AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Legislature took final votes on bills and resolves, then headed home shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday.
Lawmakers will return to deal with line-item vetoes, vetoes of legislation and a few pieces of unfinished business, but for the most part their work is done.
During the marathon session that stretched from Friday into the early hours Saturday morning, the House and Senate passed a biomass industry bailout bill, essentially killed the sixth attempt to expand Medicaid eligibility in Maine, gave pay raises to state troopers, reached compromise on tightening rules for the use of public assistance benefits, agreed to ask voters to borrow $150 million and sent a pile of bills to Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
LePage has 10 business days to act on the bills. Lawmakers plan to return next week to deal with any line-item adjustments he makes to spending, then later in April for a final day of votes on vetoes that are sure to come.
For a blow-by-blow account of the final day of the session, check here.