Rep. Ann Fredericks

Maddy summaryLD 1974, "An Act To Affirm Parental Rights," amends Maine law to state that parents are joint natural guardians of their minor children, meaning both parents share equal rights regarding their children's care, custody, control, and services. It also establishes that a parent's right to direct their child's upbringing, education, and care is a fundamental right. The bill clarifies these provisions do not affect court decisions about parental rights or the termination of parental rights. This law directly affects parents of minor children in Maine by codifying these principles in statute.

Maddy summaryLD 544 exempts sales of cannabis for medical use from Maine's sales tax, creating tax parity with prescription medicines. The bill amends Maine's tax code to include medical cannabis sales (after January 1, 2026) under the existing exemption for prescription medicines sold by doctors. It directly affects patients certified for medical cannabis use under Maine's Medical Use of Cannabis Act and providers selling to them. This policy change removes a sales tax burden currently applied to medical cannabis, aligning its tax treatment with other prescribed medicines. The exemption applies only to cannabis sold with a medical provider's certification, not recreational sales.

Maddy summaryLD 1372 establishes a Special Committee on Regulatory Review to examine routine technical rules created by state agencies. The committee, composed of 6 evenly split Senate and House members from each major party, will assess rules for necessity, efficiency, and public benefit, and decide whether to approve them with changes, approve them as-is, or reject them. The committee must develop a formal review process by February 1, 2026, and propose legislation to update the rules for adopting such technical rules. Starting in 2028, the committee will annually report to the Legislature on reviewed rules and recommend improvements to the regulatory process. This bill directly affects state agencies that issue routine technical rules and the Legislature through its new oversight committee.

Maddy summaryThis bill (LD 594) requires Maine's State Auditor to conduct comprehensive audits of all state agencies and compile a detailed report for each. The report must include current and historical data on employee counts (including new hires over 5-20 years), budget figures (current, projected, and growth), agency roles and responsibilities, project scopes (current, completed, and incomplete over time), and each agency's budget percentage of the total state biennial budget. The State Auditor must submit this report to the Legislature's appropriations committee by November 4, 2026. The bill directly affects all state agencies by mandating transparency in their staffing and financial operations.

Maddy summaryMaine's LD 919 requires public schools, public charter schools, and approved private schools to obtain written parental permission before administering any survey or questionnaire that asks for or identifies a minor student's full name. The bill directly affects schools by restricting how they collect student data and parents by requiring their explicit consent for these specific surveys. Key provisions mandate that schools cannot use such surveys without prior written permission from a parent, covering all student surveys that request full names. This policy change focuses on protecting student privacy for a specific type of data collection in educational settings.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Maine's Secretary of State to set, by January 31st each year, the start date for absentee ballot voting in state and federal elections. The start date must be at least 30 days before the election, and absentee ballots must be accepted until 8 p.m. on election day. All cities and towns in Maine must follow these standardized dates when issuing and accepting absentee ballots. The bill does not apply to military or overseas voters, who have separate absentee voting procedures under existing law.

Maddy summaryLD 1683 amends Maine's Freedom of Access Act to eliminate fees for public record requests when accompanied by a petition signed by at least 150 registered Maine voters making the same request. This directly affects individuals or groups seeking public records who can gather sufficient voter signatures. The bill requires agencies to provide status updates every 30 working days (instead of relying on a nonbinding agency estimate), and prohibits charging any fees for such requests. These changes aim to reduce barriers to accessing government records by removing cost obstacles for community-driven requests.

Maddy summaryLD 341 amends Maine law to increase the minimum weight requirement for an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to be classified as "oversized" from 2,000 to 3,500 pounds. This change affects how ATVs are registered: vehicles weighing 3,500 pounds or more now require "oversized" registration, while lighter ATVs do not. The amendment applies to registrations for the 2025 ATV season, with a grandfather clause allowing continued registration of ATVs registered before January 1, 2022. The law updates the definition to better align with current vehicle specifications and registration standards.

Maddy summaryLD 656 modifies Maine's ranked-choice voting rules to reduce election costs by ending the vote count earlier in certain scenarios. The bill states that if only two or fewer candidates remain in a race during the ranked-choice process, the candidate with a majority of votes in that round is immediately declared the winner - eliminating unnecessary additional counting rounds. This change applies to all Maine elections using ranked-choice voting, including state and local races, and aims to save taxpayer money by streamlining the tabulation process. It does not alter the core ranked-choice voting system but adjusts when the count concludes based on the number of remaining candidates.

Maddy summaryLD 878 establishes an independent commission to study the effects of 5G and other non-ionizing radio frequency radiation-emitting technologies on wildlife (including birds, bees, and insects) and on children's health from long-term exposure. The commission, composed of 11 members appointed by legislative leaders and academic experts, will investigate these impacts without making policy changes. It requires members to certify no financial ties to wireless industry interests. This resolution is purely for research and does not impose new regulations or affect any specific groups directly.