LePage must cease action on Riverview step-down facility in Bangor

Sen. Chipman says attorney general guidances makes need for legislative oversight clear

AUGUSTA — Sen. Ben Chipman of Portland, the lead Senate Democrat on the Health and Human Services Committee, is calling on Gov. Paul Lepage to immediately cease his effort to build a new psychiatric care facility in Bangor.

Attorney General Janet Mills issued guidance on Wednesday indicating that the governor does not have the authority to build the facility without legislative approval.

The new facility is meant to serve patients at Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta who no longer need the hospital level of care. Gov. LePage’s administration has skirted questions about where funding for the project would come from, and has rejected the Legislature’s oversight of the process, claiming he had the authority to develop, build and fund a new facility unilaterally.

“Our government has checks and balances for a reason, and it was always unreasonable for the governor to claim he had the authority to develop a new mental health facility behind closed doors and spend millions of dollars on its construction without any prior approval,” said Sen. Chipman. “Simply put, the governor is not the sovereign of the state of Maine. The Legislature a co-equal branch of government and has an equal role to play in major decisions like these.”

“Now that the state’s top attorney has issued guidance, I call on the governor to work together with the Legislature in good faith, in full view of the public, and in the interest of taxpayers and patients at Riverview.”