Provide for Municipalities To Allow Grocery Stores up to 10,000 Square Feet To Open on Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas
| Category: | General Business |
|---|---|
| Status: | Defeated |
| Sponsor: | Representative James Gillway, House 41 |
| Session: | 128 |
| Bill #: | LD 488 |
Position:
Support.
UPDATE: The House failed to override the veto by an 87-51 vote. It needed 92 votes to reach 2/3rds.
UPDATE: Governor LePage has vetoed the bill. Read his veto message here.
UPDATE: The Senate voted 20-13 in favor of the bill. The House voted 79-66 in support of the bill.
UPDATE: The committee wisely voted to reconsider their earlier vote. The proposed amendment was scrapped and on the revote, Representative Anne-Marie Mastraccio-D of Sanford voted with the Republicans on the Ought to Pass vote. The remaining Democrats voted Ought Not to Pass. The bill now stands a much better chance of passage.
UPDATE: In a surprising move, the Democrats on the LCRED Committee voted to amend the bill to require that any business open on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter pay their employees time and a half. It does not seem like they understand that it would include hospitals, public safety and other employers who have been allowed to open on those days for years. The bill had no opponents at the public hearing.
Summary:
This bill allows a municipality by ordinance to allow grocery stores with no more than 10,000 square feet of interior customer selling space to be open on Easter Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.