Governor

Gov. LePage Vetoes 22 Bills, Including Funding for Prison

Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage has started the week by vetoing 22 bills, including a funding proposal for the Downeast Correctional Facility.

LePage this year emptied the prison, which has long faced shutdown efforts. But lawmakers have resisted him and voted to fund the prison for another year.

In his veto message, LePage called the prison "antiquated and unnecessary."

A court order required the state to keep the prison open with a skeleton crew after LePage removed the inmates. But that funding ran out at the end of June, and LePage said it'd be a ``serious dereliction of fiscal responsibility'' to spend any more money on the prison.

LePage also has vowed to veto a Medicaid expansion approved by lawmakers, but that wasn't included in the vetoes on Monday.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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