April break is over, and the Legislature will go into top gear over the next month as they race to get bills out of committee. About 400 bills still haven't been printed yet - including Paid Family and Medical Leave! - but there are plenty to keep them occupied. 

Maine's inclusive Equal Rights Amendment will be heard in Judiciary *today*! LD 1412, “RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine Establishing That All Maine Residents Have Equal Rights Under the Law” will align Maine’s Constitution with the Maine Human Rights Act, and protect people based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, physical or mental disability, ancestry or national origin.  You can join the fun with this toolkit and talking points.  

The ERA is a Constitutional Amendment and requires a 2/3 vote of the Legislature. That will be hard, so we're planning for the long-term, with events this spring and through the summer as we celebrate the centennial of the ERA. Constitutional equity matters, so we'd love you to join us!

You might have seen the news about the US House passage of HR 743, a transphobic bill which would override Title IX to exclude trans people from sports aligning with their gender. This bill will not become law, but there are dozens more like it across the country, including Maine. We love our trans community members, and stand arm in arm in pushing back these attacks. Catch us next week at this LGBTQ+ legislation sesh and Trans Day at the State House, because gender equity is for everyone.

Weekly Calendar:

The Legislature is in session Tuesday and Thursday this week. The weekly House Calendar is here. The weekly Senate Calendar is here. 

April 24

9:00 -  LD 1412, PH- “RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine Establishing That All Maine Residents Have Equal Rights Under the Law” (Reckitt)

10:00 - Public hearing on a range of anti-vaccine bills, icluding  LD 59 - An Act to Prohibit Inclusion of the COVID-19 Vaccine in the Universal Childhood Immunization Program 

April 26

9:00 - LD 1507 - PH - An Act to Ensure the Accuracy of Vital Records with Respect to Gender (Sheehan)

10:00 - LD 199 - WS - An Act to Improve the Health of Maine Residents by Removing Exclusions to the MaineCare Program (Talbot Ross)

10:00 - LD 903 - WS - An Act to Establish Parity in Tipping Laws for Restaurant Workers (Skold)

1:00 - LD 1040 - WS - An Act to Require Reimbursement for Gender-affirming Care for MaineCare Members (Moonen)

1:00 - LD 1362 - WS - An Act to Ensure the Rights of Survivors of Sexual Assault (Gramlich) 

April 27

1:00 - LD 1484 - PH - An Act to Improve Sexual Assault Kit Tracking (Rafferty)

1:00 - LD 1478 - WS - An Act to Improve Women's Health and Economic Security by Funding Family Planning Services (Pierce)

1:00 - WS - several bills linking public education and early childhood education, including LD 684, An Act to Implement Pilot Programs with Publicly Funded Day Care and Early Childhood Education (Geiger) 

**Not sure about the difference between a PH (public hearing) and a WS (work session)? Check out our How-To here!

Let's Visit the State House!

Mon., April 24, 5-6 PM - VIRTUAL
Tues., April 25, 8:30-10 AM - IN PERSON
Tues., April 25, 3:30-5 PM - IN PERSON 

Register here. 

May People Power Hour: Feminist Engagement and Discussion Circle

May 10, 6pm via Zoom

Staff will update the group on the work of the session, ask participants to bring info on what they're working on and then the second half of the hour we will move into a poetry discussion on The Low Road by Marge Piercy and A Litany for Survival by Audre Lorde.  More info here.

Citizen Advocacy Toolkit

Sexism, Lies and the Fight for Truth: A Reporter's Story - 2023 Justice for Women Lecture

April 26, 7pm, Portland 

Info here. 

LGBTQ+ Legislative Info Session

May 1, 12-1 via Zoom

Join us and staff from Maine Equality Community Center, Equality Maine, and Maine TransNet for this catch up and debrief of where we in the session. Info here.

Save the date!

Power, Purpose, and Peonies: End of Session Celebration at Broadturn Farm in Scarborough, July 21, 5:30-8PM

More info to come. 

Maine Feminist Events Calendar