MAINE GOVERNMENT
Here are our Calls to Action, Guides, and Explainers on Maine legislation, policy, and issues. For contact information for your legislators, information on the legislative process, and to track bills in the current legislative session, visit our Legislature Roundup. Interested in helping us track state legislation and policy? Take action with us.
MAINE VOTES 2022 Guide
Find everything you need to be an informed Maine voter in 2022. Learn who’s on the ballot, review voting records, volunteer to help turn out the vote, and find information on voter registration.
A GUIDE FOR TRANS ALLIES
2022 is set to be a record-breaking year for legislation targeting transgender people, with most of the more than 240 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year targeting trans people. Learn how to cut through the bigoted anti-trans spin and be a better ally.
MAINE LEGISLATURE ROUNDUP: Read about the bills we tracked in our Legislature Wrapup!
We tracked more than 65 bills during the 130th Maine Legislature, which adjourned in the evening of May 9. QUICK ACTION: Learn more about the bills we tracked and helped pass this session!
#StandWithWabanaki: Restore Tribal Self-Governance
Legislators will hold a public hearing February 15 on a bill to restore Wabanaki tribes’ inherent right to self-govern. The Wabanaki Alliance has set a goal to gather 500 written testimonies in support of the legislation to demonstrate the strong statewide backing for the bill, and are asking allies to step up! QUICK ACTION: Be one of the 500! Learn more about the bill and how to submit testimony in our call to action!
SUM Testimony on bills in the 130th Legislature
Every bill that goes before the Maine Legislature gets a public hearing, offering Mainers an opportunity to make their voice heard. Suit Up Maine testified on more than a dozen bills during the first half of the 130th Legislature, on issues ranging from housing to health care to racial justice. Read our testimony and learn more about the bills we tracked.
VICTORIES & GOOD NEWS ROUNDUP: 2021 Maine Legislature edition
2021 was a remarkable year for the Maine Legislature, not just because of the pandemic. The first half of 130th Maine Legislature was also remarkable because of the number of laws passed that will directly improve the lives of all Mainers. UPDATED: Read about some of our legislative wins and find links to the latest legislative scorecards from our partner organizations!
WHAT’S NEW: Read SUM’s latest newsletter
Latest news: The For the People Act gets a vote in the Senate. And while other states have passed strict voter suppression laws, Maine is passing bills to make voting easier and more secure. We have more on that and a run-down of the latest legislative victories. Read SUM’s latest newsletter to get caught up on our current actions!
2020 Maine Legislature Roundup Recap
An early adjournment due to COVID-19 meant that many bills we were tracking in the second session of the 129th Maine Legislature were left on the table, eventually dying when efforts to reconvene for a special session were unsuccessful. Our Legislature Roundup will reconvene with the Legislature in January 2021, with dozens of bills to track in the coming session. For now, see what passed in 2020 and what was left behind.
EVERYONE COUNTS: Complete your 2020 Census!
The Trump administration is using every trick in the book to derail and devalue the 2020 Census in order to disenfranchise minority communities. This critical count of the national population determines congressional representation, legislative districts, and vital federal funding for states.
QUICK ACTION: Complete your 2020 Census now and tell Susan Collins to pass the HEROES Act.
VOTE NO ON 1: Defend Maine’s Vaccine Law and Protect Maine’s Children
74% of Maine voters overwhelmingly rejected Question 1, a “people’s veto” that attempted to repeal Maine’s new law that protects public health and safety by eliminating non-medical exemptions for school-required immunizations.
QUICK ACTION: Get answers about the law and the referendum, and learn how to effectively respond to vaccine opponents.
Suit Up Maine is an independent, all-volunteer grassroots progressive group that seeks to build a more informed and engaged electorate in Maine. Founded in 2016, Suit Up Maine is run by and for Mainers, and is not engaged in fundraising of any kind. Representing thousands of constituents across Maine’s 16 counties, Suit Up Maine raises awareness of and advocates for policies and legislation that promote equity and equality in civil rights, social justice, health care, the environment, education, the economy, and other areas that affect the lives of all people. Suit Up Maine is beholden to issues and action, not parties or politicians.
