Senate Democrats hail decision to reform legislative reimbursement system

Action urged after documents revealed Sens. Collins and Cushing received taxpayer-funded reimbursements after paying expenses with donor cash

AUGUSTA — The Senate Committee on Conduct and Ethics voted 4-1 Thursday to recommend the incoming Legislature make changes to prevent lawmakers from receiving taxpayer-funded reimbursements for expenses paid for by a third party.

Voting for the measure were Sens. Anne Haskell, D-Portland; Sen. Linda Valentino, D-Saco; Sen. Roger Katz, R-Augusta; and Sen. Linda Baker, R-Topsham. The lone dissenting vote came from Committee Chairman Sen. David Burns, R-Whiting.

Public documents indicate that Sens. Ron Collins of Wells and Andre Cushing of Newport used donor cash to pay for travel and lodging expenses while also requesting and receiving taxpayer funds to cover those very same expenses.

“We brought these issues to light because the public deserves to know that no elected official is abusing the reimbursement system — or any other state program — for personal gain,” said Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond. “I’m please the committee recognized today that regardless of whether Sen. Collins’ and Sen. Cushing’s actions were permissible under some arcane loophole of legislative rules, that the reimbursement system must be strengthened so that it cannot happen again.”

The Committee voted 4-1 to clear Sen. Collins of violating legislative rule or of violating the Legislative Code of Ethics. Sen. Haskell was the dissenting vote, arguing that Sen. Collins breached the public trust by using $2,400 of campaign funds and receiving taxpayer dollars to cover the very same expense.

“I recognize and respect the will of the committee, to me, the ethical case against Sen. Collins was straightforward,” said Sen. Haskell. “His campaign donors paid his hotel bill, and then he asked taxpayers to cut him a check for the very same bill. When that check came, we know it didn’t go to the Senator Inn. It went to his pocket. And that’s wrong.”

The case against Sen. Cushing was outlined in public documents that reveal used his Leadership PAC to pay for several out-of-state trips, and also received legislative reimbursements for those trips. The committee voted unanimously to postpone deliberation on Sen. Cushing’s case because separate allegations of misconduct regarding his PAC’s activities are pending before the Maine Ethics Commission.

“We decided that given the breadth and weight of allegations against Sen. Cushing — in the Maine Ethics Commission, in the courts and now before our committee — that the best course of action was to allow the experts to gather evidence and assemble the facts before we as a committee made a judgment about whether Sen. Cushing’s conduct was ethical,” said Sen. Linda Valentino.