2018-01-18 Update
2018-01-18 -
Weekly Update -
Observations and Reflections
The
legislature is still “gearing up” in that bills are taken up in
committee and then referred for House action. This all takes time, so most
of the real work of the legislative session is being done in
committee.
In the Education and Cultural Affairs committee this
week, we did take actions on a number of bills
1. The committee approved a free admission to the Maine State Museum and Archive for Veterans.
2. The committee approved, after a lengthy debate, the idea that the Department of Education, professionals in the field, and schools districts, should create and implement defined protocols for teachers and administrators to use when dealing with potential suicide cases.
3. The committee did not pass a bill that would have allowed a reduction in time needed to declare state residency for the purpose of reduced student loans.
Of course, that’s not all that
happened in the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee; however,
that’s the most substantial.
House Calendars
Weekly Calendar of Legislative Events/Meetings
Bill
Text can be found using this link called Directory of
Bills
Bill
Text
Link to Bill Status
Bill Status
Events Calendars
Click this link ot see an events calendar - Events
Or, see the calendar in the side bar to the left.
As always feel
free to contact me with qustions or
observations.
Reflections on
Pedestrian Safety -
In another place
on Facebook, I ended up making some commentary about pedestrian safety in
and around Maine. As a pedestrian, I necessarily walk a great deal.
And I walk a great deal in Lewiston. When not in session, I will often
walk 10K steps a day as it my most normal method of
transportation.
The city of Lewiston works very hard to maintain
its sidewalks, and this is a special task especially in winter. I
notice these kinds of things as I travel to and from Augusta every
day.
And as I’ve written before, the river walk in Lewiston is a
wonderful retreat in the middle of the city. It’s one of my
favorite walks and I encourage everyone to check it out.
Could we
do more? Yes - indeed. I did propose a bill to the
Transportation Committee last year to have each town above 40,000
residents upgrade 10% of their crosswalks every year. The safety of
our pedestrians can depend on well-planned crosswalks. The committee
rejected the proposal - a disappointment, and perhaps someone else will
pick it up.
At some point, we will see the demise of the automobile
as the major means of transportation. This will happen first in urban
areas, and in many ways it already has. As this process begins to
unfold, then safe pedestrian walkways will become necessary. So will
more mass transit like trains between urban areas.
