Maine lawmakers are now looking to have the final say over what civil lawsuits are brought by the state’s Attorney General.

In recent years, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has pursued litigation on a host of controversial topics, as well as joined a number of suits challenging the policies of President Donald Trump’s (R) administration.

This year, Attorney General Frey has filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration for the president’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, as well as for allowing Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to have allegedly improper access Americans’ private information and sensitive data.

Frey has also joined lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration’s decision to cut “indirect cost” reimbursements to research institutions, as well as to freeze other funding streams for federal agency grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs.

Late last year, Frey also sued fossil fuel energy companies — including Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP, Sunoco, and the American Petroleum Institute — for allegedly “deceiving Mainers for decades about the role of their fossil fuel products in causing climate change.”

Under a bill introduced by Rep. William R. Tuell (R-East Machias), legislators would have the final say on whether or not the state’s Attorney General can bring any given civil suit.

LD 1008 would direct the Judiciary Committee to consider any case that the Attorney General has proposed to bring on behalf of the State and to submit a recommendation to the full chamber on whether or not it should be given the green light.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate would then be able to approve the lawsuit by a majority vote.

This legislation also would establish a procedure for Maine citizens to require the Attorney General to drop a particular lawsuit once it has been brought.

Citizens would have the ability to file an application for a petition with the Secretary of State’s Office, at which point the Attorney General would need to file a motion to stay proceedings until the petition process is completed.

Mainers would than have one year to collect 500 signatures. If successful, the Attorney General would be required to dismiss the lawsuit in question.

LD 1008 has been referred to the Judiciary Committee for further consideration, but a public hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Click Here for More Information on LD 1008

Rep. Tuell, alongside a number of other lawmakers, have also taken more targeted aim at Frey’s recent lawsuit against major oil companies.

LD 635 is a resolution explicitly directing the Attorney General to “dismiss and withdraw” from this case, referred to as State of Maine v. BP, PLC, et al.

A public hearing was held on this resolution earlier this month, with limited comment submitted online.

While representatives of the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and Maine Youth for Climate Justice testified against the resolution, Harris Van Pate of the Maine Policy Institute offered testimony in support of it.

Those testifying in opposition to the resolution emphasized that the Attorney General was operating within his authority when he brought this suit. CLF also argued that it would be “bad public policy” for the Legislature to “second-guess the Attorney General’s assessment that this litigation will advance the interests of Mainers.”

The Maine Policy Institute, on the other hand, argued that the resolution represents a “critical step in ensuring that Maine’s government focuses its resources on policies that will effectively serve the people of our state rather than engaging in costly and politically-motivated legal actions against private industry.”

This testimony goes on to suggest that the state could pursue its climate-related goals by prioritizing “free-market environmental solutions” instead of engaging in “legal retribution,” which Van Pate argues could set a “dangerous precedent.”

Lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee will continue to consider this resolution in the coming weeks before eventually reporting out a recommendation to the full Legislature.

Click Here for More Information on LD 635

Disclaimer: The Maine Wire is a project of the Maine Policy Institute.