Linda Valentino

You have to love the end of session in the Maine State Legislature. In the final 24 hours, they raised taxes on beer, soda and health insurance, reconfigured the education consolidation bill and rearranged the country jail system.

In the midst of the chaos, one truly remarkable thing happened; the education lobby and the state employees association lost a huge battle over retirement funding, LD 1693 - An Act to Restore Equity to the Maine Public Employees Retirement System. In case you were wondering -- any time you see the words "restore equity" in a bill title, hold on to your wallet.

The Appropriations Committee spent some time on Thursday reviewing a claim by the administration that there was a deliberate effort by the Maine Arts Commission, the Maine State Museum, and other cultural agencies to hide the fact that these agencies used public funds to pay for private lobbying activity.  That is against the law in Maine -- which is pretty funny when you think of it - since most departments have their own lobbyists.  Maybe the State doesn't like the competition.