PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 25, 2023
The Maine Legislature has fallen short of overriding a bill Gov. Janet Mills vetoed last week that would have improved wages and working conditions for agricultural workers in Maine. House members voted 61-61 on a motion to override Tuesday, effectively upholding the veto, killing the bill and further disappointing its supporters. They needed a two-thirds majority of members present to save the bill. With her veto sustained, Mills signed an executive order Tuesday afternoon establishing a formal stakeholder group to pursue a state minimum wage for farmworkers – an action she promised when she rejected the bill.