AUGUSTA, Maine (Legal Newsline) -- A judiciary committee reportedly has rejected a proposal to take away $300,000 from Maine Attorney General Janet Mills' office.
The plan, proposed by Republican Gov. Paul LePage, would have slashed more than half of a spending line in Mills' budget. Those funds pay for expert testimony, telephones and computers, among other things, in the Attorney General's Office.
Under LePage's proposal, the $300,000 would have been diverted to the executive branch.
According to the Portland Press Herald, the state legislature's Judiciary Committee voted 7-6 Tuesday to reject the governor's proposal.
The Democratic majority opposed the plan -- except for state Rep. Stephen Moriarty, D-Cumberland, who voted with the Republican minority, the Press Herald reported.
LePage said the money would have been used for legal cases in which the attorney general refused to represent the state.
Mills, a Democrat, says the proposal is illegal. According to state law, the attorney general must represent the state in any and all legal proceedings.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.