Rep. Poppy Arford

The non-emergency laws we passed this year go into effect today. From investing in housing and child care to protecting health care providers from extreme laws in other states, I am proud of our work to put Maine families first while defending Mainers’ rights and freedoms.

YOU CAN REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR THE NOVEMBER 5 ELECTION !

Registered Maine voters can now request an absentee ballots at https://apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-in/online/AbsenteeBallot/index.pl
Brunswick voters may also request an absentee ballot over the phone by calling the Brunswick Town Office at 207-725-6658 then press 4. Starting October 7th, absentee ballots will be mailed out to those who request them. The ballots will also be available for pick up and early voting at the Town Office on 10/7.
Please note: Absentee ballots must be requested for the same address that appears on voters’ registration, so some people may need to update their registration before requesting their ballot.

Maine voters can now request absentee ballots for November election Voters can also register to vote and change their party status on the secretary of state's website.

Being a parent has been the greatest joy and honor of my life. It can also be challenging! Life gets hard, and we all need support throughout our parenting or caregiving journeys. It is OK, even admirable, to ask for help.

Be There for ME is for all parents and caregivers in Maine, as well as the people who support them. Learn more and find support for you and your family at BeThereforME.org.

I know we can put a stop to preventable and tragic gun violence in Maine and am committed to voting for legislation that makes this goal a reality. If I have the privilege of serving the people of District 101 for a third term in the 132nd legislature (2025- 2026) you can count on me to work hard to sponsor and support effective, common sense gun safety legislation!

If you need help with Medicare costs, consider applying for the Medicare Savings Program, which helps pay monthly premiums and some out-of-pocket costs. If you qualify for this program, you will be eligible for other assistance through the Extra Help Program as well.

Thanks to legislation I supported, the income limits for the Medicare Savings Program have been updated - so even if you did not previously qualify, you may now! There is no asset test.

For help applying for the Medicare Savings Program, contact the Consumers for Affordable Health Care Helpline at 1-800-965-7476 or our local area agency on aging, Spectrum Generations, at 1-800-639-1553.

It is very important to me as your state representative to be a resource to you regarding the Legislature's work. One of the ways I am able to share information is through a yearly update that is mailed out to my constituents in Brunswick's House District 101.

If you prefer to read the update online, you can find it here: https://bit.ly/3WntXxy

As always, if you would like to discuss anything in this newsletter or any other issue, please reach out to me by email at [email protected] or by cell at 207-522-1997. It is an honor and privilege to serve as your state representative.

For many families, summer vacation means tighter food budgets without the help of school breakfast and lunch.

SUN Bucks is a federal program that helps families of eligible students buy healthy food over the summer. If your student was automatically enrolled, you may receive a Pine Tree Card in the mail sometime in the next few weeks. If your family already uses a Pine Tree Card, benefits will be added to your existing card.

If you believe your student is eligible but was not automatically enrolled, you can apply for SUN Bucks between now and Aug. 15.

Learn more here: www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/programs-services/food-supplement/sun_bucks

Protect yourself from excessive sun exposure this summer with these tips.

OUR HOUSE ART EXHIBITION is a celebration of art, community and what "home" means to us all. It will be on display at the Spindleworks Art Center this Friday from 4 to 7 pm during Brunswick's 2nd Friday Art Walk event. The Art Center is a program of the Independence Association of Brunswick whose mission it is to assist individuals with intellectual disabilities in obtaining full and inclusive lives in their chosen community.
FMI: https://spindleworks.independenceassociation.org/

I’ll always work very hard to protect Mainers’ reproductive freedoms. I’m proud and honored to have received a perfect rating on Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund’s 2024 legislative scorecard for my votes over the last two years.

I was very disappointed that the bill I sponsored, LD 2203, An Act to Require Health Insurance Coverage for Federally Approved Nonprescription Oral Hormonal Contraceptives, did not make it to the Governor’s desk in time to be signed into law. Thank you to Planned Parenthood and all the people who supported LD 2203. If re-elected, you can count on me to bring it back next session.

Find the full scorecard here:https://cdn.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/86/c7/86c77c5c-e0bb-489f-b88a-74ffff32ba0b/131st_legislature_full_scorecard_7-2024_f.pdf

Wishing you an excellent Independence Day! However imperfect we Americans may be, 248 years ago, on July 4th 1776, the forefathers of our country signed the Declaration of Independence, setting us on the path of self governance - free of kings and queens and all forms of dictatorship. I believe we are all committed to protecting this path as we gratefully celebrate it today! My best, Poppy

Have a happy and safe Independence Day!

FREE MEALS FOR KIDS & TEENS!
FMI: 207-443-4112 Ext 17

If your business or organization was impacted by this winter’s severe storms, there’s still time to apply for funding to help with recovery efforts.

This year, the Legislature provided $10 million for the new Business Recovery and Resiliency Fund to help Mainers build greater resilience for future extreme weather events.

The application deadline is tomorrow, June 25 at 11:59 p.m.

Business Recovery and Resilience Fund | Office of Business Development Program Overview The Maine Legislature established the Business Recovery and Resiliency Fund and funded it with $10,000,000 to provide grant opportunities to businesses and organizations, including nonprofit organizations, affected by specified severe weather-related events. These events include the...

Here in Brunswick, the Rec Center and library will both be available as cooling centers:

Brunswick Rec Center: Tuesday (today), Wednesday and Thursday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Curtis Memorial Library: Tuesday (today) and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Be safe and please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] or 522-1997.

A ban on gun bump stocks makes sense for Maine people. I supported legislation to do this in both the 2023 (LD 1340) and 2024 (LD 2086) legislative session. As both bills failed, I am committed to passing a bump stock ban during the next legislative session, and will work hard as your District 101 State Representative for gun safety and violence prevention here in Maine. For more information visit Maine Gun Safety Coalition at https://www.mainegunsafety.org/

STATE PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS!
A steady, tho light at times, stream of Brunswick voters showed up at the polls on Tuesday (6/11) to vote for their party candidate for the General Election in November (11/5). The statewide results have been published including for Brunswick's State Senate District 23, State House District (SHD) 99, SHD 100, and SHD 101. Check out our local state primary election results at www.brunswickme.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9733/June-2024-Official-Results?bidId= and the primary results statewide at https://www.bangordailynews.com/maine-election-results/ # Please note that all results are unofficial until certified by the Maine Secretary of State.

State Primary Today (6/11) The polls are open till 8 PM so there is still time to vote for the person who you want to represent your party in the upcoming general election on November 5, 2024. Importantly, a new state law allows for unenrolled voters to cast a ballot for the party candidate of their choosing without having to enroll in the party!

All Brunswick residents vote at the Brunswick Junior High School, 65 Columbia Ave. I was there greeting voters earlier today and there was a steady stream of people showing up to vote!
The pictures posted are of:
Sec of State, Shenna Bellows, and staff visiting Brunswick polls.
Brunswick Town Clerk, Fran Smith, and staff keeping our Brunswick polling place running smoothly.
Town Councilor Dave Watson, Rep Dan Ankeles and myself greeting voters.

Today is the deadline to apply for the Working Waterfront Resilience Grant Program! It is one of several resources you may need to address the storm damage that happened this past year to our working waterfront, businesses, nonprofits, and infrastructure.

Learn more in my latest newsletter. If you would like to receive periodic email updates like this one, please reach out to me at 207-522-1997 or email me at [email protected].

Storm relief funding: Deadlines approaching!   June 7, 2024 Dear Amy, I hope this finds you enjoying the start of the summer season in Brunswick and statewide. I am writing to make sure you know about the upcoming deadlines for three storm relie

BRUNSWICK PRIDE FESTIVAL - SATURDAY JUNE 8TH FROM 12 to 5 PM! ON THE BRUNSWICK TOWN MALL.
All are welcome ro attend and have a great time !!!! FMI:
https://www.facebook.com/p/Brunswick-ME-Pride-100081875786083/

Today and every day, we honor the courageous people whose lives were lost in service to our country. May we continue to carry their stories forward.

MAINE GUN GIVE BACK DAY
Bring your unwanted fi****ms on June 1st between 10 and 2 pm to the Brunswick Police Department to safely dispose of them. Free gun locks will also be distributed allowing for firearm owners to safely store their weapons.

Gun Give Backs are an important way to get no longer wanted fi****ms out of homes and off the streets safely. All types of fi****ms will be accepted, including shotguns, handguns, pellet guns, and assault rifles.

The Brunswick Police Department "Gun Give Back Day" will take place at the Department located at 85 Pleasant Street in Brunswick. FMI: www.mainegunsafety.org

The Maine Department of Labor has published proposed rules for Maine’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave Program, which is now available for comments from the public through July 8, 2024. You can submit comments here: https://www.maine.gov/labor/rulemaking/

Comments can also be submitted to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program via mail: 50 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0050

For those who are unable to provide comments through the above ways, the Department will also receive comments in person on June 10, 2024 at 9 a.m. in the Maine Department of Labor’s Frances Perkins Room at 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta. American Sign Language interpreters will be available. If you require other accommodations, please reach out to the Department with that information at 207-623-7900 or at https://www.maine.gov/labor/contact/index.html under “General Inquiries.”

Grand Opening Events Announced! On Saturday, June 22, 2024 the MARC will host a variety of events in honor of the Grand Opening of the Pickleball Courts, Skatepark, & Walking Loop. Grand Opening Events include: 8:00am: Pickleball Scramble AM Sessions begins8:30am 'On your MARC get set GO' 5k starts9:15am: Family Fun Run kicks off....

Absentee Ballots are currently available for the June 11th State Primary, School Budget Validation Referendum, and Region 10 Referendum. We will be conducting in-person Absentee Voting in the Council Chambers on the first floor of Town Hall, 85 Union Street, from Monday, May 20th through Thursday, June 6th during regular town hall hours.

Please note, the town hall will be closed Monday, May 27thfor Memorial Day.

For more information or to view sample ballots please see the Town Clerk’s website: https://www.brunswickme.gov/286/Elections

If you have questions or would like to request an Absentee Ballot, please call the Clerk’s Office at (207) 725-6658, option 4.

Please take a look at my Legislative Session Newsletter and contact me with your thoughts about any bills, policies or programs that you would like to discuss with me at:
- 207-522-1997
- [email protected]
Be sure to provide your name, address, phone number and/or email address when you call or write. Thank you!
Poppy

Delivering on our Commitments to Mainers   May 3, 2024 Dear Amy, Following many long days and nights working at the State House, the 131st Legislature reached statutory adjournment after a marathon session that started on April 17th and ende

THANK YOU, GOVERNOR MILLS! Today (4/26/24) Governor Janet Mills signed Legislation LD 2224 "An Act to Strengthen Public Safety by Improving Maine's Firearm Laws and Mental Health System". This legislation, first announced by the Governor during her State of the State Address, reflects conversations she had with people and organizations across Maine in the wake of the Lewiston tragedy in which she heard a common belief that:
1) gun violence prevention is important, and
2) that we must strengthen our mental health system; and 3) that dangerous people should not have access to fi****ms.

The Governor’s bill, taken in combination with complementary initiatives in the supplemental budget she signed on Monday (4/22/24) addresses these three areas of concern in a pragmatic, responsible, and responsive way that respects the right to safe and legal gun ownership and that upholds Maine’s longstanding outdoor heritage.

The legislation improves Maine’s extreme risk protection order law, expands checks against the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for advertised sales, and incentivizes checks for unadvertised sales. The supplemental budget builds on initiatives in the Governor’s bill to establish an Office of Violence Prevention at the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and strengthen Maine’s mental health system by expanding crisis receiving centers, among other important public safety and mental health initiatives.
THANK YOU, AGAIN, GOVERNOR MILLS !!!

Brunswick Renters' Forum Q: What is a Renters’ Forum? A: The Brunswick Renters’ Forum is a space for the community to come together, connect about our common struggles as tenants, discuss possible housing solutions, and get organized to make these solutions a reality. Q: Why do we need a Renters' Forum? A: In 2020, the ...

Relief is on the way for our coastal communities that were devastated by the flooding caused by this winter’s storms.

Last week, we passed a supplemental budget that includes $60 million for storm relief grants to help communities and businesses continue to recover and build resiliency for the future.

I’ll share more about how to apply for these grants once information becomes available.

You can read more here: https://tinyurl.com/5e6z7hdv