A sampling of the major bills among the 197 enacted during the 2012 session, which wraps up the two-year term that got under way in 2011. Some of the bills await final finding decisions in May.
Transportation
— $300,000 feasibility study authorized into east-west toll highway connecting New Brunswick and Quebec via Maine.
— Lengthened the period of restrictions for an intermediate license holders and increased fines for some violations by young drivers
Social Services
— Income threshold for parents of children on MaineCare reduced to 133 percent of the poverty level, or $30,657 for a family of four, cutting their ranks by 14,000.
— Optional services, such as chiropractic and dental care for MaineCare recipients, are eliminated.
— Drug choices for MaineCare recipients further limited.
— Enrollment of childless adults in MaineCare capped to lower participation through attrition.
Labor
— Workers compensation law overhauled.
— Workers’ rights to unionize at a Turner-based egg farm eliminated.
— Penalties increased for unemployment fraud.
— Collective bargaining rights eliminated for private child-care providers who receive state subsidies.
Elections and Voting
— Matching funds provision of Clean Elections law eliminated.
— Proposed voter ID requirement weakened to study of the broader issue of voter participation.
Crime
— State employees convicted of crimes committed in connection with their jobs forfeit retirement benefits.
— Software programs known as tax zappers, which falsify electronic sales records so businesses can cheat on taxes, outlawed.
— Law outlawing bath salts broadened to include five more, similar designer drugs.
— Bail to be denied in domestic violence cases for defendants alleged to have violated a protection from abuse order.
— $25 fees paid by offenders in violent crimes can no longer be waived.
— Law prohibiting the sale of stolen scrap metal bolstered.
— Verbally soliciting a child to commit a prohibited sex act becomes a crime.
— Law to prevent welfare cheating bolstered.
Red Tape
— Requirement for businesses to publicly display certain permits eliminated.
— Paperwork required to qualify for sales tax exemptions for buses cut.
— Towns prohibited from collecting fees for ice fishing shacks.
Education
— Comprehensive performance evaluation systems for teachers and principals must be developed.
— Students can move at their own pace to graduate under performance-based school standards.
Gambling
— Charitable nonprofits, including veterans organizations, may operate up to five slot machines.
— Impact of casinos to be studied; $5 million casino license fee imposed.
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