AUGUSTA, Maine - While there are fewer veterans serving in Congress than ever before, they comprise a growing proportion of the Maine House and Senate.
The upcoming session in January could be shaping up as another big year for former soldiers around issues of housing, education, employment - and justice.
Bolstered by the support of Gov. Paul LePage, the last Legislature passed a number of bills to assist veterans - one that urges federal compensation for former Maine National Guard soldiers who may have been exposed to toxic chemicals during training exercises.
There were also bills to provide Iraq and Afghanistan veterans a property tax exemption that veterans of other wars had already been granted. And there was another that provided in-state tuition rates for all veterans who attend Maine state universities and community colleges.
Freshman state Rep. Jared Golden is a Lewiston Democrat and a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a Bates College student, he says he learned about the kinds of challenges vets face as they attempt to access higher education.
"What I found, personally, and what I think many veterans do coming home, is they're non-traditional students," Golden says. "Many of us had bills already that we had to pay, and therefore we're not always just going to school as full-time students. And even when we are, we still have bills to pay."
Golden - a former staffer for Sen. Susan Collins on veterans' issues - says one of the bills he would like to see in the upcoming session is a tax credit that would ease the financial strain for veterans. He's also in favor of a proposal to examine existing benefits and programs extended to homeless veterans to make them more focused.
"We may need something out of the state, essentially a coordinating role that would help bring all of these resources together, and kind of direct how we try and tackle the problem," Golden says.
Although the final stats for the makeup of the Legislature aren't in yet, state Rep. Mick Devin, a Newcastle Democrat, says there could be more than 30 veterans among the incoming members. Devin, a Navy veteran, says that kind of representation reflects the importance that vets play in the state.
"We veterans bring in about $850 million a year into the state, so that's just under $1 billion annually," Devin says. "So it's a very strong constituency economically for the state."
Devin says one of the most ambitious legislative efforts for veterans has its roots in a pilot program in the state criminal justice system. Maine Veterans Court is designed to better serve vets who may have difficulty adjusting to lofe back home. If they commit crimes as a result, the court provides an alternative to lengthy sentences in the form of drug counseling and other forms of therapy, as well as close monitoring.
Maine Republican House Leader Ken Fredette, of Newport, who also serves in the Air National Guard as a judge advocate general, says the program has been a success.
"When those people come back and they are possibly dealing with PTSD, for example, that we have options to provide for them when they may be having issues coming back and resettling into civilian life," Fredette says. "So I think the military court makes sense."
The Veterans Court may be poised to expand this year beyond its pilot phase in central Maine, possibly south to York County. Kennebec and Somerset County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney oversees the pilot program, and she says the court performance so far merits expansion.
"It is obviously up to the Legislature," Maloney says. "I would love to see a Veterans Court in York County, where they have a high veteran population."
Lawmakers are awaiting a report from Maloney on the pilot project to guide their discussion on possible expansion next year.