It’s Easter weekend, but the only Easter egg to be found under the dome in Augusta is just another goose egg on the scoreboard for anything even close to resembling an emergency to justify this current emergency session. The House and Senate will meet tomorrow at 10am for legislative business before the holiday weekend.

On the docket are the usual bill references, legislative sentiments and divided reports. Two bills being referenced tomorrow caught my eye. One is a great idea and the other has failed every time it’s been tried.

Freshman Representative Quentin Chapman (R-Auburn) has submitted LD 1683 “An Act to Make a Freedom of Access Act Request Free of Charge upon Petition.” It’s scheduled to go to the Judiciary Committee where it will meet stiff resistance from the elected Democrat lawyers who largely make up the majority side of the committee’s members. The bill itself is a great start to make Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) requests actually accessible for all citizens.

Often FOAA requests are met by the receiving agency with a demand for large fees for any query that might take actual work. In Maine, public servants tell those members of the public who come asking that information costs extra, often a lot extra. Hats off to Rep. Chapman for pushing the issue so that it gets a public hearing.

The second bill, LD 1682, is from Rep. Laurie Osher (D-Orono) and is called “An Act to Increase Fairness in the Income Tax by Adding Higher Tax Brackets and Tax Rates.” Rep. Osher’s greatest hits include LD 1735 from the 131st Legislature that came to be known under the dome as the transgender trafficking bill. Also, in the 131st she was able to pass the current ban on ‘paramilitary training’ that willfully disregards the Bill of Rights and Maine state constitution Article 1: Section 16.

Her latest great idea would impose three new rates. These rates would affect those in higher brackets and ding them for 8.15%, 9.15% and 10.15%. If LD 1682 passes and the new Paid Family Medical Leave tax stands, it might just chase anyone productive out of the state. It will also make it more difficult to recruit and retain the next generation of physicians and medical specialists that serve the needs of our aging state. I guess who needs doctors if all of the hospitals are closing because legislative Democrats don’t pay their medical debts.

There are three Divided Reports that the House will take up tomorrow. Only one is of note. None of them are within a country mile of an emergency that would require the Governor to call a special session. Tomorrow in Governor Mill’s special emergency session there will be a hot debate about hot food containers. LD 827 “An Act to Allow the Sale of Polymer-coated Cookware That Is Authorized for Food Contact by the United States Food and Drug Administration” comes from the Environment and Natural Resources Committee with an almost party line vote. Rep. Dick Campbell (R-Orrington) joined the Democrats on an ‘Ought Not to Pass’ report. All other committee Republicans voted for food transportation freedom.

It’s unclear if the debate will be as spicy as a to-go order of General Tsao’s Chicken or whether it will just go under the hammer. If the bill were to pass, it would likely make life easier and the costs lower for Maine’s struggling small businesses.

The Senate Calendar is largely mirrors that of the House. It’s full of administrative non-emergency fluff. The Senate will vote on all of the bills that the House voted on during Tuesday’s session. It’s a light calendar and Senators might even be able to make an afternoon tee time if they don’t have a committee meeting at 1pm.

The Maine Wire will be covering the slow wheels of government as they roll along tomorrow. Follow us on X and Facebook for the latest updates.