AUGUSTA, Maine - Following in the footsteps of the Maine House, the Republican-controlled Senate has voted to keep $60 million worth of spending initiatives that Gov. Paul LePage tried to strike out of the state budget.
The Senate overwhelmingly and quickly rejected each of the governor's 64 line-item budget vetoes on Friday. The House, led by Democrats, voted to override the vetoes Thursday evening.
Assistant House Majority Leader Sara Gideon, a Freeport Democrat, said the override process unified House members of all political stripes.
"We really felt this degree of being in something together and working in a way that shows the people of Maine that we're here for them and we're not really here to play games," Gideon said.
The debate over the $6.7 billion spending plan is still not over. LePage is expected to veto the budget as a whole and he has until June 29 to do so. The budget would need to, again, win two-thirds support in both chambers by July 1 in order to go into law and prevent a government shutdown.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.