“Transparency is critical to truly have an elected government that decides on how we live, what the norms of our society are, and ultimately who gets to participate.”

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, on the Legislature’s final approval of a proposal to restore the language requiring Maine to honor treaties the state inherited from Massachusetts when it became its own state more than 200 years ago. Ross claims the language restoration would improve transparency and highlight the state’s debts to Native American tribes. The voters will have the ultimate say as to whether the state restores the long-removed language or not; the date of the referendum has not yet been set. (Associated Press — July 24, 2023)