The Maine Legislature is headed into what is supposed to be its final few days of the 2023 session. But lawmakers still have a long list of major issues that they've yet to resolve.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills will likely be forced to choose between allowing a paid family leave bill to become law or risk a statewide referendum on the issue next year, financed by progressive megadonors.

The Mills administration says it’s preparing for the possibility that the U.S. government will default on its debt, an outcome that it says will have “serious implications” for the state economy and Maine residents.

A group of Maine lawmakers has called on Quebec Premier Francois Legault to “help dispel the myth that Quebec has so much power that it doesn’t know what to do with it all, which is clearly not accurate.”

There are no proposed tax cuts in the governor’s proposal — and the omission, while not surprising, isn’t sitting well with Republican leaders in the Legislature.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ bill expanding abortion access beyond the state’s current fetal viability restriction appears poised for passage in the Maine Legislature. But it has also energized abortion opponents, who might test voters’ willingness to overturn it if it passes.

When Democratic legislative leaders announced two weeks ago that they had hired a private firm to conduct a “workplace assessment” following the controversy over Attorney General Aaron Frey’s romantic relationship with a subordinate, they left out many details about the manner, scope and purpose of the review.

The odyssey of the $1 billion transmission project through western Maine has been playing out in painstaking detail this week during a jury trial that could determine whether the project is ever completed.

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey’s romantic relationship with a subordinate employee continues to generate questions about his sudden decision to publicly disclose it and how the state’s top lawyer navigated policies designed to insulate workers from harmful office dynamics.Maine’s Political Pulse was produced this week by Kevin Miller. Esta Pratt-Kielley is the digital producer. The theme music was performed and recorded by Rob Holt.

One week after budget negotiations suddenly broke down, Democrats in the Legislature passed a $9.8 billion spending plan late Thursday that will keep government offices open after July 1 but that left Republicans fuming.