Maine Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Maine, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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When Maine's Legislature gets an initiated bill, can it call a special election sooner than the next general election, and can a two-thirds majority be required for any companion measure?
AG Rowe attached two earlier authorities: AG Opinion 86-8 (April 9, 1986) said the Legislature may by joint order require a special election sooner than the general election on an initiated bill, and …
After Maine voters approved slot machines at harness tracks, how much could a host municipality regulate the racino, set ballot conditions, or charge fees?
The initiated racino legislation did not preempt traditional municipal regulation like land use and law enforcement, and a town could set conditions like location on the local approval referendum. But…
If Maine voters approve the Tribal Gaming Act by citizen initiative, what would the casino look like, who would regulate it, and could the Legislature change it later?
AG Rowe gave eight detailed answers but could not give clean ones. Many provisions are ambiguous or in tension with the federal Settlement Act, the Maine Implementing Act, and Maine constitutional lim…
Can Maine's state business-loan agency insure or extend a loan to build a church?
No. FAME's Small Business and Veteran's Insurance Programs and Economic Recovery Loan Program target commercial enterprises. Churches don't fit, and direct state subsidy of church construction would l…
Can a Maine sheriff use Community Corrections Program account funds to pay the local match on a federal grant funding juvenile prosecutor positions?
It depends on the facts. Community Corrections Program account funds may pay the local match on a federal juvenile prosecutor grant only to the extent the prosecutor positions actually deliver 'commun…
When a Maine state hospital replaces a predecessor facility, can it use the new legislatively chosen name and take over the old statute's functions even before the statutes are formally rewritten?
Yes on both counts. The Attorney General concluded the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services could rely on 2001 Resolves ch. 79 to name the new facility Riverview Psychiatric Center, and…
What rules apply when a Maine legislative advisory council uses a university staffer for fundraising, and what records and gift-solicitation rules apply to the legislators on the council?
The Attorney General concluded the Muskie School had to staff the Legislative Youth Advisory Council from existing resources or grants under 3 M.R.S.A. § 168-A(10); Muskie's records relating to that w…
Can the Maine Legislature pass a law that tells voters which municipal decisions they're not allowed to overturn through a citizen initiative or referendum?
No. The Attorney General concluded LD 389, both in original text and as amended, would violate Article IV, Part 3, § 21 of the Maine Constitution because it tried to limit the substantive areas of mun…
Can Maine's Legislature create a trust to lock in dedicated revenue funds and stop a future Legislature from sweeping them?
No. The Attorney General concluded the Legislature cannot establish a trust over public dedicated revenue funds that would prevent a later Legislature from reallocating them. An irrevocable public-fun…
Can Maine's Legislature take money out of a dedicated revenue fund, like the PUC Conservation Administration Fund, and sweep it into the General Fund?
The Attorney General concluded that the Legislature could transfer $600,000 from the Public Utilities Commission's Conservation Administration Fund to the State's General Fund because the fund was a d…
When does a regular legislative bill have to be sent to Maine voters as a 'competing measure' against an initiated bill on the same topic?
When the regular bill deals broadly with the same subject as the initiated bill, particularly in a way that is inconsistent with the initiated bill so that the two cannot stand together (Farris ex rel…
When a Maine Governor curtails spending mid-year, does the Legislature have to mirror the cuts by reducing appropriations in a supplemental budget?
No, the Legislature is not legally required to deappropriate the curtailed funds. But the AG flagged real benefits: it locks in the cuts permanently, brings the budget into actual balance, and strengt…
In Maine, can a sitting Probate Judge serve in the State Senate if elected?
No. The Maine Constitution flatly bars a probate judge from holding both offices. Articles III, VI, and IX each prohibit it through different mechanisms (separation of powers, judicial-officer office-…
If Maine cancels school funding mid-contract, does the state owe a vendor like Apple money for laptops already delivered?
Mostly no. Maine's contract with Apple for the Maine Learning Technology Endowment included a non-appropriation clause. If the Legislature de-appropriates, the state owes only rent already due plus a …
Who can call the Maine Legislature back into a special session, and how does the required polling of legislators work?
Only the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House can issue the call, but only after polling all legislators and obtaining the consent of a majority of each political party's caucus. The M…
Can a Maine governor cut school aid using an ability-to-pay formula rather than a flat percentage when revenues fall short?
The Maine AG concluded the governor had authority under 5 M.R.S.A. § 1668 to curtail General Purpose Aid using an ability-to-pay formula (85% property valuation, 15% income) rather than a uniform perc…
Can a Maine governor reduce General Purpose Aid for schools without calling the Legislature into special session?
The Maine AG concluded the governor's reduction of General Purpose Aid did not exceed his legal authority under 5 M.R.S.A. § 1668 and that nothing in the statute or constitution required him to call a…
Is Maine required to balance its budget, and how broad is the governor's power to cut spending mid-year when revenues fall short?
The Maine AG concluded that Me. Const. art. IX, § 14 effectively requires a balanced budget by sharply limiting state debt, and that 5 M.R.S.A. § 1668 authorizes the governor to temporarily curtail al…
Who manages activities in the Penobscot River Corridor inside Baxter State Park, the Baxter Park Authority or the Bureau of Parks and Lands?
Deputy Attorney General Paul Stern advised that, consistent with Governor Percival Baxter's deeds of trust, the Baxter State Park Authority oversees all activities (including recreational ones) within…
Do Maine Capitol Security officers who can make arrests have to complete the same police academy training as municipal police?
The Maine AG concluded that when Capitol Security personnel are given arrest authority under 25 M.R.S.A. § 2908, they become 'law enforcement officers' subject to the mandatory MCJA training requireme…
Can the Maine Harness Racing Commission allow telephone wagering at licensed tracks without a statute that authorizes it?
The Maine AG concluded the Harness Racing Commission could not authorize telephone wagering by rule. Maine law (8 M.R.S.A. §§ 275-B, 275-C) requires pari-mutuel sales to occur within the enclosure of …
If a Maine plant changes hands and then closes, does severance pay cover years the employee worked under previous owners?
The Maine AG concluded that under 26 M.R.S.A. § 625-B(2), severance pay is calculated by the employee's total years of work in the establishment, regardless of any change in ownership during that serv…
Are Maine drivers for interstate trucking companies entitled to overtime under state law even when federal rules exempt them?
Chief Deputy Attorney General Linda Pistner withdrew a 1966 internal memorandum that had concluded Maine's overtime wage law (26 M.R.S.A. § 664) did not apply to certain interstate motor carrier emplo…
Did the Maine Turnpike Authority chair violate state conflict-of-interest law by voting on a turnpike interchange while owning nearby property?
After an investigation requested by Governor King, the Maine AG concluded that Maine Turnpike Authority Chair Julian Coles did not violate the substantive conflict-of-interest prohibition in 5 M.R.S.A…
Can the Maine Senate elect two co-Presidents to share the office at the same time?
The Maine AG concluded the Maine Constitution does not permit two co-Presidents of the Senate. Article IV, Part 2, § 8 contemplates a single President. The President is first in the line of gubernator…
Was the Aroostook Band of Micmacs required to file a certificate with the Maine Secretary of State under the 1989 Settlement Act, and what happens if no certificate was filed?
Deputy Attorney General Paul Stern responded to outside counsel that he had reviewed his original files concerning the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act of 1989 (P.L. 1989, c. 148) and found no…
Can Maine give its Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribal representatives a vote in the Legislature, and what privileges can they get without it?
The Maine AG concluded that letting a Tribal Government Representative cast a counting vote on the House floor would violate both the U.S. and Maine Constitutions under the 'one person, one vote' rule…
Can the Maine Legislature designate confirmation committees by simple resolution, and can it extend its session by majority vote despite a statutory adjournment deadline?
The Maine AG concluded that the 'as provided by law' clause in Me. Const. art. V, pt. 1, § 8 modifies all of the preceding committee-composition language, and that the Maine Legislature can designate …
Can Maine fund a State House connector with Governmental Facilities Authority bonds without a statewide vote under the constitutional debt limit?
The Maine AG concluded LD 2259 was constitutionally permissible. Bonds the Maine Governmental Facilities Authority would issue for the State House connector and related renovations do not constitute s…
How should Maine treat increases in pension unfunded liability that result from court rulings, as an experience loss or as a revised certification?
The Maine AG concluded that the Board of Trustees of the Maine State Retirement System could treat an adverse ruling in Parker v. Wakelin as a revised certification of the June 30, 1996 unfunded liabi…
Can the Maine Legislature pass forest-practices amendments while a competing measure on that subject is pending before voters?
No. The Maine AG concluded that the Legislature may not enact legislation inconsistent with a competing measure that is pending before voters in a runoff referendum. The rule from Farris v. Goss (1948…
Can Maine spend Highway Fund money on ferries?
Yes, but only for ferries that carry motor vehicles as part of the state highway system. The Maine AG concluded that the constitutionally dedicated Highway Fund could support a ferry that functions as…
Does Section 19 of L.D. 1892 (the Compact for Maine's Forests) need a two-thirds vote to be enacted as a competing measure?
The Maine AG concluded that Section 19 of L.D. 1892, which prescribed how the Compact for Maine's Forests would be submitted to voters as a competing measure to the citizen-initiated clearcutting ban …
Can the Maine Legislature appropriate against the state's reserve account for uncollectible tax receivables?
The Maine AG concluded that the Bureau of Accounts and Control's reserve account for doubtful tax receivables is properly maintained under 5 M.R.S.A. § 1541(1) and generally accepted accounting princi…
Does the Maine Legislature need a two-thirds vote to enact a competing measure to an initiated bill?
No. The Maine AG concluded that a competing measure to initiated legislation requires only a simple majority. The constitutional provision authorizing competing measures (art. IV, pt. 3, § 18(2)) does…
Can a buyer of the Waterville Hathaway plant qualify for Maine E-TIF benefits by rehiring the existing workforce?
No. The Maine AG concluded that a purchaser of the Hathaway plant in Waterville could not qualify for reimbursement under the Maine Employment Tax Increment Financing Act by retaining the seller's wor…
How can the Maine Legislature respond to a pending clearcutting initiative without forcing every related bill to go to voters?
The Maine AG told Senate President Butland that any forest-practices bill inconsistent with L.D. 1819 must be submitted to voters as a competing measure (Dorsky rule), unless the Legislature enacts it…
Can the Maine Legislature pass forest-practices legislation at a special session in response to a pending clearcutting initiative?
Yes. The Maine AG told Governor King that the Legislature could enact a competing measure to L.D. 1819 at a special session (not only at the regular session), and that it could also pass legislation c…
What did Maine's 1995 constitutional amendments on retirement funding actually require, and who do they cover?
The Maine AG read the 1995 amendments (Me. Const. art. IX, §§ 18-A, 18-B) to (1) cover service retirement, disability retirement, and death benefits as 'retirement and ancillary benefits,' but not gro…
Can the same person hold both a Maine LURC seat and a Franklin County Commissioner seat at the same time?
No. The Maine AG concluded the offices of Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) member and Franklin County Commissioner are incompatible at common law. A LURC member sits in quasi-judicial review of p…
Could Maine constitutionally let the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages set the markup on spirits and fortified wine to hit a fixed revenue target?
Yes. The AG concluded LD 1706's proposed 28-A M.R.S.A. § 1651-A(1), which would let the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations set the wholesale markup on spirits and fortified wine to p…
Can the Maine Legislature let Sardine Council members cash out a share of Council assets and let the Council set its own excise tax rate?
Mixed answer. The AG concluded the Legislature could authorize a pro-rata refund of Sardine Tax assets if the Council dissolved, treating it as a tax refund to all who paid in. But it could not author…
Can a Maine municipality use a TIF district to pay public money directly to a private developer, and does that violate the equal-apportionment-of-taxes clause?
Yes on both counts. The AG concluded a municipality could appropriate TIF proceeds to a private taxpayer where the indirect economic-development benefits qualify as a public purpose under Common Cause…
Did Maine's state laws give the Department of Environmental Protection enough authority to run a Title V Part 70 air-quality permitting program?
Yes. The AG certified to EPA that Maine's combination of the Administrative Procedure Act provisions in 5 M.R.S.A. §§ 8001-11008, 38 M.R.S.A. (the air pollution laws), and DEP Regulations Chapters 100…
Can the Maine governor lay off state workers or stop spending appropriated funds to push through Productivity Task Force changes before the Legislature acts?
Mostly no. The AG concluded the Governor could trim All Other spending and lay off employees to capture productivity savings, but could not use either lever to eliminate a statutorily mandated state p…
Could the Maine AG prosecute legislative staff for documents found on Capitol computers under the state-computer-misuse statute?
No prosecution recommended. The AG analysis concluded none of the four categories of documents found on legislative computers would support a § 1890-B prosecution: political documents that did not adv…
Can Maine constitutionally credit interest earned on Highway Fund investments to the General Fund?
No. The AG concluded the 1991 amendment to 5 M.R.S.A. § 135, which directed that interest earned on Highway Fund investments be credited to the General Fund, was unconstitutional under Me. Const. art.…
Would a Maine bill exempting migrant-labor mobile home parks from health and safety regulation violate equal protection?
Yes. The AG concluded LD 507, as amended, would violate the equal-protection clauses of the U.S. and Maine Constitutions. The amendment would have stripped migrant-labor mobile home parks of the licen…
Would Maine's proposed takings bills (LD 170 and LD 1217) trigger Article IX, Section 21's mandate clause and force the State to fund local compliance?
Yes. The AG concluded LD 1217 and LD 170 would constitute mandates under Me. Const. art. IX, § 21 in at least three ways: temporary-takings compensation owed by a municipality even after it stops regu…
Would Maine's proposed bans on professional strikebreakers and permanent replacement workers (LD 686 and LD 316) be preempted by federal labor law?
Yes, both. The AG concluded LD 686 (banning professional strikebreakers via civil injunction) and the LD 316 committee amendment (banning permanent replacement workers) would very likely be found pree…
Does Maine's LD 1217 takings bill just restate constitutional property protections, and is it retroactive?
No on both counts as framed. The AG concluded LD 1217's compensation scheme, triggered when laws cut a property's value by 50 percent or more, departed markedly from constitutional takings law and wen…
Do the proposed amendments to LD 1412's Section D-4 fix the constitutional problem flagged in Op. 95-6?
Yes. The AG concluded the parallel amendments H-182 and S-102 cure the constitutional infirmity identified in Op. 95-6. Instead of letting the Governor unilaterally implement statutory amendments afte…
Is LD 1412 Part D (the Productivity Realization Task Force budget mechanism) constitutional, particularly its Section D-4 authority for the Governor to implement statutory amendments without legislative action?
Mixed. The AG concluded Section D-5 of LD 1412 (authorizing the Governor to transfer positions and balances to achieve a $45 million productivity savings target) would survive nondelegation and separa…
Would Maine's LD 537 (extending binding arbitration to municipal labor disputes over salaries, pensions, and insurance) be an unfunded mandate?
Yes. The AG concluded LD 537, which would amend 26 M.R.S.A. § 965(4) to make controversies over salaries, pensions, and insurance subject to binding arbitration (instead of advisory arbitration), woul…
When does Maine's initiated bill LD 716 (repealing the motor vehicle emission inspection program) take effect, and can the Legislature pass it as an emergency?
Both questions answered. The AG concluded that if the Legislature enacted initiated bill LD 716 (repealing the motor vehicle emission inspection program) without invoking the emergency clause, it woul…
Can Maine's Legislature divert pre-1992 appropriations to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and over-appropriated funds in excess of actual department revenues, to other purposes despite the Article IX, Section 22 dedication amendment?
Yes, in two narrow circumstances. The AG concluded that Me. Const. art. IX, § 22 (effective November 23, 1992) protects only funds equal to revenues actually collected by the Department of Inland Fish…
Can Maine's Senate President and House Speaker, by joint policy, deny lodging and meal reimbursement to legislators staying overnight before a session if they live within 75 miles of Augusta?
No. The AG concluded that the February 17, 1995 joint policy of Senate President Butland and Speaker Gwadosky, which denied 'night before' reimbursement to legislators living within 75 miles of August…
If Maine caps state contributions to the Maine State Retirement System for teacher retirement costs at 3% growth, forcing school districts to cover the rest, does that count as an unfunded 'state mandate' under Article IX, Section 21?
No. The AG concluded that Governor King's proposal in Part G of LD 706 (capping the State's MSRS teacher-retirement contribution at a 3% increase over the prior fiscal year's aggregate teacher salary …
Can a sitting Maine legislator serve on the Maine Health Care Reform Commission, which the same Legislature created with $75-per-day compensation?
No. The AG read Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 10 to bar any member of the 116th Legislature from being appointed during that term to the Maine Health Care Reform Commission, which the 116th Legislature…
Can Maine's Governor nominate and have the Senate confirm a successor to a state office before the prior officeholder's resignation takes effect, then delay commissioning until the vacancy occurs?
Yes. The AG concluded that Governor McKernan could nominate David Lakari to succeed outgoing MSHA Director Dwight Sewall, have the Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development and Sena…
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Attorney general opinions in Maine are written by the Maine Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.