1' 'l 1- Kiri}; if): 1- HI 1 HL Gwyn-mtn: I 13' 1 All.? rim 'Hl 53'1 Atlr'iN MAINE '5 3 a} 'i June 29, 2015 The 127th Legislature of the State of Maine State House Augusta, Maine Dear Honorable Members of the 127th 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 a veto of LD 1019, ?An Act Making Uni?ed Appropriations and A110- cations 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 End- ing June 30, 2015, June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2017.? The Maine people made it quite clear in November they want tax relief and welfare reform. As soon as legislators returned to Augusta, they got busy ignoring the wishes of the Maine people. They dilly-dallied for ?ve months, then patched together a business-as-usual budget at the last minute. Secretive, late-night decisions made under the cover of darkness and behind locked doors resulted in a budget based on the best interests of a handful of politicians, not what is best for the 1.3 million peOple of Maine. In contrast, the Governor?s comprehensive budget was prepared by dozens of people over several months, analyzed by experts and put out for public scrutiny. Politicians used the false threat of a government shutdown as an excuse to push through a poorly con- structed budget that is largely devoid of reform. Their scare tactics were not only morally indefensible, they were completely unnecessary. We submitted a Governor?s bill to to keep government open during budget negotiations. The bill, LD 1450, ?An Act To Enact an Interim Budget,? is now awaiting action from the Legislature. If the House and Senate really want to craft a budget to bene?t the Maine people, they can approve this bill to keep government open. They can keep working until they negotiate a truly meaningful budget. While Mainers want to reduce the size of government, this budget grows state government by $3 00 mil- lion. Despite a strong desire by the Maine people to continue with welfare reform, this budget actually expands the welfare system. It is driving us backward down the wrong road. Tl] This Budget is Soft on Drug Traf?cking, Although we have increased education funding ev- ery year, liberal politicians complain the state does not provide enough money for education. Then they killed a bill to fund an important initiative that would provide zero to low-interest loans to Maine students in the STEM ?elds. The Portland school system received so much extra state aid for education, liberals diverted the city?s share of school funding to give welfare to illegal aliens and undocumented immigrants. This kind of shell game with the taxpayers? money will be chal- lenged by the Executive Branch. MDEA arrested Timothy Duval of Sanford on Jan. 31 and charged him with Traf?cking Heroin and Possessing Cocaine. He regulary traveled to Mass. to buy drugs to sell in Maine. Even worse, this budget will quite literally be paid for with the lives of Mainers. The drug epidemic continues to ravage our streets?nearly 1,000 ba- bies are born each year addicted to drugs and 208 Mainers died of drug overdoses in 2014. Rather than fund an adequate number of MDEA agents to hunt down the ruthless out-of?state drug MDEA arrested Jeffrey Aviles of the Bronx, New York on June 4 in Waldoboro for Aggravated Traf?cking in Crack Cocaine and Posses- sion of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. 1 MDEA agents arrested Ymmar Dockery of New Haven, Conn. on March 4 and charged him with i Aggravated Traf?cking in Heroin and Crack Cocaine in Bangor. $15,000 in cash and three guns were seized. traf?ckers that are in?ltrating our communities and killing our children, Augusta politicians chose to expand welfare to able-bodied people and to de- fund services for our elderly and disabled. Elderly and disabled Mainers are rightfully entitled to healthcare, but they are left sitting for years on waitlists without basic services. Politicians provid- ed only $6 million toward the waitlist, when the true need is another $40 million?which I allocated in my original budget. MDEA arrested Norberto Colon of Brockton, Mass. on May 7 in Presque Isle and charged him with Aggravated Traf?cking in Heroin and Violations of Conditions of Release. Choosing to protect drug traf?ckers and allowing more babies to be born drug-addicted, instead of providing our most vulnerable with the services they need and deserve, is simply unconscionable. Politicians in Augusta 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 Continued to Page 3 Results in Drug-Addicted Babies . . . Continued from page 2 even more funding from the state. They watered down General Assis- tance reform to reward cities that insist on giving local taxpayers? money to illegal aliens. Clearly, the health and public safe- ty of Mainers is not a priority of the 127th Legislature. Instead, Au- gusta politicians snuck in a $4 million ?Christmas tree? adorned with piggy projects for legislators, such as buying federal land in Kit- tery, buying an unneeded ?Frances 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 legisla- tors was presented With no public notice or input. This is exactly the Nearly three babies 3 day are being born either addicted to or affected by drugs. kind of back-room politics the people of Maine the state. sent me here in record numbers to prevent. Too many elected politicians are Willing to disen- franchise the Maine people in exchange for feed- ing off the public trough, even at the expense of our most vulnerable and needy citizens. The days of pork-barrel spend? ing?and Christmas in June? must end. At the very least, I will bring these politicians? actions to light for all Mainers to see. My administration has been work- ing for ?ve years to create an ef- ?cient government, but that is an oxymoron to the 127th Legislature. They must set aside their self-serv- ing political agendas and put the hard-working people of Maine ?rst. Mainers should have a say in how the money they have earned is be- ing spent, and they should be in? cluded in the budgeting process. I took my budget directly to the people of Maine, holding 10 public town hall meetings up and down But legislators failed to embrace transparency in a budget that affects the 1.3 million people they Continued to Page 4 2014 WAS THE DEADLIEST YEAR 0N RECORD FOR MAINERS USING DRUGS An analysis released on June 15, 2015 by the Maine Office of the Attorney General revealed that 208 people in Maine died in 2014 due to drug overdoses an 18% increase over the previous year. These substances range from cocaine to heroin and other Opioids. The analysis reveals a shocking increase in the number of deaths due to heroin - jumping from 34 in 2013 to 57 in 2014. . . . and Outs Services for the Elderly, the Mentally and Physically Disabled A Bangor Daily News story on June 15, 2015, titled ?Lack of services for adult son with autism prompts Carmel family?s move out of Maine,? detailed one family?s inability to get services for their autistic son. BDM PHOTO Continued from page 3 claim to represent. They shut Mainers out of their budget process, and they refused to let them vote on whether the income tax should be eliminated. Mainers deserve to have the debate over whether the income tax should be phased out. The future of our state depends on our ability to be competitive with the nation and the world. We must work aggressively each year to acknowledged as a bold and comprehensive plan to modernize, reform and restructure how Maine does business. Unfortunately, it proved too big a concept for some of the small minds in the Legislature to grasp. A report that aired January 30, 2014, titled ?No Help In Sight For ?Lost Group? On Wait List For MaineCare Services,? highlighted ?f the plight of Bradley LaPointe, Who was on a wait list for in-home care. '1 . a" war.- HI In exchange for political expediency, they submit- ted a budget that fails to provide meaningful tax relief, rolls back welfare reforms and endangers the health and safety of our children, cut back the income tax until it is gone?then ensure it never comes back. We need younger people to move to Maine. I will continue to insist that each bill get a two?thirds vote until the Legislature shows it is will- ing to give the Maine people the democracy they deserve by allowing them to vote on a Con? stitutional amendment to get rid of the income tax. our eldely. My budget proposal was widely The Governor?s budget fully funded nursing homes. The Legislature stripped out most of the funding for our elderly and our most vulner- able citizens. Therefore, I am vetoing the 127th Legislature?s budget. I ask each one of you to stand up for the Maine people and support this veto. Sincerely, Quail. 0 Paul R. LePage Governor