New Proposed Bill Would Ban Tenant Application Fees for Maine Renters

For the past few years, state legislators in Augusta have passed a variety of bills to address Maine's housing crisis. A few examples include one piece of legislation to study zoning laws and land use restrictions, and another to help cities and towns cover the cost of building affordable housing units to reduce homelessness.

Now lawmakers are looking to address another barrier to finding affordable housing – tenant application fees. Representative Kessler of South Portland recently introduced LD 691: An Act to Reduce Barriers to Housing by Prohibiting Tenant Application Fees.

The proposed legislation, “prohibits a landlord from requiring a person to pay a fee in order to submit an application to enter into an agreement to rent a residential dwelling unit.”

As we’ve previously reported, 1 in 5 Maine renters pay more than half their income toward housing costs, and, for every family living in an affordable, federally subsidized unit, nearly three families are on a waiting list.

Navigating the housing market is hard enough during these times. The last thing Maine families need right now is additional barriers to finding the shelter they need. We applaud Rep. Kessler for introducing this legislation and we look forward to seeing its passage in the near future.

Safeguarding Absentee Voting Is a Win for our Democracy

Absentee voting remains one of the easiest and most effective ways for Mainers to participate in the democratic process. This voting method allows all eligible voters to cast a ballot outside a polling place once they request a ballot, which is delivered to them via postal mail. During the 2022 midterm election, at least 250,000 Mainers voted absentee.

Now lawmakers are looking to strengthen this democratic jewel with a new legislative bill that would allow all registered voters to sign up to automatically receive an absentee ballot in the mail each election. Senator Mattie Daughtry of Cumberland recently introduced LD1690: An Act Regarding Ongoing Absentee Voting and Tracking of Absentee Ballots.

This bill would:

• Make all Maine voters eligible to receive their absentee ballot in the mail each election automatically without having to request one each time they vote.

• Allow all Maine voters who sign up to receive an absentee ballot each election the abililty to track their ballot electronically once it is sent out to them.

• Require the Secretary of State to notify all voters who sign up for this program when their ballot has been sent, when their clerk receives their ballot, if their clerk finds a problem with their ballot, if the voter hasn’t returned their ballot in a timely fashion, and when their ballot is cast.

This measure would bolster absentee voting across the state, and encourage civic engagement during election season as advocates continue to push for a permanent list in Maine. We look forward to seeing the passage of LD1690 in the near future.

Visit the state of Maine’s website to learn more about absentee voting.

Maine Legislators Look to Address Income Disparity in the Healthcare Sector

In Maine, our hard working healthcare workers play a critical role in ensuring that our families and communities remain healthy and safe. During the toughest periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, the vast majority of these Mainers stepped up to curb the spread of the virus.

The bulk of these health care practitioners are registered nurses (RNs) and nursing assistants, who make up roughly half of the healthcare occupation in Maine hospitals. Despite their essential role in the healthcare sector, many are often forced to go toe-to-toe with hospital executives in order to prove their worth.

Reports indicate that in recent years, Maine hospitals have paid their chief executives more than the national average. Now, lawmakers seek to address this disparity in compensation.

Senator Tipping of Penobscot recently introduced LD 1321: An Act to Address Income Disparity in Health Care by Limiting the Compensation of Hospital Executives. The bill would essentially limit the total annual compensation for an executive at a hospital to no more than five times the median compensation of a full-time registered professional nurse at that hospital.

Proponents of the bill say that funds from excess compensation to chief executives are needed elsewhere to improve conditions for nurses and other hospital staff.

All working people deserve fair compensation and working conditions, including those who work everyday to keep Mainers healthy. LD 1321 would lessen the income gap in Maine hospitals and strengthen the healthcare sector in the process. Mainers For Working Families looks forward to seeing the passage of this bill.