AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine lawmakers convened Wednesday without a mask requirement for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, voting on an election integrity proposal and a needle exchange expansion.
The Maine House advanced a bill aimed at protecting election integrity, voting 76-55 to clarify the chain of custody of ballots and voting machines.
“Our elections are the foundation of our democracy,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Teresa S. Pierce, D-Falmouth. “I am grateful that the House voted today in support of keeping our elections secure.”
The House also gave initial approval by a 77-54 vote to allow state regulators to craft rules to increase the number of syringes provided through needle exchange programs.
“2021 was the deadliest year in Maine’s opioid epidemic. This crisis requires a sharper focus on harm reduction and treatment,” said the sponsor, Rep. Genevieve McDonald, D-Stonington.
Wednesday marked the first time the full Legislature gathered since legislative leaders lifted the mask mandate last week.
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Anger boiled over last year when seven conservative lawmakers entered the State House without wearing masks, frustrated over rules that were stricter than those in place for the public at large. That resulted in the lawmakers losing their committee assignments.
The vote by the Legislative Council to lift the masking requirement for lawmakers was anticlimactic, and it came against a backdrop of declining COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine.
A universal masking recommendation for public schools and child care providers was also lifted on Wednesday.
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