A Second Refusal to Convene by My Republican Colleagues: A Weekly Update for August 3-7

It’s sad to see, but once again, the vast majority of my Republican colleagues have refused to even answer the constitutionally-required poll that would allow us to reconvene the Legislature for a special session. This is the second attempt that Speaker Sara Gideon and I have made to reconvene now that COVID-19 cases in Maine continue to fall.

In this week's update, I take some time to respond to the common talking points put out there by my Republican colleagues.

Republican Talking point #1 💬: "It's too dangerous to go back into session."

Fact #1 ✅: Just last week, Republicans pushed to lift safety measures for COVID, including getting rid of testing. Even more relevant than that, we have worked hard to find the safest, most effective way to convene in accordance with recommendations from the Maine CDC.

Republican Talking point #2 💬: "We want to focus on COVID-related items."

Fact #2 ✅: Just last week, Republican leadership on the Legislative Council refused to vote on three COVID bills.

Republican Talking point #3 💬: “We can’t have an endless session.”

Fact #3 ✅: Democratic & Republican lawmakers spent the last month going through the committee process to identify 163 bills to move forward.

Republican Talking point #4 💬: “We don’t have an agreement on the bills.”

Fact #4 ✅: 74% of the reports coming out of the open committee process were bipartisan.

The reality is, we have a narrow window while cases are low in Maine. Now is the time to safely convene in Augusta and get back to work.