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LePage Vetoes More than 20 Bills, Including Funding For Prison and Direct Care Workers

Maine Public
LePage Vetoes More than 20 Bills, Including Funding For Prison and Direct Care Workers

Gov. Paul LePage is making good on a promise to veto any spending bills passed by this special session of the legislature. On Monday LePage vetoed more than 20 bills, and he says any spending bills passed by the legislature will be meet the same fate.

Lawmakers passed spending bills last month to fund the Downeast Correctional Facility, to maintain pay levels for certain direct care workers and to provide some increase in pay for others who provide services for Maine seniors and those with disabilities.

“Not because they are not needed, I’m going to veto them because they did them wrong,” he says. “You cannot give $50 million in rate increases now and not fix the minimum wage, and then come back in January and do another $50 million because that is the way it is set up.”

LePage says he will veto any spending bill that does not slow down the increase in the minimum wage, and has already given thumbs down to more than 20 measures.

“I am not going to approve any bills on spending without them slowing down the growth in the minimum wage,” he says. “They need to slow it down, I don’t say repeal it, I say slow it down.”

Lawmakers are expected to return to the Capitol next week to deal with vetoes and other unresolved issues.

Journalist Mal Leary spearheads Maine Public's news coverage of politics and government and is based at the State House.