Maine Legislature

Gov. Janet Mills has vetoed five bills enacted by the Maine Legislature and lawmakers have been unable to muster the two-thirds support needed to override her.

Nearly 300 bills had received initial approval in the House and Senate but were awaiting funding decisions by the budget-writing committee. Lawmakers will vote on more than 80 of those on Wednesday as well as at least five vetoes from Gov. Janet Mills.

The roughly $320 million spending bill would provide tens of millions of dollars to nursing homes and plug a funding shortfall in the state's Medicaid program. But it would also increase taxes on tobacco, cannabis and popular video and audio streaming services.

The bill, aimed at preventing local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration law, faces additional votes in the House and Senate.

While proposal prohibiting transgender girls from competing on girls' and women's sports teams narrowly cleared the House, it was defeated in the Senate alongside a slate of other related bills.

Gov. Janet Mills wants to continue offering high school grads two years of free community college. But a legislative committee is recommending that the program end with the Class of 2025.

Barring a reversal, the votes could doom a slate of bills that have gained scrutiny following the February confrontation between Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump.

The vote came after Democrats in the House narrowly defeated several other measures that aimed to change Maine's policy. The outcome remains unclear, however, because the Senate has already rejected a similar bill.

Housing advocates have said that the bills will support Maine resident cooperatives in purchasing their parks and prevent large, out-of-state real estate investors from coming into the state.

Lawmakers are expected to vote on eight different bills in the coming days that seek to change Maine's current policy allowing students to compete on athletic teams based on their gender identity.