In a letter to lawmakers and in his weekly radio address, Gov. Paul LePage harshly criticizes the Legislature for overriding his veto of a bill that raises the legal age for purchasing cigarettes to 21.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected LePage’s veto, 29 to 5 in the Senate, and 90 to 44 in the House.
LePage calls lawmakers hypocrites, and says he will submit legislation aimed at righting what he sees as a wrong.
"If 18-year-olds cannot decide whether to buy cigarettes, than they certainly cannot be trusted to decide what candidate to vote for," he says, "so I will submit legislation that will raise the voting age to 21.”
That would require a constitutional amendment, approved by the voters.
LePage also says he will submit a bill raising the age for military service to 21. Federal law sets that policy for most military services, but LePage could also seek a constitutional amendment raising the age of service in the state militia to 21.
