Political analysis

Two major news developments this week – one tragic, the other more political – overshadowed other events in Maine this week. And both could impact policy debates in Augusta and around the state in the coming months.

One week after budget negotiations suddenly broke down, Democrats in the Legislature passed a $9.8 billion spending plan late Thursday that will keep government offices open after July 1 but that left Republicans fuming.

Such a move – “majority budget” in Augusta-speak – is rare, but it happened as recently as 2021. And it could happen next week.

In many ways the address mirrored the first one that took place 21 years ago. This time, however, the tribes addressed state lawmakers who are far more receptive to their main goal — greater self-governance — than the legislators who preceded them.

Notwithstanding independent U.S. Sen. Angus King’s inclusion in the very online “Twitter Files” hullabaloo, the final full week of February was relatively quiet in Maine politics. For that reason, this week’s edition of the Pulse will be brief as we empty the notebook.

There were a few hot topics that the governor did not mention despite her potentially pivotal role in the policy outcomes.

In this week's Pulse: the debate on paid family leave, Mills to address the state next week, Penobscots ‘open for business’ as Biden emphasizes American-made, and aballot battle update.

Maine lawmakers have started the 2023 legislative session by introducing an unusually high percentage of placeholder bills that purport to tackle big issues, but are void of any details that might inform the public of their purpose, price tag or impact.

As expected, Mills didn’t propose sweeping new initiatives or massive expansions of existing programs as part of her two-year budget proposal. Instead, it was the total dollar figure of the governor’s budget proposal — $10.3 billion — that drew the most initial attention.

Mills, all white in suffragette-style and wearing a pair of iconic “Bean Boots,” gave an aspirational inaugural address, front loaded with accomplishments and backfilled with a to-do list for her next four years in office.