Sen. Claxton to chair the Committee for State and Local Government for the 129th Maine Legislature
AUGUSTA — Sen. Ned Claxton, D-Auburn, has been appointed by Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, to chair the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government for the 129th Legislative session. The State and Local Government Committee is responsible for many components of state government and oversight including: administrative procedures; legislature, municipal and local government; county and regional government; state contracts and fiscal procedures; administrative procedures and public services.
Sen. Claxton also will serve on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, which is responsible for MaineCare, Medicaid, Medicare Part D; children’s welfare and mental health services; childcare; public health and disease control; prescription drugs and many other aspects of health and human services.
“Given my background as a physician,” said Sen. Claxton, “my top priority will be to sustain and strengthen our commitment to providing access to quality health care. I am working on ways to reduce prescription drug prices.”
Sen. Claxton is serving his first term in the Maine Senate, representing the good people of Auburn, Mechanic Falls, Minot, New Gloucester and Poland. Working for the people of Senate District 20 is not new to Sen. Claxton. As a family physician, he has served families in the greater Lewiston-Auburn area for four decades. With Sen. Claxton’s experience working on local and state health efforts, he has firsthand understanding of the need for health care coverage and the need to rebuild our public health care system.
Lawmakers are assigned to committees by the presiding officers based on their interests, experience and professional background. Joint standing committees are composed of three senators and ten representatives. The Legislature is set to reconvene Jan. 2.