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Summer and Fall have nearly come and gone and that means that the second session of the Maine Legislature is coming over the horizon. The Legislature will commence in January to finish the work left from the first session and deal with any remaining budgetary issues that will come up before the 2026 midterm election kicks off.
In the second session, the Legislature does not allow all bills to have a hearing. As of now, no new bills that have been allowed in by the Legislative Council should have any impact to ABC or its member companies. Our Government Affairs team at Dirigo Public Affairs has been keeping a close eye on all new bills that have been proposed and watching for any problematic new legislation.
ABC Maine is still following 9 bills that were carried over from the last session that will be dealt with in one way or another by the end of session. Adjournment is scheduled for mid April 2026.
The second session is shaping up to be largely uneventful and likely deadlocked. In the House, Democrats have lost 2 members during the Summer break. Rep. Ed Crockett (D-Portland) has unenrolled and launched an independent campaign for Governor. Rep. Kristen Cloutier (D-Lewiston) has resigned and taken over as Senate President Mattie Daughtry’s chief of staff. This leaves no party with a majority. Democrats have 74 members, Republicans have 73, and there are 3 independents and 1 vacancy. This will make compromise necessary and progress slow.
The session will likely be colored by Governor Mills’ recent announcement to run for the US Senate seat currently held by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). The Maine Senate race is likely to be one of the most high profile ones in the country as both parties see it as necessary for their dreams of a majority. Sen. Collins has not declared for election as of yet, but it is highly expected that she will.
Other major news in Maine politics is the sudden and unexpected announcement from US Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME-02) to not seek reelection in 2026. Rep. Golden cited family and overall DC burnout as the reason for his decision. This came after State Auditor Matt Dunlap announced a primary challenge to Rep. Golden. Former Governor Paul LePage is currently the only declared candidate on the GOP side. Many national election forecasters immediately moved the race prediction from Lean D to Likely R.
The open gubernatorial seat is also being hotly contested by 5 Democrats, 8 Republicans, and 2 independents and there are likely more to follow.
ABC Maine’s Government Affairs committee is scheduled to start meeting regularly starting on December 3, 2025. If you’d like to listen in reach out to Hope for more information!