Governor Janet Mills today signed LD 1209, An Act To Require Legislative Hearings on Citizen-initiated Legislation, sponsored by Representative Bradstreet of Vassalboro and Senator Jeff Timberlake of Androscoggin.
“Good public policy is best achieved through robust discussion and debate,” said Governor Mills. “By signing this legislation into law, we are strengthening the referendum process and ensuring that the people of Maine have access to critical information through the public hearing process so they can make informed decisions on the questions before them. I thank Representative Bradstreet and Senator Timberlake for bringing this legislation forward and for securing strong bipartisan support in the Legislature.”
“I’m happy to see this commonsense bill gain broad bipartisan support. This new law will bring much needed transparency to the referendum system by requiring every measure be vetted by the Legislature before it is sent out for a vote. The more people know about a referendum and its financial backers before they vote, the better. Thanks to Governor Mills and my colleagues for their support,” said Senator Timberlake, R-Androscoggin.
“This bi-partisan legislation benefits all Mainers by respecting the citizen initiative process and providing clarity to ballot initiatives,” said Rep. Richard Bradstreet, R-Vassalboro. “We all benefit from greater transparency and unbiased information before making important decisions.”
LD 1209 requires that a petition for the direct initiative of legislation, once it has been certified by the Secretary of State, be submitted for consideration by the Legislature to receive a public hearing before a joint standing committee of the Legislature or a special legislative committee established by the Legislative Council. The public hearing must be conducted in the same manner as other public hearings.