Law

A bill to make it easier to recycle both single-use alkaline and lithium-ion batteries in Maine has been signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills.

Mainers are one step closer to being able to utilize compact, plug‑in solar kits to reduce their household’s energy bill, with the legislature’s passage of LD 1730.

The lawsuit claims the repeal violates the Clean Air Act, ignores the scientific record and abandons safeguards that protect communities living near and downwind of coal plants. In Maine, mercury levels in fish, loons and eagles are among the highest in North America.

The program provides employees up to 12 weeks of benefits for major life events, starting May 1. Funding for the benefits will be supported by payroll taxes.

The Chamber says LD 1870 is “costly, redundant and unnecessary.” More than two dozen business associations have expressed their opposition to the bill.

In a case with broad implications for one of Maine’s premier industries, a fifth-generation lobsterman is asking the nation's highest court to throw out round-the-clock GPS tracking requirements for every federally licensed lobstering vessel.

The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the Bangor Police Department, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles' enforcement services division.

The Ensuring Benefits for Disabled Veterans Act would address a cumbersome rule in federal law that creates delays in connecting veterans with benefits.

The Maine Senate has secured independent repair shops’ access to diagnostic data by sustaining the governor’s veto of amendments to the law.

The newly proposed legislation includes a provision that would allow manufacturers to control how data would be accessible to independent repair shops.