PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 25, 2022
Gov. Janet Mills said in a letter to tribal leaders that she continues to have concerns about a bill that would recognize tribal sovereignty after more than four decades of subjugation to state laws. Mills specifically pointed to two provisions – one that would allow tribes to acquire new trust land from existing municipalities without giving those cities or towns a say and another to lift state regulations on those land plus the 300,000 acres already held in trust. Mills also pointed to regulations on fish, game, water quality, land use, mining, labor laws, fire safety and building standards, among others.