This was a big week in Augusta — our committees wrapped-up their work for the session, and the Legislature passed a historic bill to make the final payment on our hospital debt and provide healthcare to 70,000 of our neighbors.

Community Event

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of joining Portland Public School Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk, Portland Board of Education Chair Jaimey Caron, and Executive Director of Learning Works Ethan Strimling at a Jobs for Maine Graduates
meeting. The four of us discussed the collaborative and dynamic work that is happening in Portland public high schools. As many of you know, Portland won a three-year Nellie Mae Grant to transform our high schools. It’s been exciting to be part of this team and effort to create proficiency-based education options for Portland students.

Healthcare Expansion & Hospital Payment

Yesterday, I had the honor of presiding over the passage of a historic bill that pays Maine hospitals and provides health care coverage to 70,000 Mainers.

This comprehensive bill took our shared priority of paying off the hospital debt and combined it with accessing federal dollars to provide basic health care for 70,000 Mainers. Democrats believe that you can’t do one piece without the other – we must address Maine’s high healthcare costs.

A significant component of the Affordable Care Act was the expansion of Medicaid. The bill we passed yesterday gives Maine the opportunity to accept the federal government’s offer of paying 100% of the cost for covering all newly eligible people for the first three years and then gradually lowering its payments to no less than 90 percent of the cost by 2020. This is an incredible offer that we cannot afford to pass up.

Maine is projected to save $690 million in the next 10 years if it accepts the federal dollars, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Foundation and the conservative Heritage Foundation. Maine is also one of 10 states that will see Medicaid expenditures go down over the next 10 years.

Unfortunately, the Governor has vetoed LD 1546. On Tuesday, the Senate will have the opportunity to override his veto. Please call the Republican Senate Office and urge them to override the Governor’s veto at: 287-1505.

Bills Submitted and Updates

Alternating Brewing Proprietorship
On Tuesday, the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee held a public hearing on my bill, LD 1548, “An Act To Support Maine Businesses by Authorizing Certain Brewing Partnerships.”

I introduced the bill to help a great local business, Peak Organic Brewing Company. Peak Organic is a growing small business based in Portland. Over the last several years, they have established themselves in the Maine craft brewing industry. Their business model is strategic. Peak Organic controls every aspect of their brewing, and they use Shipyard Brewing’s equipment and supplemental employees. This relationship, technically called an “alternating brewing proprietorship” with Shipyard Brewing, has allowed Peak to control their business and grow demand while keeping costs down.

This arrangement, while authorized and sanctioned by the federal government, is not defined under Maine law. Over the past several months, Peak Organic Brewing and the state have attempted to reconcile this arrangement with current statute, and it was decided the best way to ensure Peak Organic Brewing can move forward in compliance is to codify this arrangement into Maine law.

The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee will be voting on the bill next week.

Online Learning Collaborative
On Wednesday, the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee held a work session on my bill LD 1533, “An Act To Amend the Maine Online Learning Program.”

The bill establishes a new statewide online learning collaborative offering courses for 9-12 grades. The online courses would be taught by certified Maine teachers and the courses would allow another critical pathway for students to enhance their classroom experiences.

The Maine Online Learning Collaborative will be run by an entity that wins a competitive request for proposal. The winning entity would need to have experience to not only provide high-quality online learning courses that meet Maine’s new standards-based proficiency requirements, but also must build Maine teaching capacity around technology in the classroom. The collaborative will commence in the 2014-2015 school year.

LD 1533 passed unanimously on Wednesday.

Closing

Next week I will highlight some important bipartisan work being done in and around energy and also update you on the tax reform bill. If you have any questions or concerns, please send them my way to justin@justinalfond.com.

 

-Justin