STATE OF MAINE
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
1 STATE HOUSE STATION
AUGUSTA, 
0433343001

Pant R. LePage



H. 

June 18, 2015

The 127th Legislature of the State of Maine
State House
Augusta, Maine

Dear Honorable Members of the 1271'1 Legislature:

Under the authority vested in me by Article IV, Part Third, Section 2-A of the Constitution of the
State of Maine, I am hereby executing line-item vetoes of a number of allocations contained
within LD 1019, ?An Act Making Uni?ed Appropriations and Allocations for the Expenditures
of State Government, General Fund and Other Funds and Changing Certain Provisions of the
Law Necessary to the Proper Operations of State Government for the Fiscal Years Ending June
30, 2015, June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2017.? These vetoes are included on the attached sheet.

Mainers want a budget that can be used as a blueprint for prosperity for our great state. Instead,
legislators delayed the process for ?ve months, then presented a business-as-usual budget
patched together at the last minute. Secretive, late-night decisions made under the cover of
darkness and behind locked doors have led to a budget based on the best interests of handful of
politicians, not what is best for all the people of Maine.

As the drug epidemic continues to ravage our state?with nearly 1,000 babies born each year
addicted to drugs and 208 Mainers dead of drug overdoses in 2014?it is appalling that
politicians would rather fund their own pet projects than prevent ruthless out-of-state drug
traf?ckers from infiltrating our communities and killing our children.

Because politicians are so busy capitulating to special interests and kowtowing to social?justice
activists prowling the halls of the State House, they ignore our elderly, disabled and mentally ill
citizens. These Mainers are rightfully entitled to healthcare, but they are left sitting for years on
waitlists without basic services. Politicians have submitted a budget that provides only $6 million
toward the waitlist, when the true need is another $40 millionwwhich I allocated in my original
budget. 

They also rejected my plan to overhaul the state?s General Assistance program, which
encouraged cities like Portland to spend more of local taxpayers? money so they could get more
funding from the state. Politicians watered down General Assistance reform to reward cities that
insist On giving loCal taxpayers? money to illegal aliens.

Clearly, the health and public safety of Mainers was not a priority of the 127th Legislature.
Instead, Augusta politicians snuck in a $4 million ?Christmas tree? adorned with piggy projects

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for legislators, such as buying federal land in Kittery, building an unneeded ?Francis Perkins
Homestead,? paying for a commission disguised as initiative to end hunger and creating entirely
new projects.

Maine taxpayers deserve to know how every dollar of their money is being spent, but this
?Christmas tree? with gifts for certain legislators was presented with no public notice or input.
This is exactly the kind of back-room politics the people of Maine sent me here to prevent.

Too many Augusta politicians are willing to disenfranchise the Maine people in exchange for
feeding off the public trough, even at the expense of our most vulnerable and needy citizens. The
days of pork?barrel spending and Christmas in une?rnust end. At the very least, I will bring
these politicians? actions to light for Mainers to see.

 

My administration has been working for ?ve years to create an efficient government, but that is
an oxymoron to Augusta politicians. They must put aside their petty political agendas and put the
hard-working people of Maine ?rst. Mainers deserve to have a say in how their money is being
used, and they should be included in the budgeting process. I took my budget directly to the
peOple of Maine, holding public town hall meetings up and down the state.

Until Augusta politicians bring transparency to their budget process, I will continue to veto
legislation that is not in the best interest of all Mainers. I ask each one of you to stand up for the

Maine people and support these vetoes.

Sincerely,

   

   

Paul R. LePage 
Governor