Under the Dome: Inside the Maine State House provides a high-level overview of recent activity at the Maine State House.

Election Day This Tuesday

Election day is almost here.  There are a number of hotly contested races on this year’s ballot and, on Tuesday, voters will pick winners in a U.S. Senate race, both Congressional races, the Governor’s race, and all 186 Maine Senate and Maine House races.  Also on the state-wide ballot is the bear baiting referendum and six bond questions.  At the local level, some municipalities pose some interesting ballot questions.   

Timely Maine Election Results

To keep you informed and up to date, by 10:00 a.m. on November 5^th, we will issue an Election 2014 Under the Dome Special Edition, presenting the Maine election results and our analysis of what the results mean for politics and policy in the upcoming 127^th Legislature. 

If you want even more timely information, follow Avery Day from Pierce Atwood’s Government Relations Practice Group on Twitter at:  @averyday.  Avery will be making the rounds to various campaign events after the polls close at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday night and plans to tweet election results and other information as the evening unfolds. 

Post-Election Legislative Timeline

Tuesday’s elections are the first step in the Legislative getting organized for the work of governing during the 127^th Maine Legislature.  Once elections (and likely a handful of legislative recounts) are settled, a number of mileposts will be met before the Legislature is underway in earnest in January of 2015.  Here is a rough timeline of these events: 

· November 4^th – Election Day. 

· Mid-November – Once recounts have been settled, the Democratic and Republican caucuses in the House and Senate will convene to pick their leadership.  These caucuses will informally determine the ten members of legislative leadership for the next two years, including who will serve as the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. 

· December 3^rd – The 127^th Legislature convenes and Legislators are sworn into office.  Each chamber officially casts its votes for members of legislative leadership.  The House and Senate then elect our State's Constitutional Officers Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Treasurer.

· Mid-December – Legislative Leadership begins to announce Committee assignments, which are determined by the Senate President and Speaker of the House. 

· Late-December to Early-January – Cloture.  This is the deadline for legislators to submit new bills for the next Legislature.  This date, which is determined by the Senate President and Speaker of the House, traditionally occurs during this timeframe.  Before the cloture, for the first year in a two-year legislative session, a legislator can submit any number of bills on any subject matter. 

· January 7^th – Governor sworn into office. 

· January 9^th – If Governor LePage is re-elected, the biennial budget must be submitted to the Legislature by this date. 

· February 6^th – If a new Governor is elected, the biennial budget must be submitted to the Legislature by this date.