AUGUSTA - Governor Paul R. LePage has issued a statement about the Legislature's failure to pass LD 1698, "An Act To Streamline the Work Permitting Process for Minors and To Conform Allowable Places That Minors May Work to Federal Law," which was killed along party lines.
"I often say that liberals put politics over the best interest of Mainers, and this is a perfect example. They would rather punish 14- and 15-year-olds than approve a bill that my administration submitted. Maine teens are now denied the opportunities to work the kind of jobs teenagers have in almost every other state. It is unconscionable that liberals would rob our teens of the ability earn a paycheck."
"It is inconceivable to me that liberals would so vehemently oppose the idea of young Mainers developing a strong work ethic."
The Departments of Labor and Education, superintendents and teens all supported the bill, and no one offered testimony against it. Despite an amendment that won unanimous support in the Senate last week, Democrats in the House insisted on killing the bill. The previous House vote was 85-58 along party lines.
