Of bills and vetoes: 'Open for business zones' bill fails; third Medicaid expansion bill follows
Lawmakers and the governor greeted spring with more talk of vetoes and rejections. Medicaid expansion, a budget that would close a $32 million gap next fiscal year and “open for business zones” were among plans in the crosshairs. But there's some good news: Gov. Paul LePage signed a bill into law to strengthen the role of mediators in Maine's foreclosure process and expedite procedures to deal with abandoned properties.
Nyet to Medicaid expansion
The governor vetoed a bill to expand Medicaid coverage to around 70,000 low-income people, and the veto is likely to be upheld in the Legislature, the Bangor Daily News reported. That's the third time he has vetoed a plan to expand Medicaid under a provision in the Affordable Care Act that would have the federal government support expansion costs for three years. The vetoed bill was, because of its two Republican sponsors, the likeliest of the three Medicaid expansion measures before the Legislature this session to win GOP support.
Yes, but no, well maybe
The Legislature gave its final approval to a proposal to close a $32 million budget gap in the next fiscal year, but the governor has threatened to veto the plan, partly because its funding mechanism delays Medicaid payments to the state's hospitals, according to the Portland Press Herald. The House voted 136-8 to approve the bill, while the Senate voted 35-0 in its favor. The Maine Public Broadcasting Network reported the budget plan would extend the state's Medicaid payment schedule by two weeks, a proposal that makes up $20 million of the bridged budget gap. Republican appropriations committee member Dennis Keschl told MPBN the plan transitions the state to a payment schedule that's in line with federal requirements. The proposal has moved on to LePage, who can either veto it, sign it, or let it go into effect without his signature.
'Open for business zones' — not really
Gov. LePage's proposal to offer major incentives for large corporations to bring jobs to two former military bases in Maine was rejected by both the Senate and the House, leading the governor to react by blaming Democrats for having a “job-killing agenda.” The Senate voted 22-13 to reject LD 1835, according to the Bangor Daily News, behind arguments that the proposal was too generous. The House followed with a 91-55 vote against the bill, which was unveiled by LePage during his State of the State address in February. It was aimed at companies that would invest at least $50 million and create 1,500 jobs at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station or the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone.
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