Happy Holidays!

I hope that you will spend time with your family and friends over the holidays. Welcome snow!

Labor Committee: Update
On Wednesday, December 15th,  I had the honor of participating in negotiations with Republican leadership to preserve the Labor Committee. This was my first time working within my role as Assistant Democratic Leader.

Initially, the Republicans wanted to eliminate the Labor Committee and change the Business, Research, and Economic Development Committee (BRED) to Business, Economic Development and Workforce. On Tuesday the 14th, the Republicans knew their new committee name was not getting any traction, so they changed the name to the Jobs Committee. On Wednesday the 15th, after five hours of negotiations, we came to an agreement that preserves the Labor Committee while reducing the number of Standing Committees to sixteen (there are currently seventeen). The BRED Committee was eliminated and the Labor Committee will become the Labor, Commerce, Research, and Economic Development Committee.

I’d like to thank everyone who contacted the Republican leadership to express their concerns.

Committee Assignments
I am happy to announce that I have been re-appointed to serve as the lead Senate Democrat on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. As the Senate Chair in the 124th Legislature, I am glad to be returning for many reasons. One is that I can provide consistency on the Committee. The lack of consistency disrupts many initiatives in Augusta. I will be introducing several bills focusing on education reform, which I will detail in my next few emails.

In addition, Senator Seth Goodall and I were appointed to serve on the Joint Select Committee on Regulatory Reform. Created by Senate President Raye, this is one of  Governor-elect LePage’s signature initiatives. The Joint Select Committee will look at all aspects of government regulation towards businesses to determine if any unnecessary or duplicate regulations exist. As one of the Portland Senators representing the economic engine of our state, I am glad to be serving on this committee

If you’re a business owner, or work with the State on a regular basis, I would love to hear about your experience and any ideas you may have on improving State regulations.

Closing
I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year’s Day, and I’ll see you in 2011!

-Justin