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How A Bill Becomes A Law In Maine: Governor Lepage, The State Legislature, And The 2015 Opinion Of The Justices On The Veto Question, Connor P. Schratz

Maine Law Review

The battle between Governor Paul LePage and the Maine legislature in the summer of 2015 was one of the most contentious – and strangest – in state history. Hanging in the balance were over sixty pieces of legislation that the Governor insisted had been vetoed, and which senators and representatives of both parties claimed had become law. To resolve the issue, the Governor turned to the state Supreme Court, which unanimously decided in favor of the legislators in a nonbinding “Opinion of the Justices.” This case note explores that opinion, and comes to the conclusion that while the Court arrived …