Augusta – Wednesday, House Republican Leaders expressed their outrage over President Obama’s decision to create a national monument in Maine’s North Woods. The President’s decision deals a serious blow to Maine’s tradition of outdoor recreation like snowmobiling and hunting. This will also likely hurt our state’s forestry industry and the overall economic outlook of the region.   “This unilateral federal overreach is shameful and outrageous,” said Assistant House Republican Leader Rep. Ellie… Read More

Rep. Fredette Applauds PUC Decision To Expand Natural Gas Pipeline Capacity This afternoon, in a move aimed at lowering electricity costs in Maine, the Maine Public Utilities Commission gave their approval to expand natural gas capacity in New England contingent upon other New England states stepping up and making similar approvals. Today’s action by the PUC stems from the 2013 passage of LD 1559 “An Act To Reduce Energy Costs, Increase Energy… Read More

Augusta – Wednesday afternoon, House Republican Leader Ken Fredette of Newport met with Governor LePage, House Speaker Mark Eves, House Democratic Leader Jeff McCabe, Senate President Mike Thobodeau and Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond to see if an agreement could be reached regarding the governor’s concern over the funding sources for four bills passed by the Maine Legislature during the recently completed session. “The Governor has been clear in identifying the problems… Read More

Bill to prevent abuse of welfare dollars passes House after GOP amendment stiffens penalties for welfare fraud For the past six years, House Republicans have been fighting to pass legislation that addresses the abuses within Maine’s welfare programs and this evening, the Maine House did just that with the passage of LD 1097 by a vote of  106 – 38 . The bill and a subsequent amendment put forward by Sen. Erik… Read More

Maine now facing millions in fines due to non-compliance with federal work requirements for TANF recipients Augusta – In a party line vote, House Democrats passed LD 1268 “An Act To Reform Welfare by Establishing Bridges to Sustainable Employment” which is nothing more than a massive expansion of welfare which they are trying to sell to the Maine people as welfare reform. In addition, a bill whose original intent was to align… Read More

Wednesday morning, the Maine House passed the majority report of LD 1649 “An Act To Modernize Maine’s Solar Power Policy and Encourage Economic Development” with 67 House Republicans and 2 Independents voting against the measure. 69 votes is more than enough to sustain a veto should this bill reach the Governor’s desk. Below are statements from Rep. Nathan Wadsworth, ranking House Republican on the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee and House Republican… Read More

An editorial by Rep. Nathan Wadsworth, ranking House Republican on the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee Maine’s shrinking paper industry makes it clear that it’s time to help new industries grow. I was happy to read that the editorial board at the Kennebec Journal thinks the same and agrees that one of the most promising and rising industries in our state is solar energy. Solar has a proven track record of net… Read More

  House GOP puts forward fiscally responsible plan for any state surplus money  This afternoon, House Republicans on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee opposed a new spending plan put forward by the other members of the committee. All four House Republicans on the committee voted instead to support an amendment put forward by Rep. Jeff Timberlake (R) of Turner that would put additional state revenues in the Budget Stabilization Fund commonly… Read More

LD 1343 among five bills aimed at helping Maine veterans passed as part of comprehensive amendment Augusta – This morning, the Maine House gave initial approval to a series of bills aimed at significantly helping Maine’s veterans. The bills were passed as part of a comprehensive amendment sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Kinney (R) of Limington.   Among the bills gaining approval under the amendment, LD 1343, “An Act To Increase Access to… Read More

House GOP option better protects ratepayers and provides guidance to the PUC in net metering review Augusta – Wednesday afternoon, House Republicans on the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee proposed a 3-part alternative to LD 1649 “An Act To Modernize Maine’s Solar Power Policy and Encourage Economic Development.” This alternative proposed by Rep. Nathan Wadsworth (R) of Hiram, the ranking House Republican on the EUT Committee, protects ratepayers and provides the Public… Read More