Current:Home > StocksMaine governor won’t sign 35 bills adopted on final day-LoTradeCoin
Maine governor won’t sign 35 bills adopted on final day
View Date:2024-12-23 19:36:24
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The chaotic conclusion of the Maine Legislature’s session won’t include any new laws: Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday she won’t sign any of the 35 bills sent to her on the final day of the session, allowing all of them to die.
Mills, who believed Democratic leaders were disregarding her request to be fiscally responsible, was at odds with those who sought to vote on 80 additional bills requiring spending on a final day, which is normally reserved for vetoes. She said it was wrong to try to adopt so many additional bills after the statutory adjournment date had passed.
Mills’ position caused tension when the Senate attempted to deliver 35 enacted bills to her office on Friday. Her office initially declined to accept them, creating a standoff between the executive and legislative branches. The House did not try to adopt additional bills, heeding the governor’s wishes. Ultimately, lawmakers adjourned without further action.
In a written statement, the governor said she was rejecting “harmful precedent” by declining to act on the bills, and she chastised legislative leaders for disregarding constitutional norms that provide “important institutional safeguards.”
“While well intentioned, the Legislature’s decision to consider and enact dozens of additional spending measures on veto day without clear constitutional authority erodes longstanding norms and would create a destabilizing precedent that may be used by future legislatures to achieve aims not so desirable,” she wrote.
State law required the legislative session to end April 17 but lawmakers were allowed to return to deal with vetoes. A spokesperson for the governor said there’s precedent for lawmakers to take up a few other bills on the so-called “veto day” but only with the consent of both parties. Enacting all of the proposed bills would’ve invited lawsuits, the spokesperson said.
veryGood! (91)
Related
- Wind-whipped wildfire near Reno prompts evacuations but rain begins falling as crews arrive
- In an AP interview, the next Los Angeles DA says he’ll go after low-level nonviolent crimes
- USMNT Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal Leg 1 vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV, rosters
- Eva Longoria calls US 'dystopian' under Trump, has moved with husband and son
- Brian Austin Green Shares Message to Sharna Burgess Amid Ex Megan Fox's Baby News
- Tech consultant spars with the prosecutor over details of the death of Cash App founder Bob Lee
- Martin Scorsese on faith in filmmaking, ‘The Saints’ and what his next movie might be
- Whoopi Goldberg calling herself 'a working person' garners criticism from 'The View' fans
- Vikings' Camryn Bynum celebrates game-winning interception with Raygun dance
- Trump hammered Democrats on transgender issues. Now the party is at odds on a response
Ranking
- Suicides in the US military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend
- Will Aaron Rodgers retire? Jets QB tells reporters he plans to play in 2025
- Could trad wives, influencers have sparked the red wave among female voters?
- After years of unrest, Commanders have reinvented their culture and shattered expectations
- The Stanley x LoveShackFancy Collaboration That Sold Out in Minutes Is Back for Part 2—Don’t Miss Out!
- UConn, Kansas State among five women's college basketball games to watch this weekend
- 'Treacherous conditions' in NYC: Firefighters battling record number of brush fires
- Powell says Fed will likely cut rates cautiously given persistent inflation pressures
Recommendation
-
The Best Gifts for People Who Don’t Want Anything
-
AI could help scale humanitarian responses. But it could also have big downsides
-
'Serial swatter': 18-year-old pleads guilty to making nearly 400 bomb threats, mass shooting calls
-
Judge hears case over Montana rule blocking trans residents from changing sex on birth certificate
-
How Kim Kardashian Navigates “Uncomfortable” Situations With Her 4 Kids
-
Mason Bates’ Met-bound opera ‘Kavalier & Clay’ based on Michael Chabon novel premieres in Indiana
-
Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn Coming Out of Retirement at 40
-
Knicks Player Ogugua Anunoby Nearly Crashes Into Anne Hathaway and Her Son During NBA Game