Tag Archives: Maine politics

Mar 15 2016

Rep. Poliquin Honored with the Spirit of Enterprise Award for Near-Perfect Voting Score on Job Growth

Rep. Poliquin Honored with the Spirit of Enterprise Award for Near-Perfect Voting Score on Job Growth

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Honors Rep. Poliquin’s Job Creation Record

 

WASHINGTON – Today, Maine’s Second District Congressman, Bruce Poliquin, was presented the Spirit of Enterprise Award by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in recognition of his near-perfect score of 95%—among the highest ratings of all Members of Congress—from the pro-business group for his work and votes to support job creation in Maine during his first year in Congress.  After the ceremony, Congressman Poliquin released the following statement:

 

“I greatly appreciate the Chamber’s award and recognition of the work I’ve done in Congress to help create jobs, and I understand there is still much more to be done ahead to grow our economy,” said Congressman Poliquin.

 

“As many Mainers unfortunately know all too well, disastrous policies from Washington are smothering Maine businesses and threatening hundreds of jobs across our State.  In the coming year, I will continue to fight for fair policies that promote business growth and expansion and allow for more workers to be hired in our communities throughout Maine.”

Mar 11 2016

DHHS Intensifying Efforts To Prevent Opioid Abuse And Reduce Tobacco Use

03/11/2016 02:56 PM EST
*New Fund for Healthy Maine Request for Proposals establishes Statewide measurable goals and seeks the expertise to achieve them.*

**AUGUSTA** – The Maine Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that it is seeking to hire experts through the competitive procurement process to make significant progress in preventing heroin and opioid use and to reduce Maine’s smoking rates to the lowest in the nation.

Through the Maine Centers for Disease Control and the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, the DHHS has developed Prevention Services for Maine’s Public Health Districts, which will be released later today. The work outlined in this Request for Proposals (RFP) has been broken into four categories: opioid and other substance use and exposure prevention; tobacco use and exposure; youth engagement and empowerment; and mass-reach health communications. Bidders may submit proposals for any or all areas of work.

“While we recognize the need to address these critical areas of prevention, we know from national research that we need to approach the work differently in order to adapt to the ever-changing public health landscape,” said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew. “We must move Maine’s public health system to one that leads the development of strategies that focus on prevention and wellness, builds diverse partnerships, and effectively integrates with clinical health. Public health must be more flexible and able to address emerging needs by taking swift and appropriate action.”

This new request for proposals aggressively targets Maine’s most pressing public health concerns:

– Last year, 272 Mainers died due to a drug-related overdose – Eight out of every 100 babies are born drug affected in Maine – Approximately 2,400 tobacco-related deaths occur in our state annually – An estimated 1,300 youth begin smoking each year

“We must do all that we can to stem the rising tide of opioid use and abuse. Heroin has taken far too many lives in Maine,” said Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Chief Officer Kenneth Albert. “At the same time, we cannot lose sight of the effect tobacco use has on the progression of chronic disease,” said Albert. “We simply must do a better job of further reducing and preventing the use of tobacco and exposure to secondhand smoke.”

The costs of tobacco are enormous, with more than $811 million in health-care related costs and $534 million in smoking-caused productivity losses. Despite the costs, tobacco continues to be the leading cause of preventable death and disability in Maine and across the nation. It is estimated that substance abuse costs Maine more than $1.4 billion annually.

Unlike previous Fund for Healthy Maine RFPs, this new proposal establishes consistent, measurable statewide goals, includes the requirement to routinely use data to drive decision-making, and requires maximized returns of investment across all areas of work. Linking the work to the State Health Plan at the District level, the use of strategies that have been proven effective and increased collaboration between public health and healthcare are also requirements of the proposal. With vendors who are experts in their respective fields, the Department will be able to evaluate progress and spending reports, and better articulate the value of the work as it pertains to consistent statewide goals.

Another key aspect of this effort is the strengthening and clarifying of the Public Health system and its structure. The Department is investing $1.45 million annually to support the nine District Coordinating Councils that comprise the statewide public health infrastructure.

“It has been improperly stated by legislators, advocates and the current Healthy Maine Partnerships that the HMPs are the public health infrastructure,” said Albert. “The District level infrastructure was very clearly established in 2007 by statewide partners and stakeholders, and the leadership responsibility falls squarely upon the District Coordinating Councils. That’s why we are investing in staffing support to assist the DCCs and strengthen their roles as the leaders of public health and their respective districts.”

The Department is expecting bids to represent participation and input from all active and vibrant public health partners.

“Maine faces significant chronic disease and addiction-related public health challenges. We need to effectively address the use and abuse of addictive substances to avoid increased healthcare and societal costs associated with this behavior,” said Commissioner Mayhew. “By focusing on early prevention of substance use and abuse by our youth we can increase the likelihood of them leading safe, healthy and productive lives.”

Once released, the RFP can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/rfp/ or http://www.maine.gov/purchases/venbid/rfp.shtml
Mar 11 2016

Tax Committee Votes to Kill the Death Tax

03/11/2016 11:42 AM EST
For Immediate Release: Friday, March 11, 2016 Contact: Adrienne Bennett, Press Secretary, 207-287-2531

Majority report supports governor’s proposal to eliminate Maine’s estate tax

AUGUSTA – The Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Taxation voted 7-6 on Thursday in favor of Governor LePage’s proposal to eliminate Maine’s estate tax.

LD 1622, sponsored by Rep. Stedman Seavey (R-Kennebunkport) and cosponsored by Sen. Earle McCormick (R-Kennebec), repeals the estate tax starting on January 1, 2017.

“I am encouraged by the Tax Committee’s vote and hope their colleagues in the House and Senate will give this proposal serious consideration,” said Governor LePage. “Maine’s death tax is killing our chances at prosperity. We now have an opportunity to eliminate the death tax as 32 other states have done and send a clear message that we want people to stay in Maine or move back from states where there is no estate tax.”

Governor LePage first called for the elimination of the estate tax as part of his January 2015 biennial budget submission, proposing to conform to the federal estate tax exemption for 2016 and eliminating the estate tax in 2017. The Legislature voted to conform with the federal estate tax exemption amount in 2016, but stopped short of eliminating it, prompting Governor LePage to introduce this stand-alone bill.

With estimated collections of $14.4 million for deaths occurring in 2016, Maine’s estate tax is no longer a significant source of revenue when compared to taxes such as the income tax, sales tax and property tax. Revenue from the tax is notoriously unreliable and difficult to predict. Just as importantly, the Office of Tax Policy estimates that Maine would only need to retain or attract 400 individuals in order to collect the same amount of tax revenue.

“Mainers with significant liquid assets only need to change their residency to escape our oppressive estate tax,” said Governor LePage. “Our business owners and farmers, who have fixed assets in Maine, are the ones that retain their residency and whose families are burdened by the estate tax.”

Liquid assets include savings, investments and other items that are not fixed within Maine are easily protected by changing residency to a non-estate tax state. Fixed assets include land, buildings and business equipment, which are difficult to transfer ownership without incurring significant legal costs.

Clark Granger, vice president of the Maine Farm Bureau, who appeared before the committee in his personal capacity, provided compelling testimony to the committee about how Maine farmers are tied to the land they own and are unable to avoid Maine’s estate tax. As a result, farm families are often hit by the estate tax as ownership transfers from one generation to the next.

In 2013, the last year of complete data, a total of 78 non-residents and 91 residents were required to pay the estate tax. The non-resident returns had a tax liability of $1.7 million. The resident returns had a total tax liability of $25.8 million.

Following the repeal of Tennessee’s inheritance tax at the beginning of 2016, Maine is one of only 18 states that have some form of estate or inheritance tax. Most of those states are located in the Northeast and Midwest.
Mar 10 2016

Governor’s bill strengthens welfare work requirement and reduces liability of Maine taxpayers

03/10/2016 02:25 PM EST
**Augusta** – Governor Paul R. LePage, for the third time, will introduce legislation to prioritize employment over welfare entitlement by aligning Maine’s welfare programs with federal law. From 2007 through 2013, Maine’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) failed to meet the federal work participation rates causing the state to face nearly $29 million in federal fines. Members of the Legislature have not only ignored the issue, they have protected the very exemptions in Maine law that have discouraged employment and this Administration’s goals of helping people move from poverty to prosperity.

“The Legislature once again has the chance to correct a situation that is detrimental to both the people on the program and the Maine taxpayers. It is time to hold accountable those who refuse to work because of baseless excuses,” said Governor Paul LePage. “We must restore taxpayers’ faith in the integrity of the system and ensure it is helping those who truly need it in a way that supports them becoming self-sufficient. More importantly, we could fix the problem that led to the $29 million in fines.”

“This legislation and the reforms proposed are critical to further advancing our efforts to incentivize work in the best interests of those in need of temporary assistance, rather than the long-held views by democrats that these individuals are incapable of helping themselves and therefore should be protected from the employment requirements that are core to the federal law.,” said DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew. “Twice democrats in the legislature have denied this Administration’s attempts to correct the issue. The people we are trying to help get back to work and the $29 million in looming federal penalties can no longer be ignored. We must align our program to the federal guidelines and stop allowing people to opt-out of their required work so easily.”

LD1631 will use a two-prong approach to address the issue. First, it will eliminate the requirement for blanket “good cause” exemptions for TANF recipients not complying with the work requirements. The Department will still have the ability to grant good cause in certain circumstances that truly prevent the recipient from completing work requirements, such as in cases involving victims of domestic violence. In addition, the Department will have more flexibility to impose a sanction more quickly in cases where it is appropriate to do so. Under the current process, administrative hurdles delay sanctions and allow noncompliant recipients to receive TANF benefits for additional months. Not only does this produce a barrier to independence, it also contributes to the state not meeting its work participation rate. If a TANF recipient is not working, it counts against the State’s rate because Maine’s “good cause exemptions” are much more broad than they should be.

Secondly, the legislation will create a fund to pay fines imposed on the State by the Federal Government due to Maine’s failure to comply with Federal ASPIRE-TANF program requirements.

In August, the Department received a letter from the Administration of Children and Families (ACF) informing the state that it would need to pay the first penalty of the $29 million currently assessed. The 2007 penalty amount totaled $1.16 million and will need to be paid with state funds. The letter demonstrates the real financial liability associated with past failures to make sure recipients were working. It’s a mistake that Maine cannot continue to repeat.