SENATE REPUBLICANS SUSTAIN LEPAGE VETO OF TRANSPORTATION PLAN

GOP lawmakers flip flop on support, “complicit in obstruction”

AUGUSTA— The Senate fell short of the two-thirds needed to override Governor LePage’s veto of a measure to plan for the state’s future transportation needs. In a vote of 19 – 14, Republican Senators flipped from their earlier support of the bill and sustained the veto.

The bill, LD 1365, “An Act To Promote New Models of Mobility and Access to Transportation, sponsored by Rep. Sharon Treat, received unanimous support in committee and was previously passed with unanimous consent “under the hammer” in both chambers of the Legislature. Yesterday, the House voted 119-25 to override the governor’s veto.

“It’s a shame to see the legislature’s good work get un-done by a governor intent on obstructing good government,”  said Senate Majority Leader Troy Jackson of Allagash. “It’s an even bigger shame when Republican lawmakers flip flop on their votes and become complicit in this obstruction.”

With 125 vetoes during his tenure, Governor LePage has exceeded the number of vetoes by any other Governor, including the previous record holder, one-term Governor Jim Longley with 118 vetoes.

Without receiving an override in both legislative chambers, the bill is now dead.

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