Housing and guns will be among the hotly debated topics when Maine lawmakers return for the second regular session a week from Wednesday.
The current Legislature is no stranger to either issue, but both are expected to take on added significance because of an ongoing dearth of affordable housing and the worst mass shooting in state history in October.
Recent polling suggests housing and homelessness are top of mind for Maine voters, while the massacre in Lewiston continues to yield strong views from both sides of the gun debate.
The 2024 election will undoubtedly influence policy outcomes because it will determine which party will control the Legislature for the final two years of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills' second term.
So far, lawmakers will tackle more than 500 bills and the introduction of others is still a possibility.
The Legislature is also expected to craft a change to the two-year budget to allocate an anticipated revenue surplus.
