April 20th Update
The past two weeks have been busy. We are really getting into the swing of things in Augusta. Session is lasting longer and committee’s are meeting more frequently. This week is April break. I will be spending the week catching up on other work, attending local meetings, and spending time with the kids.
Many committees will be meeting this week and the debate on LD 1020, the gay marriage bill, will be held at the Augusta Civic Center on Wednesday. I am receiving many e-mails, letters and calls on this bill. Most of the people I am hearing from are for the bill and I am inclined to vote for it because as written it does protect religious marriage.
My proposed bill to reduce special ed funding for minimum receivers to 25% was voted ought not to pass. The discussion at the public hearing did create a lot of debate on the current EPS formula though. There are quite a few EPS formula bills being seen by the education committee. This may be a sign that it is time for the committee to take a close look at the formula to see if it is still a good fit for these economic times.
Many of you may have received my Constant Contact e-mail newsletter. In the newsletter, I mentioned that Sabattus and Greene would each lose approximately $60,000 each if the excise tax referendum passes in November. That number was incorrect. The ramifications are much worse than that. The negative impact on Greene’s excise tax could be more than $200,000 per year. For Sabattus the negative impact could be more than $300,000 per year. On April 7th, LD 974 was unanimously voted ought not to pass by the Taxation committee. LD 974 is a citizens initiative so it will be on the ballot in November. Please think carefully before voting. $200,000 to $300,000 from our towns budgets is quite a large hit.
On April 30th, the public hearing for LD 1300 An Act to Establish Head Injury Safety Requirements for School Athletic Programs will be held at 1 pm in Education. I am excited about this bill and I think it will be a step in the right direction. All coaches need to be trained on how to recognize and treat a head concussion. Research shows that head concussions can cause dementia, Parkinson’s, among other things. It is so important that we know how to protect our kids on the sports field.
