So. What are you doing this Valentine's Day? You're personally invited to our Advocacy Day on February 14. We would love ❤️ to have you join us. It's our annual lobby day, and a time to celebrate the anniversary of the League’s founding on February 14, 1920.
Join us in Augusta for a day of speakers, education, and action around strengthening our democracy. In the morning, we will hear from legislators sponsoring some of our priority bills followed by opportunities to talk to your own legislators. In the afternoon, we will have Tea at the Blaine House and a panel discussion. Click here to RSVP.
Here are your weekly updates 👇
Now that preliminary bills are out, each one is referred to the appropriate committee, and each bill has a public hearing. This is the time for everyone to offer their opinion on the legislation through testimony. It's an important step in the process. Fun fact: not every state requires each bill to have its own public hearing, but that's how we do it in Maine.
A quick guide to acronyms:
- Our bills usually appear before the State and Local Government (SLG) or Veterans and Legal Affairs (VLA) committee. We'll use SLG and VLA when referring to those.
- When submitting testimony, you can say you support, oppose, or stand "neither for nor against" on a bill. We'll use NFNA for the latter.
Here are the bills that the League is tracking. We'll start off with the bills that have the nearest public hearing date.
- LD 26 — Prepaid Postage for Absentee Ballots: This bill would require the Secretary of State to provide prepaid postage on the return envelopes for absentee ballots for U.S. mailings only, not overseas. We appreciate the public spirit of this bill, but we’re researching some logistical complexities. Its public hearing will be on February 6 at 10 AM in the VLA committee.
- LD 34 — Photo ID: This bill would require voters to show photo ID at the polls on Election Day. The League always opposes these bills. They disproportionately disenfranchise BIPOC, elderly, disabled, and poor voters. Its public hearing will be Feb. 6 at 10 AM in the VLA committee.
- LD 237 — Voter Re-registration: This bill would require voters to renew their voter registration every four years. We have some new measures in place (Automatic Voter Registration and membership in ERIC, the national voter registration database) that are much better solutions for keeping the voter rolls current. We’ll oppose this one. Its public hearing will be on February 6 at 10 AM in the VLA committee.
📝 There are more bills to come. Stay tuned.