Governor Janet Mills announced today that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved Maine’s State Plan Amendments to expand Medicaid (MaineCare) under the Affordable Care Act. CMS notified the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of the approval today.

On Friday, Maine Public Utilities Commission staff issued a 162-page Examiners’ Report recommending approval of Central Maine Power’s 145-mile transmission line New England Clean Energy Connect project. That review focused on public interest and public benefit standards. Reviews this week by Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Land Use Planning Commission will look more closely at environmental and land use issues.

Gov. Mills today signed into law a bill that will incentivize long-awaited growth of the Maine’s solar industry. LD 91 An Act to Eliminate Gross Metering, sponsored by Representative Seth Berry, will reset the state’s metering policy for solar and ensure that consumers who produce electricity from solar panels will be fairly compensated for supplying excess energy back to the electric grid.

Central Maine Power’s $1 billion proposal to deliver Quebec hydropower to Massachusetts through a western Maine corridor looks to be sailing for regulatory approval, but it is deeply unpopular, according to a new poll from opponents.

Here’s a look at how Maine’s members of Congress voted last week.

Republicans in Augusta and Washington are trying to stymie or repeal a voting method they say helps Democrats like Jared Golden.

The Committee on Education and Cultural affairs voted 7-5 to recommend passing the legislation. It will now go before the House of Representatives.

Labor and small business representatives were in Augusta to urge lawmakers to debate several bills that would lower the minimum wage, particularly ones that would create a lower wage for teen workers.

Governor Mills reappointed Jason A. Oney of Falmouth, Morten Arntzen of Norwalk, Connecticut and Arthur K. Watson, Jr. of New Canaan, Connecticut. Governor Mills also nominated Mary O. Shea of Brownfield as Student Trustee.

The top officials in the Maine Republican Party formed a new nonprofit group last month that looks to be aimed at grassroots work after the chair won re-election in January promising to form an alternative to the liberal Maine People’s Alliance.

Governor Janet Mills announced today that she has nominated six people to the University of Maine and the Maine Community College System Boards of Trustees.

Proposals to allow Maine cities and towns to enshrine local-option sales taxes have momentum in 2019, but they’re facing the same problems that have stopped them in the past amid opposition from business groups and some progressives.

Droves of Mainers are expected to testify today about a controversial bill that would give MaineCare recipients access to state-funded abortion services, and force insurance providers to include abortions in their coverage for maternity services.

Maine’s governor has signed a bill designed to make clear that production and sale of hemp-derived food products are allowable in the state.

State Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, said the Maine Public Utilities Commission should focus closely on the question of whether the proposed $1.3 billion acquisition of Emera Maine by Calgary-based ENMAX Corp. will truly benefit the utility’s 159,000 customers. Berry is the House chairman of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee.

Governor Janet Mills and Efficiency Maine Trust announced today a set of initiatives that will expand the use of electric vehicles across Maine in an effort to reduce the state’s carbon footprint and reliance on fossil fuels.

LD 1 Requires Insurance Companies To Include Basic Patient Protections In Maine Healthcare Plans

But an insurance industry representative argues that a bill to regulate ‘step therapy’ would favor ‘costlier, but no more therapeutically effective, brand name drugs.’

The Green Independent Party has taken a position opposing a Central Maine Power proposal to create a 145-mile transmission line corridor that would deliver electricity from Canada to Massachusetts.