State legislation now being considered would restore rights to Maine's Wabanaki people, giving them more control over their land and the welfare of their citizens, and is supported by a coalition that says the initiative would also have other benefits.
Senate gives support to Sen Maxmin s Pine Tree Amendment wiscassetnewspaper.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wiscassetnewspaper.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Thursday: April 29, 2021,
9 a.m. PUBLIC HEARING
L.D. 793 An Act To Include as a Factor in Sentencing the Selection of a Victim Based on the Victim s Employment as a Law Enforcement Officer
L.D. 908 An Act To Protect Maine Residents and Organizations from Unreasonable and Illegal Surveillance, Monitoring or Tracking
L.D. 214 An Act To Eliminate Qualified Immunity for Police Officers
L.D. 1416 An Act To Limit Qualified Immunity of Law Enforcement Officers in Maine Civil Rights Act Claims
1 p.m. WORK SESSION
L.D. 54 An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Post-conviction Review in Order To Facilitate the Fair Hearing of All Newly Discovered Evidence
Read Article
The Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday advanced a bill that will restore MaineCare benefits to noncitizen immigrants and immigrant children, who would otherwise be ineligible under federal law.
The 7-4, party-line vote, with Democrats on the committee supporting the change and Republicans opposing it, came after only a short debate. Two lawmakers were absent for the vote but have 24 hours to weigh in on the measure.
Rep. Sam Zager, D-Portland, said he was supporting the bill because he knows it will save human lives.
“It’s akin to rescuing somebody drowning at sea or running into a burning building and saving them,” said Zager, who is also a physician. “This is one of those moments; that’s the way I see it, at least. It makes no difference to me whether that person who is drowning or is in a burning building is a citizen.”
Why are there limitations to the growth of Black women in state legislatures?
Kamala Harris at a health care rally in 2017. (Wikimedia Commons)
This past November, we witnessed a historic moment in politics with the election of Vice President Kamala Harris, an Indian American and Black woman. This, coupled with the record number of Black women candidates and newly elected officials may mark the beginning of a shift. However, too many Americans believed that “we have overcome.” The victories shifted the conversation but unfortunately have not moved the needle enough on Black women’s representation in state legislatures.
In a recent report by State Innovation Exchange (SiX) and the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL Women), just 4.82 percent of state legislators are Black women (356 out of 7,383 legislators). This problem caused by the racialized patriarchy so entrenched in this country, of which the progressive movement is not immune has wide-r