AUGUSTA, Maine - Republican lawmakers have introduced a proposal to provide more than $2 million in emergency funds to county jails.
The proposal introduced by Sen. James Hamper and Rep. Tom Winsor Tuesday would fund the five county jails that the Board of Corrections has warned will run out of money before the end of the fiscal year in June.
Resignations have brought the five-member board down to two members and Gov. Paul LePage says he won't nominate anyone to the board until lawmakers create a new plan for how to run the jail system.
That means the board doesn't have a quorum and can't take action to distribute the funds.
The proposal would address that issue by creating a "receiver,'' who would bypass the board and provide the funds to the jails.