2017-05-27 Update
Legislative Update
Introduction
As we celebrate
Memorial Day in Lewiston with a parade down Lisbon Street and to Auburn,
it is so important to remember all those men and women who gave their
lives in order that we enjoy the freedoms we have. Perhaps Mayor
McDonald said it best - "Is one hour too much to give to remember those
who died so we can enjoy hamburgers on Memorial
Day?"
We do need to bring our children to these
events in order to teach them the civic pride and responsibility in which
we must all participate. As I marched in Saturday's parade, I was
proud of the city Lewiston is becoming. And I was grateful to all
those who have defended our way of life.
House Calendars
Bill Text -> Bill
Text
Bill Status -> Bill
Status
Testimony Link -> Bill
Testimony
This is really a great resource as you can see
all the testimony presented on any given bill.
Events
Calendars -> Events
(Or,
use the calendar to the left)
This week in the House -
On Tuesday, the House heard and voted on the "Death with
Dignity" bill. As might be expected, this was a deeply discussed
topic. Speakers on either side of the aisle spoke well and spoke
passionately about this bill which would allow terminally ill patients to
request medicine which would end their lives.
The bill was ell
written and fully considered. There were safeguards in place. There were
checks in the system that would prevent abuse of the system - for example
there can be no coercion in this decision making.
When all was
said and done. I voted against the Death with Dignity bill.
It's a
good bill. It's carefully written.
But, the state of
Maine is just not ready for the provisions of this bill. Sometimes a
bill needs to be discussed more by the public and gain more public
support. While I received emails on the topic, the emails did not
point conclusively in the direction of adoption. This is a serious
concern for all of us, and we need to have community discussions and move
toward consensus.
This week in the Education Committee
-
The issue of a statewide teacher's contract came
up in work session this week. We considered two similar bills, and
chose "Ought Not to Pass" very quickly on one, saving the second for
further discussion. When the second bills was discussed, a
Republican motion to vote "Ought to Pass" as amended was quickly
presented.
As might be expected, the vote was strictly along
party lines, with the 5 Republicans voting "Ought to Pass" and the 6
Democrats voting "Ought Not to Pass." We had discussed the
bill in a previous work session and leadership had really decided that no
votes would be changed by further discussion, so why not just move the
bill.
I have lots and lots to say about a state wide teacher
contract.
I'm fundamentally opposed to the current proposal for a
compelling host of reasons.
First, a state wide teacher contract
treats everyone the same. It homogenized the teacher.
Teachers, just like students, are not an homogenous commodity.
Second, a state wide teacher contract will not equalize real
estate values and will not equalize payments to teachers. There's
just plain a huge difference between Falmouth and Lewiston, and Lewiston
and Presque Isle. The assumption that all contracts should be
treated equally is false - partly because those communities who can afford
or decide to increase teacher salaries can simply agree to raise the funds
locally.
Third, the DOE is "at capacity." With the proposed
changes being suggested in other programs, it seems that the DOE just can
not handle a state wide Teachers contract. Over and over again, I
have heard this year about "capacity" issues in the DOE - to ask them to
do more is to extend that capacity to the breaking point.
Fourth,
and perhaps most importantly for me, the state of Maine has yet to
demonstrate "good faith" and "trust" in any dealings with teachers.
On two occasions, the state has "borrowed" funds from the teacher
retirement system - those funds have yet to be paid back. At one
time the state agreed to fund the health care costs for retired
teachers. That agreement was ignored for ten years. And
finally on two different occasions, the state has been ordered by
referendum to fund education costs at 55%. That hasn't
happened.
For me, education is job one. It
creates jobs, successful people, and a prosperous Maine. I can
enthusiastically support any measure that makes our future more
secure. I can support no measure that robs that future from our
children.
As always, feel free to write to me and let me
know your thoughts.
