Maine Congressional Bills

passed · Maine · Senate Jul 21, 2025

SRES 276: A resolution designating June 12, 2025, as "Women Veterans Appreciation Day".

This resolution designates June 12, 2025, as "Women Veterans Appreciation Day" to recognize the service and sacrifices of women veterans. It does not create new policies or affect specific programs, but symbolically honors women who have served in the military since the Revolutionary War, including their roles in recent conflicts and current service (18% of active duty personnel as of 2023). The resolution highlights women veterans' contributions and unique challenges, such as military sexual trauma, while encouraging their stories to be shared through the Veterans History Project. It is a commemorative gesture without legislative or financial impact.

Topics ✓ Veterans

in committee · Maine · House Jul 21, 2025

HR 4575: Jobs in the Woods Act

The Jobs in the Woods Act establishes a federal grant program to fund career training in forestry operations and products industries. It provides competitive grants (ranging from $500,000 to $2 million over up to 4 years) to eligible entities like nonprofits, states, tribes, or community colleges in targeted rural areas. These areas must be nonmetropolitan low-income communities, have broadband access, or have populations under 50,000. Grants require applicants to demonstrate regional need, plan for program sustainability, partner with schools, and address aging workforces or youth migration. The program is funded at $10 million annually from 2026 through 2030.

Topics ✓ Education ✓ Labor & Employment

in committee · Maine · Senate Jul 17, 2025

S 2344: Department of Veterans Affairs Claim Sharks Effective Warnings Act of 2025

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to display clear warnings on all public-facing VA websites and online tools about predatory practices. Specifically, it mandates that VA websites warn veterans not to share their account login credentials or bank account information (like usernames/passwords) with anyone. The law amends existing VA procedures to add this security warning as a standard message during website logins. The Chief Veterans Experience Officer will implement these changes, effective 180 days after the bill's enactment. The policy directly affects veterans using VA online services by strengthening protections against fraudulent agents targeting their personal information.

Topics ✓ Technology ✓ Veterans

in committee · Maine · Senate Jul 17, 2025

S 2350: Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act of 2025

This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to keep all personal information from DACA applications confidential. It prohibits sharing this data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or state/local law enforcement for any purpose other than administering the DACA program. Limited exceptions allow sharing only to prevent fraud, address specific national security threats, or investigate felonies unrelated to immigration status. The law directly protects DACA applicants and recipients by preventing their personal details from being used against them by law enforcement.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice ✓ Immigration ✓ Technology

Martin Heinrich (D) · 28 co-sponsors

in committee · Maine · Senate Jul 17, 2025

S 2346: Preparing Election Administrators for AI Act

This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to create voluntary guidelines for state and local election offices on managing artificial intelligence (AI) in elections. The guidelines must address AI's risks and benefits, cybersecurity threats, how AI affects sharing accurate election information, and how it might spread disinformation. The EAC must also study AI's use in the 2024 federal elections by July 2026 and update the guidelines based on that study. These guidelines are non-binding, meaning election offices choose whether to adopt them, and they aim to help election administrators navigate AI tools responsibly.

Topics ✓ Technology

in committee · Maine · Senate Jul 17, 2025

S 2330: Preparing And Retaining All (PARA) Educators Act

This bill creates a federal grant program to help schools recruit and retain paraprofessionals - school support staff like teaching assistants - who work directly with students but lack full teaching credentials. It allocates funds to states based on prior Title I education funding, requiring states to prioritize schools serving high numbers of low-income students or designated "high-need" schools. Funds can be used for mentoring programs, professional development, credentialing (like special education or English learner certificates), and wage increases or bonuses for paraprofessionals. The program mandates annual reporting on wage baselines, paraprofessional numbers, and how funds were used to address shortages.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Education ✓ Labor & Employment

in committee · Maine · House Jul 17, 2025

HR 4515: Climate Change Health Protection and Promotion Act of 2025

This bill establishes the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate federal efforts addressing climate change's health impacts. It requires the creation of a National Strategic Action Plan to identify communities most affected by climate-related health threats - including environmental justice communities, medically underserved communities, and Tribal communities - and develop strategies for preparedness and response. The plan must address specific health impacts like extreme heat, air pollution, infectious diseases, and mental health effects, while prioritizing health equity and environmental justice. The bill also creates a Science Advisory Board to provide expert guidance and authorizes funding for these initiatives over several years. These provisions are designed to strengthen the health sector's ability to respond to climate change impacts across the United States.

Topics ✓ Environment ✓ Healthcare

Doris O. Matsui (D) · 24 co-sponsors

in committee · Maine · House Jul 17, 2025

HR 4477: PRICE Act

HR 4477, the PRICE Act, creates a new federal grant program to improve affordable manufactured housing communities. It provides funds for infrastructure, repairs, safety upgrades, and community services in communities that are affordable to low- and moderate-income residents (at or below 120% of area median income) and either owned by residents or committed to remaining affordable. Eligible projects include replacing homes (excluding pre-1976 units), weatherization, accessibility modifications, and resident services like eviction prevention. The program prioritizes projects that preserve long-term affordability for low-income residents and is open to community groups, local governments, tribes, and nonprofit housing organizations.

Topics ✓ Housing

in committee · Maine · House Jul 17, 2025

HR 4476: Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act

This bill restricts federal law enforcement officers and military personnel (including National Guard) from conducting crowd control, arrests, or detentions during protests, demonstrations, or riots outside federal property unless specific exceptions apply. It requires officers to visibly display their agency and name/identifier during such operations and prohibits using unmarked vehicles or obscuring identification. Federal agencies must also publish public notices within 24 hours after deployments, detailing the date, personnel numbers, mission purpose, and detainee locations. These provisions apply to all federal law enforcement actions involving civil disobedience or public demonstrations, with exceptions only for state/local written requests or emergency federal action under the Insurrection Act.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

in committee · Maine · House Jul 16, 2025

HCONRES 44: Recognizing a health and safety emergency disproportionately affecting the fundamental rights of children due to the Trump administration's directives that unleash fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, while suppressing climate change science.

HCONRES 44 is a symbolic resolution recognizing a health and safety emergency for children linked to the Trump administration's climate policies. It claims these policies - unleashing fossil fuel production, blocking renewable energy, and suppressing climate science - disproportionately harm children through increased air pollution, extreme weather, and denied access to climate data. The resolution calls for reversing these policies, restoring the EPA's mission, and ensuring climate action aligns with protecting children's rights. It does not enact new laws or change policy, but serves as a formal congressional statement of concern.

Topics ✓ Energy ✓ Environment

signed · Maine · Senate Jul 16, 2025

S 331: HALT Fentanyl Act

Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl Act This act permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Under the act, offenses involving fentanyl-related substances are triggered by the same quantity thresholds and subject to the same penalties as offenses involving fentanyl analogues (e.g., offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term). Additionally, the act establishes a new, alternative registration process for certain schedule I research. The act also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, including permitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances, waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, and allowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration. Finally, the act expresses the sense that Congress agrees with the interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act in United States v. McCray , a 2018 case decided by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. In that case, the court held that butyryl fentanyl, a controlled substance, can be considered an analogue of fentanyl even though, under the Controlled Substances Act, the term controlled substance analogue specifically excludes a controlled substance.

Topics ✗ Criminal Justice ✗ Healthcare

Bill Cassidy (R) · 31 co-sponsors

in committee · Maine · House Jul 16, 2025

HR 4434: Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act of 2025

This bill would require cosmetic suppliers to provide brand owners with detailed safety information about ingredients, including environmental and health hazards, chemical properties, and testing results. It creates a new FDA list of "nonfunctional constituents" (chemicals with no purpose in the product but potentially harmful to health or the environment) and mandates testing for these substances. Suppliers must provide certificates of analysis showing levels of these substances before selling to brand owners. The bill also establishes recordkeeping requirements for the entire cosmetic supply chain to facilitate recalls or investigations. These requirements apply to cosmetic manufacturers, suppliers, and brand owners, with the FDA responsible for implementation and enforcement.

Topics ✓ Environment

Maine Congressional Bills

Bill results