House Republican Radio Addresses

Electric bills are out of control, what about yours?

September 15, 2023

House Republicans continue to focus on rising energy costs and offer solutions This is Rep. Reagan Paul of Winterport with the weekly Republican address.  Mainers electric bills have skyrocketed and there’s no end in sight. When combined with the rising costs associated with the Biden Administration, the average Maine family is paying $7,500 more to […]

Read More

Mandating California Rules Regarding Electric Vehicles Will Needlessly Hurt Maine

September 1, 2023

Consumers should make their own decisions on whether or not to buy expensive electric vehicles, not unelected bureaucrats  This is Rep. Joe Galletta of Durham with the weekly Republican address.  Many people have heard by now, that unelected Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) regulators are considering a proposal that mandates the sales of electric […]

Read More

The Legislature has ended a popular program to help seniors remain in their homes

August 16, 2023

The Republican initiated Senior Property Tax Stabilization Program was eliminated after only one year  This is Rep. Donny Ardell of Monticello with the weekly Republican address. Many people have heard by now, but senior property tax bills will continue to rise starting next year over the objections of House Republicans. The most recent budget passed […]

Read More

Legislature fails to address rising electric rates

August 4, 2023

Public Advocate’s warnings go unheeded, expect even higher bills   Today I would like to address something that is affecting all Mainers. The first session of the 131st Legislature just concluded without addressing the problem of rising electric bills, despite Republican attempts to lower costs. Since the Public Advocate’s warnings went unheeded, listeners should expect […]

Read More

State Budget is nothing to cheer about

July 22, 2023

Spending is more important to Democrats than helping the people back home The Supplemental budget that just passed over Republican opposition, when combined with the partisan budget passed in March, is nothing to cheer about. It represents a failure to govern in a manner that includes the needs of all Mainers, especially those that work […]

Read More

Legislature is out of touch with people trying to survive

July 7, 2023

This is Representative Abden Simmons of Waldoboro with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. Just last month, I won a special election to represent District 45: Bremen, Friendship, Waldoboro, Washington and Louds Island. I did my best to listen to the people in those towns and the everyday challenges they face due to higher living costs. […]

Read More

Good Things Happen When Republican Ideas are Included

June 24, 2023

This is Representative Wayne Parry of Arundel with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. In a time of unprecedented surpluses, House Republicans have offered several proposals to help make life easier for Mainers by reforming our tax system so that workers and their families can keep more of what they earn to address rising costs.    […]

Read More

Sadly, Maine citizens are not the priority of this legislature

June 9, 2023

his is Representative Tim Guerrette of Caribou with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. House Republicans have been fighting for Maine taxpayers to keep more of what they earn in order to keep pace with the rising costs that are making Maine unaffordable. With Mainers burdened by rising electric, fuel, food, utility, and other costs of […]

Read More

Memorial Day Radio Address by Rep. Jim Thorne

May 26, 2023

On Memorial Day we gather together to recognize the sacrifices of veterans, military families, and families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. This is Representative Jim Thorne of Carmel with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. While many of us find our own unique mark we choose to leave on the world, we should all […]

Read More

Maine is increasingly becoming a destination state for all the wrong reasons  

May 12, 2023

This is Representative Katrina Smith of Palermo with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. Maine is one of the poorest states in the country, yet it is increasingly pursuing policies that attract newcomers based on the generosity of policy-makers spending other people’s money, and marketing the state as a safe haven for extreme medical procedures. The […]

Read More

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www.centralmaine.com/2023/09/21/rep-randall-greenwood-respect-maine-lawsuit-aims-to-hold-governor...

When I began serving in the Legislature, I never imagined I would be part of a lawsuit against a sitting governor, speaker of the House, and president of the Maine Senate. I want people to know why. It is a story of back-door dealings, lies and a phony adjournment.

Last March Republicans were shut out of the Appropriations discussions because they wanted to lower taxes, especially for low- to middle-income earners. Democrats hold the majority in both the House and Senate; their intent was to spend taxpayer money without lowering taxes.

On March 30, the Legislature voted on a Democrat-only budget, then shut down the Legislature three months early. The “unreasonable” Republicans were proposing cutting taxes on some of the most economically vulnerable Mainers. Not a single Republican representative or senator voted for that budget.

The Democrats pretended the Legislature’s work was done rather than pass the traditional bipartisan budget that needs a negotiated two-thirds “super majority” vote to pass by June 21. That is how it’s laid out in the Maine Constitution.

According to the Legislators’ Handbook, adjourning sine die “is the final adjournment of the legislative session when legislative business has been completed.” Passing their simple-majority budget should have put the rest of the legislative agenda on hold until the next session of the Legislature.

Our work was not complete. Several hundred bills remained to be acted on in order to address pressing issues facing Mainers. More than a fourth of all proposed legislation (including L.D. 1619, the governor’s signature abortion bill) had not even been printed by the Revisor of Statutes office.

Every Democrat still present in the legislative chambers voted to adjourn sine die. It was a lie. The intention was a pretend adjournment.

The following day, just hours later, Gov. Mills declared that an adjourned Legislature was an “extraordinary occasion” threatening the “public health, safety and welfare.” She ordered the Legislature to reconvene.

I personally hand delivered a letter to the governor asking specifically what occurred during those few hours for her to order us into a special session. She never responded. There was no emergency. There wasn’t even anything extraordinary. It was blatant collusion by the governor and the presiding officers to subvert the Constitution, disrespect the legislative process, and put their political agenda ahead of the people of Maine.

This decision was costly. Maine families are now going to absorb higher living costs and another tax hike despite Gov. Mills’ promise that she wouldn’t raise taxes. Democrats stripped the fiscal notes from countless bills before gaveling them into law, creating hundreds of millions of dollars in unfunded obligations waiting for the next budget.

We should never have enacted much of the atrocious legislation the resulting Special Session brought forth. In the face of historic involvement of constituents from all over the state, Democrats rallied around the most radical abortion bill in the country. The Democrats assaulted Maine families with legislation stripping parental rights, and a bill endorsing the mutilation of pubescent children in the name of “gender-affirming care.”

I chose to become a plaintiff in Clardy v. Jackson because I was unable to do the job that I was elected to do, for the people of Maine. I couldn’t protect my constituents from this unconstitutional special session. My questions went unanswered. My objections went unheeded. Democrat leadership must be held accountable for their political games. My fellow plaintiffs and I are up for that challenge. All of the lawsuit information can be found on Respect Maine’s website at www.respect-maine.org.

I’ll close with an admonition to my Democrat colleagues. One day, your actions will hit Maine hard. You will not be able to say, “OK for thee, but not for me.” Your decisions to strip the rights of the Maine people will come to roost. Whenever that day comes for you, remember that you chose loyalty and obedience to a party over doing what was right for the Maine people. Party over principle is never the way to lead and serve.

As I pursue this lawsuit with my fellow plaintiffs, we’re fighting to roll back the legislative injustices and the Unconstitutional actions committed against the Maine people.

If our lawsuit prevails, my esteemed colleagues will never have to truly deal with the consequences of their actions. That may be a blessing they do not want, but it’s the outcome that the people of Maine need.
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House Republican Radio Addresses

Electric bills are out of control, what about yours?

September 15, 2023

House Republicans continue to focus on rising energy costs and offer solutions This is Rep. Reagan Paul of Winterport with the weekly Republican address.  Mainers electric bills have skyrocketed and there’s no end in sight. When combined with the rising costs associated with the Biden Administration, the average Maine family is paying $7,500 more to […]

Read More

Mandating California Rules Regarding Electric Vehicles Will Needlessly Hurt Maine

September 1, 2023

Consumers should make their own decisions on whether or not to buy expensive electric vehicles, not unelected bureaucrats  This is Rep. Joe Galletta of Durham with the weekly Republican address.  Many people have heard by now, that unelected Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) regulators are considering a proposal that mandates the sales of electric […]

Read More

The Legislature has ended a popular program to help seniors remain in their homes

August 16, 2023

The Republican initiated Senior Property Tax Stabilization Program was eliminated after only one year  This is Rep. Donny Ardell of Monticello with the weekly Republican address. Many people have heard by now, but senior property tax bills will continue to rise starting next year over the objections of House Republicans. The most recent budget passed […]

Read More

Legislature fails to address rising electric rates

August 4, 2023

Public Advocate’s warnings go unheeded, expect even higher bills   Today I would like to address something that is affecting all Mainers. The first session of the 131st Legislature just concluded without addressing the problem of rising electric bills, despite Republican attempts to lower costs. Since the Public Advocate’s warnings went unheeded, listeners should expect […]

Read More

State Budget is nothing to cheer about

July 22, 2023

Spending is more important to Democrats than helping the people back home The Supplemental budget that just passed over Republican opposition, when combined with the partisan budget passed in March, is nothing to cheer about. It represents a failure to govern in a manner that includes the needs of all Mainers, especially those that work […]

Read More

Legislature is out of touch with people trying to survive

July 7, 2023

This is Representative Abden Simmons of Waldoboro with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. Just last month, I won a special election to represent District 45: Bremen, Friendship, Waldoboro, Washington and Louds Island. I did my best to listen to the people in those towns and the everyday challenges they face due to higher living costs. […]

Read More

Good Things Happen When Republican Ideas are Included

June 24, 2023

This is Representative Wayne Parry of Arundel with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. In a time of unprecedented surpluses, House Republicans have offered several proposals to help make life easier for Mainers by reforming our tax system so that workers and their families can keep more of what they earn to address rising costs.    […]

Read More

Sadly, Maine citizens are not the priority of this legislature

June 9, 2023

his is Representative Tim Guerrette of Caribou with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. House Republicans have been fighting for Maine taxpayers to keep more of what they earn in order to keep pace with the rising costs that are making Maine unaffordable. With Mainers burdened by rising electric, fuel, food, utility, and other costs of […]

Read More

Memorial Day Radio Address by Rep. Jim Thorne

May 26, 2023

On Memorial Day we gather together to recognize the sacrifices of veterans, military families, and families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. This is Representative Jim Thorne of Carmel with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. While many of us find our own unique mark we choose to leave on the world, we should all […]

Read More

Maine is increasingly becoming a destination state for all the wrong reasons  

May 12, 2023

This is Representative Katrina Smith of Palermo with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. Maine is one of the poorest states in the country, yet it is increasingly pursuing policies that attract newcomers based on the generosity of policy-makers spending other people’s money, and marketing the state as a safe haven for extreme medical procedures. The […]

Read More

Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

www.centralmaine.com/2023/09/21/rep-randall-greenwood-respect-maine-lawsuit-aims-to-hold-governor...

When I began serving in the Legislature, I never imagined I would be part of a lawsuit against a sitting governor, speaker of the House, and president of the Maine Senate. I want people to know why. It is a story of back-door dealings, lies and a phony adjournment.

Last March Republicans were shut out of the Appropriations discussions because they wanted to lower taxes, especially for low- to middle-income earners. Democrats hold the majority in both the House and Senate; their intent was to spend taxpayer money without lowering taxes.

On March 30, the Legislature voted on a Democrat-only budget, then shut down the Legislature three months early. The “unreasonable” Republicans were proposing cutting taxes on some of the most economically vulnerable Mainers. Not a single Republican representative or senator voted for that budget.

The Democrats pretended the Legislature’s work was done rather than pass the traditional bipartisan budget that needs a negotiated two-thirds “super majority” vote to pass by June 21. That is how it’s laid out in the Maine Constitution.

According to the Legislators’ Handbook, adjourning sine die “is the final adjournment of the legislative session when legislative business has been completed.” Passing their simple-majority budget should have put the rest of the legislative agenda on hold until the next session of the Legislature.

Our work was not complete. Several hundred bills remained to be acted on in order to address pressing issues facing Mainers. More than a fourth of all proposed legislation (including L.D. 1619, the governor’s signature abortion bill) had not even been printed by the Revisor of Statutes office.

Every Democrat still present in the legislative chambers voted to adjourn sine die. It was a lie. The intention was a pretend adjournment.

The following day, just hours later, Gov. Mills declared that an adjourned Legislature was an “extraordinary occasion” threatening the “public health, safety and welfare.” She ordered the Legislature to reconvene.

I personally hand delivered a letter to the governor asking specifically what occurred during those few hours for her to order us into a special session. She never responded. There was no emergency. There wasn’t even anything extraordinary. It was blatant collusion by the governor and the presiding officers to subvert the Constitution, disrespect the legislative process, and put their political agenda ahead of the people of Maine.

This decision was costly. Maine families are now going to absorb higher living costs and another tax hike despite Gov. Mills’ promise that she wouldn’t raise taxes. Democrats stripped the fiscal notes from countless bills before gaveling them into law, creating hundreds of millions of dollars in unfunded obligations waiting for the next budget.

We should never have enacted much of the atrocious legislation the resulting Special Session brought forth. In the face of historic involvement of constituents from all over the state, Democrats rallied around the most radical abortion bill in the country. The Democrats assaulted Maine families with legislation stripping parental rights, and a bill endorsing the mutilation of pubescent children in the name of “gender-affirming care.”

I chose to become a plaintiff in Clardy v. Jackson because I was unable to do the job that I was elected to do, for the people of Maine. I couldn’t protect my constituents from this unconstitutional special session. My questions went unanswered. My objections went unheeded. Democrat leadership must be held accountable for their political games. My fellow plaintiffs and I are up for that challenge. All of the lawsuit information can be found on Respect Maine’s website at www.respect-maine.org.

I’ll close with an admonition to my Democrat colleagues. One day, your actions will hit Maine hard. You will not be able to say, “OK for thee, but not for me.” Your decisions to strip the rights of the Maine people will come to roost. Whenever that day comes for you, remember that you chose loyalty and obedience to a party over doing what was right for the Maine people. Party over principle is never the way to lead and serve.

As I pursue this lawsuit with my fellow plaintiffs, we’re fighting to roll back the legislative injustices and the Unconstitutional actions committed against the Maine people.

If our lawsuit prevails, my esteemed colleagues will never have to truly deal with the consequences of their actions. That may be a blessing they do not want, but it’s the outcome that the people of Maine need.
... See MoreSee Less

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