Under the Dome: Inside the Maine State House 12.21.2012

Under the Dome: Inside the Maine State House is a weekly update that provides a high-level overview of recent activity at the Maine State House. 

126^th Legislature Committee Assignments Released

On December 20, 2012, Senate President Justin Alfond and Speaker of the House Mark Eves announced the committee appointments for the 126^th Legislature.  The list of appointments can be found at:

http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/commlist.doc 

The Maine Legislature has sixteen joint standing committees of thirteen members each.  Maine’s committee system is unusual in that its committees are joint committees made up of both Senators and Representatives.  Most other states rely on a system where the state Senate and the state House each operate parallel committees.

Most legislative business is conducted in the Legislature’s committees as they rewrite and sometimes kill bills.  Committee composition is always important to understand, as those thirteen people have more control over a legislative proposal than the remaining members of the Legislature who do not sit on that committee.  With the election of legislative leadership, the election of Constitutional Officers and now the release of committee assignments, we largely know the political organization of State government for the next two years.