Political Pulse

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.

The calendar will soon flip to February. It’s time to empty the notebook with a look back and ahead.

Gov. Janet Mills and Democratic legislative leaders this week previewed a slate of priority abortion bills that expand and further safeguard access to the procedure. Among the proposals is one that would waive Maine’s current abortion restriction after fetal viability — about 24 weeks — if approved by a medical professional.

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.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills discussed the election and a range of other issues during a 30-minute interview with Maine Public this week.

It took less than 10 hours for the smiles, back-slaps and warm-and-fuzzy feelings on the opening day of the session Wednesday to fade away and for partisan tensions to rear up in the Maine Legislature.

Here are three hefty issues likely to come up early into the session.

The 2022 election is over and most of the results are settled. It’s time to clear out the campaign notebook.

In this week’s Pulse: Election Day is Tuesday. Here's what comes next.