AUGUSTA — On Monday, Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, reconvened the Maine Senate for a confirmation session to vote on seven gubernatorial nominations, including the nominations of Hon. Bill Schneider, Hon. David Hastings and Dennis Marble to the Maine Ethics Commission. All seven appointees were confirmed unanimously. The Senate’s action fills the two Republican vacancies and one unenrolled vacancy on the commission.  

“As Mainers, we take pride in our civic participation and the transparency of our elections. Mainers also expect that politicians of all political stripes should be held accountable for their actions,” said Senate President Jackson, D-Allagash. “The Senate’s unanimous action today reflects those values and ensures we will have a fully functioning, bipartisan ethics commission as we head into the fall election.”

The Maine Ethics Commission is the independent  commission created to guard against corruption and undue influence in Maine’s elections. The commission holds hearings and takes enforcement action, including levying fines for violations of the state’s campaign finance laws by candidates or political action committees. It also oversees state laws and regulations governing lobbyists.

“For years, Maine has been a leader in the way we run and participate in our elections,” said Sen. Luchini, chair of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. “Today’s move ensures faith and fairness in our election system and confirms the bipartisan work the committee started nearly a month ago. I’m proud of our committee’s work to recommend these three nominations to the full Senate.”

The three nominations to the Maine Ethics Commission were proposed by Governor Mills in July and were unanimously recommended by the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs on July 31.

The confirmation session was conducted in the House chamber and in compliance with the Legislative Council’s COVID-19 health and safety policy. A full recording the Senate’s Confirmation session can be found here. Video and audio of the Senate Confirmation Session will also be made available to the public online at: www.legislature.maine.gov.

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