Legislator
State Senator
Joe Rafferty
(D) - Maine
Maine Senate District 34
In Office
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3 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Phone: 207-287-1515
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Vote Record By Category
Category Vote Index Total Score
All Bills 93
36
 
Rated Bill Votes
Bill Bill Name Motion Vote Date Rating Vote Comments
LD227 Protecting gender-affirming and reproductive health care providers Accept Majority Ought To Pass As Amended Report RC #690 04/11/2024 3 Yea This bill makes clear that access to gender-affirming and reproductive health care services in Maine, including abortion, is a legal right. It shields Maine health care providers from legal actions by other states, professional sanction or insurance discrimination for engaging in legally protected health care activity. This bill passed in the House and Senate and Gov. Mills signed it into law.
LD535 Protecting access to gender-affirming care for some Maine teens Accept Report 'a' Ought To Pass As Amended RC #465 06/27/2023 3 Yea This bill allows some Mainers between the ages of 16 and 18 to access needed, non-surgical gender-affirming health care without parental consent or legally emancipating themselves from their parents, under specific circumstances. The patient must have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria by a healthcare professional and be likely to experience harm if they don't receive care. This bill passed in the House and Senate and Gov. Mills signed it into law.
LD1231 Increasing income tax fairness by adjusting tax brackets (concept draft) Accept Majority Ought To Pass As Amended Report RC #680 04/10/2024 3 Yea This concept bill would have updated Maine’s tax code so people with the highest incomes would pay more in taxes. People earning $500,000+ would have paid more on average; people with incomes $75,000-$500,000 would have paid less. But incomes under $30,000 would have seen no benefit, and only about a quarter of households with incomes of $30,000-$75,000 would have seen a modest benefit. While not perfect, LD 1231 would have required the wealthiest Mainers to contribute more.
LD1337 Tracking rich corporations' taxable income and how much they're paying Accept Majority Ought To Pass As Amended Report RC #642 04/01/2024 3 Yea Because rich corporations that operate in Maine should pay what they owe to help our state thrive, and they often don’t, LD 1337 tracks how many of these companies either paid no state income taxes or received a tax refund, and how many companies’ taxable income exceeded $50 million. The Mills administration and business lobbyists fought the bill, but it was amended to exclude company names and only include aggregate data and passed both chambers. It became law without Gov. Mills' signature.
LD1639 Safe staffing of nurses to improve patient care Accept Majority Ought To Pass As Amended Report RC #626 03/27/2024 3 Yea This bill is meant to address chronic understaffing of nurses at Maine hospitals. It would require safe staffing of direct-care, registered nurses based on the needs of different patient care units and provide reporting, enforcement and anti-retaliation provisions to make sure that safe staffing levels are achieved. This bill passed in the Senate mostly on party lines, but was never voted on in the House.
LD1779 Reforming our juvenile carceral system Accept Minority Ought To Pass As Amended Report RC #639 04/01/2024 3 Yea Evidence shows that incarcerating kids doesn’t “help” them thrive and become contributing members of society, or improve public safety. LD 1779 would start planning to reinvest Long Creek’s budget into evidence-based care including community-based alternatives to incarceration. It also mandates a workforce development plan for all current Long Creek employees. This bill passed both houses but Gov. Mills carried it over to a special session that has not taken place, effectively killing it.
LD1829 Keeping prescription drugs affordable Accept Majority Ought To Pass As Amended Report RC #625 03/27/2024 3 Yea This bill aims to address increasing health care and prescription drug prices by regulating the price of prescription drugs, ensuring that their cost does not exceed a maximum rate determined by the federal Medicare program. The bill makes clear that any savings must be used to reduce costs to consumers. The bill passed in both houses but died on the table.
LD2007 Taking a step closer to acknowledging Wabanaki sovereignty, on criminal jurisdiction, drinking water and land regulations Accept Report 'a' Ought To Pass As Amended RC #668 04/09/2024 3 Yea The final, scaled-down version of LD 2007 implements several criminal justice recommendations of the 2019 task force on changes to the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and addresses critical land and drinking water regulations. These are vital steps towards undoing that law’s unjust restrictions. LD 2007 passed and was signed into law.
LD2086 Gun safety: Banning bump stocks and destroying more forfeited firearms. Enactment RC #759 04/17/2024 3 Yea When a 40-year-old man shot and killed 18 people at a Lewiston bowling alley in October of 2023, it put gun safety at the top of the legislative agenda. This bill was one of several legislators introduced. It would have among other things banned bump stocks and other rapid-fire conversion devices. It also expanded the set of firearms required to be destroyed when seized by the state. Both the House and Senate approved the bill, but Gov. Mills vetoed it.
LD2214 The supplemental budget, 2024-2025 Enactment RC #794 04/17/2024 3 Yea Gov. Mills’ initial supplemental budget proposed cuts and restrictions to childcare, the Medicare Savings Program, General Assistance, and food stamps, but budget committee Democrats reversed most cuts and funded crucial programs. Passed in the last hours of the session after fierce debate, the budget now includes recovery community centers, the Office of New Americans, emergency shelters, and rental relief. It does not however support state workers or fund adequate mental health supports.
LD2238 Gun safety: A 72-hour waiting period for some firearm purchases Enactment RC #760 04/17/2024 3 Yea Another bill introduced after the Lewiston shooting, LD 2238 creates a 72-hour “cooling off” or waiting period for delivery of a firearm, to prevent a buyer from using it to act on a short-lived violent impulse. Research shows these policies work: For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics found that states with waiting periods experienced 51 percent fewer firearm suicides than states without these policies. This bill passed both houses and became law without Gov. Mills’ signature.
LD2258 A nearly $2 million tax credit for the Portland Sea Dogs Accept Majority Ought To Pass As Amended Report RC #719 04/12/2024 -3 Yea This bill uses public dollars to benefit a private equity fund with more than $100 billion in assets, even as many Mainers are struggling to meet basic needs. It provides a retroactive tax credit of up to nearly $2 million to the Portland Sea Dogs. After a powerful floor speech by Rep. Ambureen Rana opposing LD 2258, most of her colleagues voted against the bill. But lobbyists convinced dozens to flip their votes, the tax credit passed both chambers and Gov. Mills signed it into law.
LD2266 Allowing windport development in an area with coastal dune system, so the state may consider Sears Island Accept Majority Ought To Pass As Amended Report RC #734 04/15/2024 3 Yea Responsibly developed offshore wind will help us take control of our energy future, fight climate change, and bring good union jobs to coastal economies. LD 2266 allows the state to issue a permit for offshore wind terminals in an area with a coastal dune system, so the state may consider Sears Island. After local opposition, the House voted down LD 2266, but more input from environmental and labor advocates shifted the balance. The bill’s language was included in the signed supplemental budget.
LD2273 Finally including farmworkers in minimum wage laws Accept Majority Ought To Pass As Amended Report RC #676 04/10/2024 3 Yea This bill would finally extend Maine's minimum wage (currently $14.15 per hour) to farmworkers, as most other states have already done. A compromise proposal created through a committee established by Gov. Mills, it would not extend other employee protections like rest breaks and overtime limitations. The bill passed in both houses but was vetoed by Gov. Mills, who objected to changes made to the bill that allowed workers to sue employers for violations, rather than going through the state.
Rated Sponored Bills