SENATE DEMS AND GOP REJECT LEPAGE’S BUDGET VETO SPREE

Bipartisan support for budget uninterrupted

AUGUSTA –Democrats and Republicans stood together to override each of Governor LePage’s 64 vetoes to the bipartisan $6.7 billion state budget.

“This is affirmation of the good work that gets done in the Legislature by Democrats and Republicans alike. When we we all work together, we get things done and the people of Maine benefit,” said Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond of Portland. “This is a budget that will help lower Mainers’ income and property taxes as well as invest in things that are important to us like education, our seniors, and our communities,”

The line item vetoes included funding priorities for local public education, Headstart, Maine Community College System, Meals on Wheels, job training for workers, the computer crimes lab and cold case homicide unit.

Nearly each item required two votes, one for each fiscal year, for a total of 126 veto-overrides.

The bipartisan state budget was accepted by the Senate with a vote of 34 to 1 and enacted with a vote of 31 to 4 earlier this week. The House overrode each line item veto last night and previously passed the budget with a vote of 105 to 42.

The governor still has until 11:59p.m. on June 29th to veto the budget in its entirety.

A budget must be in place before July 1 to prevent the shutdown of state government.

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