Respect Maine is a non-profit organization which advocates for a responsible government that respects both the Constitution and the people of Maine. We are Maine residents, and all of our members are Maine residents.

Respect Maine has joined with concerned Maine residents and elected legislators in challenging the constitutionality of both the state Legislature’s presiding officers' parliamentary maneuvers and Governor Janet Mills subsequent proclamation ordering the Maine legislature into a special session. In plain English, we see their shenanigans as thumbing their nose at the state Constitution.

This lawsuit was filed after Governor Mills and the majority in the state legislature colluded to pass a “this is our baseline” budget at the end of March by a simple majority vote instead of building a bipartisan budget. Because they chose not to obtain a two-thirds majority vote, that budget would not become law until 90 days after the Legislature ended its regular session. If they didn’t adjourn by the first day in April, their budget gambit would shut down the state government when the current fiscal year ended on June 30.

The presiding officers weren’t willing to give up the rest of their party’s agenda just to get their budget on time, so before adjourning, they asked the legislators for permission to reconvene so quickly they wouldn’t have to reschedule any meetings. They didn't get that permission, but it was too late to change course, so they were forced to rely on Governor Mills to reconvene the Legislature immediately after they adjourned.

Stepping up to fulfill her role in the plan, Governor Mills proclaimed that a legislature adjourning with business left pending now constitutes an “extraordinary occasion.” Based on this, she ordered the Legislature to immediately reconvene and resume meeting to conduct its business – coincidentally, on the same day the presiding officers had suggested. This proclamation allows the partisan budget to take effect, the Democrat majority to resume pushing their legislative agenda, and even opens the door for the majority to continue passing legislation unabated for the rest of the year.

This proclamation makes a mockery of the separation of powers because it forces the Legislature to legislate to Governor Mills’ satisfaction. Governor Mills’ actions also conflict starkly with her own published legal opinions. Back in 2015, as Maine’s Attorney General, she wrote that it is solely up to the Legislature to determine when its own legislative session is over, and added: “for another branch of government to reinterpret the decision of the Legislature [as to when its session ended] might well violate . . . the Maine Constitution.”

Because we're not attorneys, we've had to retain one to force the Governor and presiding officers to defend their actions in court. If they can't convince a panel of judges that they did nothing wrong, we are asking the courts to undo their handiwork. That costs money.

As a citizen-led initiative, our resources are limited. This has the potential to be very costly. Our pockets are not bottomless. We need as many people chipping in WHAT YOU CAN so we can continue this fight...for as long as it goes. The actions our governor and legislature have taken affect EVERY Mainer. The remedy will affect EVERY Mainer.

Please join us in our fight today to hold our government accountable to representing the people of Maine.

Thank you

Respect Maine

respect-maine.org

www.facebook.com/RespectMaine

This campaign is unpublished.

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