AUGUSTA, Maine (April 7, 2021) – A bill introduced in the Maine House would defund the state’s only federal fusion center and significantly hinder the growing federal surveillance state.
Rep. Charlotte Warren (D), along with a fellow Democrat, two Republicans and two independents, introduced House Bill 1278 (LD1278) on March 25. The legislation would totally defund the Maine Information and Analysis Center (MIAC). The bill would also eliminate state staffing for the center by cutting its four state police and two support employees from the state payroll.
In effect, LD1278 would shut down the state’s only fusion center.
MIAC is one of 78 fusion centers spread across the United States. While the states own and operate their fusion centers, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security facilitates and coordinates their activities. According to the DHS website, “The National Network of Fusion Centers is the hub of much of the two-way intelligence and information flow between the federal government and our State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT) and private sector partners. The fusion centers represent a shared commitment between the federal government and the state and local governments who own and operate them.”