Gov. LePage willing to break state law to take food of Mainers’ tables

AUGUSTA — Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond released the following statement after learning that Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to cease state administration of federal food assistance would be an apparent violation of state law:

“The more we unravel the governor’s latest temper tantrum, the worse it gets,” said Sen. Alfond, of Portland. “Now, we’ve learned that his plan to eliminate the SNAP program would violate state law, which requires Maine to work with the USDA to administer this critical anti-hunger program. Gov. LePage is not only threatening to take food off the table for 195,000 Mainers, but he’s willing to break the law to do it. It is unconscionable.”

Title 22, Sec. 3104, of Maine Revised Statutes, requires the state of Maine to administer a “statewide food supplement program” in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture. That program is called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as “food stamps.”

In a recent fight with the USDA, LePage has said he would cease administration of SNAP in Maine if the federal government would not allow him to ban the use of benefits to purchase sugary snacks and beverages. Such a move would result in the complete loss of benefits for the food-insecure Maine families and children who rely on SNAP to stock their cupboards.

For its part, the USDA has said it never rejected the governor’s plan, but that several logistic issues must be addressed before it can move forward.

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