The Maine House of Representatives is scheduled to convene Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Augusta. Late January House session days are usually pretty quick, lasting an hour or maybe a little more. The bulk of the calendar is filled with new bills being referred to their respective committees for public hearings, work sessions, and eventual committee vote reports. Also featured are the usual legislative sentiments recognizing the achievements of local communities and individuals. In addition to the usual legislative business, tomorrow’s calendar has several notable appointments and nominations.

The most notable of these are the appointments by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) to the Office of New Americans (ONA) Advisory Council. Fecteau has filled three seats that serve specific roles on the ONA Advisory Council.

ONA Advisory Council Appointees

Inza Ouattara, EdD, PMMP, of Lewiston, was appointed to the seat representing an organization providing refugee resettlement services. Ouattara is listed on the federal Health & Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement website as the Maine State Refugee Coordinator and key contact for federal issues and information. Catholic Charities of Maine Office of Refugee Services also lists Ouattara on their website, stating in his bio, “He coordinates and administers the federal refugee program in Maine and convenes the State Refugee Advisory Council. He develops and administers the refugee state plan.”

Under previous presidential administrations, Catholic Charities of Maine has been among the largest migrant re-settlement agencies, helping to facilitate the transportation of noncitizens into Maine and their dispersal throughout the state.

Lisa Parisio of Pittston was appointed to the seat representing a provider of legal assistance to immigrants. Parisio is a Policy and Outreach Attorney for the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project. IALP’s website states:

“Prior to ILAP, Lisa was the Director of Advocacy at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) where she oversaw CLINIC’s state and local advocacy project and federal policy portfolios. Lisa has particular expertise in law and policy around Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and was a co-founder of the TPS – DED Administrative Advocacy Coalition. Before CLINIC, Lisa worked at the International Refugee Assistance Project, where she continues to be a volunteer pro bono attorney on refugee cases. Lisa is a graduate of the City University of New York School of Law where she focused on economic justice, health law, and immigration/refugee law.”

Liam LaFountain of Biddeford was appointed to the seat representing a municipality. LaFountain is the current and youngest President of the Biddeford City Council. The Town of Biddeford website describes LaFountain’s policy priorities while he represents Ward 7:

“Liam is honored to be serving his second term on the Biddeford City Council, where he remains dedicated to preserving parks, enhancing the city’s recreational programming, improving pedestrian infrastructure, and promoting and advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. He is equally committed to fostering greater citizen participation & engagement in municipal government, with a strong focus on improving transparency in all aspects of governance.”

In addition to fleshing out the ONA council, Fecteau will also make appointments to the state’s Advisory Committee on the Fund to Address PFAS Contamination:

Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick) was appointed to the seat going to the Majority Party. Ankeles serves on the Transportation and Environment and Natural Resources Committees. His district, Brunswick, was also the site of the one of the largest and most recent PFAS contamination incident, in which fire suppression systems at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station accidentally released a large volume of PFAS into the surrounding environment.

Rep. Randy Hall (R-Dixfield) was appointed to the seat going to the Minority Party. Hall serves on the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee.

Fecteau made another appointment to the Working Group to Recommend Any Changes to Eligibility Standards for Expenditures from the Maine Mass Violence Care Fund with former House Democratic Assistant Leader Kristen Cloutier (D-Lewiston) to serve as the working group’s Co-Chair.

The House Calendar also includes a note from Gov. Janet Mills accepting the House of Representative’s invitation to give her ‘State of the Budget’ (note: it’s not a ‘State of the State’ speech) on Tuesday evening in the House Chamber during a joint convention of the House and Senate.

Mills also nominated the Honorable Ann M. Murray of Bangor for reappointment as a Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Her confirmation will be heard in the Judiciary Committee and will have a committee vote before advancing to a full vote in the Maine Senate.

One notable piece of legislation that was referred to the Judiciary Committee for a public hearing, debate, and vote was L.D. 260, a Resolution – ‘Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Establish That All Maine Residents Have Equal Rights Under the Law’. This bill was sponsored by Rep. Holly Sargent (D-York) and Senator Rachel Talbot-Ross (D-Cumberland) and co-sponsored by every House Democrat.

Once the House and Senate conclude their business tomorrow the Maine Wire will have a wrap up report for any legislative news that occurred during the day that was not listed on the House Calendar. The Maine Wire will also be covering the State of the Budget speech live from the State House and with commentary after, which you can follow on Facebook and X.