BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 10, 2021
The Maine House of Representatives advanced a bill Wednesday to bar foreign government-owned companies from spending on state ballot questions after a Canadian energy company dumped millions into the Central Maine Power corridor referendum fight last year. The bill — co-sponsored by Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, and Rep. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth — would outlaw companies with a foreign government ownership stake of greater than 10 percent from making contributions to ballot question committees or carrying out independent expenditures to support or oppose a referendum. It passed the House on Wednesday in a 76-55 vote.