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What we're reading
— The Bangor Daily News' Caitlin Andrews explains Maine tribes' long battle for more sovereignty, which will continue with a legislative hearing this morning on their preferred proposal. It is a consequence of tribes' 1980s settlement with the state that left them fewer rights than other tribes across the country enjoy. They are on the cusp of progress this year with Gov. Janet Mills offering to make changes including giving tribes control of mobile sports betting, but those changes are politically fraught and fall short of what they have argued for.
— Maine school districts that still have mask mandates in effect are thinking about how to wind them down as nearby states start to relax their policies. In the Hampden-area district, schools will continue masking until March 11. Schools that see steady transmission decreases over the two weeks after that will go to optional masks.
— The state will be powering through a massive backlog of positive COVID-19 tests in the coming days, a step that will lead to inflated counts. During the rise of the omicron variant, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention was deluged by positive tests and was not able to quickly process them. The state is now automating the process of checking tests to verify someone has not tested positive more than once recently. |
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Follow along today
9 a.m. The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the sweeping tribal sovereignty effort. It should be a long one, with more than 200 pieces of written testimony filed already. Watch here.
The Legislature's marine resources panel will work on bills affecting the lobster industry, including those to start a relief fund and a separate legal aid fund to fight new federal restrictions. Watch here.
10 a.m. The health committee will hear two Democratic bills that would address health care access and require the state to notify hospitals of impending nursing home closures. Watch here.
The insurance panel will hold hearings on bills aimed at lowering prescription drug costs. Later in the day, it will hear a bill that would require health insurance plans to cover prescription contraceptives without deductibles or copays. Watch here.
12 p.m. Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, will hold a virtual news conference on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. |
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| 📷 Lead photo: Former President Donald Trump holds an autographed pumpkin during a campaign visit to the Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant on Oct. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) |
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