawmakers have been meeting to discuss the rules that govern how the Maine Legislature operates.
Away from the finger pointing and grandstanding about Democrats’ — the party in power — use of these rules to their advantage, there’s bipartisan agreement that they aren’t serving lawmakers, legislative staff and particularly the public and folks have decided to work together to do something about it.
Blank bills
One particular process that has come under fire from legislators on both sides of the aisle is the use of concept drafts, essentially bills with broad, generic titles and very little if any actual text or content explaining what the legislation seeks to do.
If a lawmaker wants to introduce a bill about expanding child care access, for example, but doesn’t know all the ins and outs of the system, or would first like to collaborate with their legislative colleagues on the legislation, they can still meet the deadline by submitting an essentially blank bill titled “A Bill to Expand Access to Child Care” to serve as a placeholder for some yet-to-be drafted policy.
Though well intended, this process has made it possible for lawmakers to introduce last-minute legislation, depriving critics and — more importantly — advocates and the people most impacted by the proposal of having sufficient time to review the bill before a public hearing. This is a tactic employed by both parties, though more easily wielded by the party in power.
The most high profile usage last session was the recently enacted shield law, which protects Maine health professionals who provide reproductive and gender-affirming care from being targeted for prosecution by other states’ bans.
After an earlier version was killed in committee for being overly complex, state Rep. Anne Perry (D-Calais) added the shield law text to a concept draft titled “An Act Regarding Health Care in the State.”
Republicans made it clear that they were unhappy with the process, but Perry said she never intended to make the bill a secret and is among the lawmakers leading the charge to make the system more transparent.
Budget maneuvers
In addition to the use of concept drafts, the rules governing how the state budget is made and passed is also facing scrutiny.
The appropriations, or budget, process has unfortunately always been one of the more opaque aspects of state government, in large part due to late night votes and extensive closed-door deliberations.
Democrats have also faced criticism in recent years for wielding archaic budget rules to their benefit.
A group of Republicans, including two legislators, are even pursuing a lawsuit against Gov. Janet Mills and other Democratic leaders, claiming they violated the state constitution when during the 2023 session they passed a budget with only Democratic support and then reconvened the Legislature in a special session to finish the remaining work.
The governor’s office has argued the move was legal and “consistent with past practice.”
It is up to the courts, which have already dismissed the suit twice, to decide if that move was unconstitutional. But it is another example of Maine Democrats, which have held a trifecta since Mills was elected in 2018, flexing their power to circumvent the GOP and accomplish their goals.
Republican House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor recently lamented about the lack of compromise under one-party rule, saying, “If people are being honest, probably the best form of government is a divided government.”
There is a valid argument that Maine Democrats were elected with a mandate to pass or preserve certain policies — access to health care, reproductive rights, a strong social safety net — and my guess is that most voters are less concerned with how exactly that is achieved.
– Lauren McCauley
But this argument ignores how Maine Democrats got this power to begin with: voters. There is a valid argument that Maine Democrats were elected with a mandate to pass or preserve certain policies — access to health care, reproductive rights, a strong social safety net — and my guess is that most voters are less concerned with how exactly that is achieved.
They are using the tools at their disposal.
Which brings me back to the Rules Committee, which I tend to picture in a windowless room, toiling away during the summer months in an effort to reach agreement about how the legislative process could be improved.
Right now, there are dozens of proposed reforms on the table. In the coming weeks, the committee will vote on which to recommend. Every seat in the Maine Legislature is up for grabs in November, and those incoming lawmakers will ultimately decide which changes take effect next session.
When Maine Morning Star reporter Emma Davis went to the State House to cover the recent Rules Committee meeting, one lawmaker joked she had clearly drawn the short straw.
But these details and processes matter to how our government functions and how accessible it is for public participation and transparency. And for many of the Republicans and Democrats working on these changes, it’s not about winning, but making the system better for all Mainers.
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