LePage calls Legislature irrelevant on day he is to deliver State of the State

[jpak]

http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2017/02/07/lepage-calls-legislature-irrelevant-on-day-he-is-to-deliver-state-of-the-state/

Good morning from snowy Augusta, where thoughts are centered on this evening when Gov. Paul LePage will deliver his State of the State address. Though he will deliver the speech to a joint session of the House and Senate at the State House, the governor says he will not be speaking to lawmakers, but rather to the Maine people.

The speech will be streamed through the Legislature’s website and broadcast by some media organizations, including Maine Public via the BDN, but LePage says his staff also will broadcast on Facebook Live, which is interesting given a recent debate, spurred by Rep. Matt Pouliot, R-Augusta, about whether social media broadcasts from the House floor should be allowed.

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In 2016, LePage delivered his the State of the State address in writing only, using the document to say the Legislature is full of “socialists” more than a dozen times. All of LePage’s State of the State speeches are posted on his website, which you can see by clicking here.

Lawmakers are used to hearing criticisms from the governor and he delivered more today during a radio appearance on WVOM. He said the Legislature has made itself irrelevant and that the two entities making policy in Maine are the executive branch and Maine people through citizen-initiated referendums.

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