AnnMarie Hilton

5 days ago | mainemorningstar.com | AnnMarie Hilton

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to change oversight of child welfare in Maine to mirror the approach taken by its neighboring state. Assistant House Majority Leader Lori Gramlich (D-Old Orchard Beach) said she modeled her bill after the New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate. , which has two Republican and seven Democrat cosponsors, would transfer Maine’s existing child welfare ombudsman into a new, independent agency with expanding responsibilities to advocate for Maine children.

1 week ago | mainemorningstar.com | AnnMarie Hilton

by AnnMarie Hilton, Maine Morning Star May 8, 2025 Heeding the advice from the Maine Legislature’s Democratic leadership, the Labor Committee is not endorsing proposals that would make substantial changes to the state’s new paid family and medical leave program. While voting on a series of bills related to the new benefit program Wednesday afternoon, the majority of the committee threw its support behind just two of them.

1 week ago | mainemorningstar.com | AnnMarie Hilton

Lawmakers have endorsed a bill this session that would grant farmworkers in Maine the right to minimum wage and has the potential to finally make it off the governor’s desk. The Legislature’s Labor Committee voted 6-1 with multiple members absent to endorse LD 589, which would give agricultural workers the right to state minimum wage and mirrors the proposal Gov. Janet Mills put forward last session.

1 week ago | mainemorningstar.com | AnnMarie Hilton

Three Maine organizations joined a nationwide coalition of nonprofits that sued the Trump administration in federal court Monday after being stripped of grant funding. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Maryland, seeks to block the administration’s attempt to dismantle the AmeriCorps program without congressional authorization. In late April, the national service and volunteerism agency canceled nearly $400 million in grant program funding.

1 week ago | mainemorningstar.com | AnnMarie Hilton

by AnnMarie Hilton, Maine Morning Star May 6, 2025 A familiar name has entered the race for the Blaine House, as Angus King III has announced his campaign for governor. The son of independent senator and former governor Angus King Jr. is running as a Democrat in the 2026 gubernatorial election, according to a news release from his campaign. His candidacy paperwork was not available on the Maine Ethics Commission website as of early Tuesday morning.