Constitutional carry since 2015. No AWB, no mag limit. Stand-your-ground (in dwelling; duty to retreat outside). Suppressors legal. Yellow-flag law (weaker than red-flag). 72-hr waiting period and background check expansions enacted post-Lewiston (2024).

Recreational cannabis legal since 2016 (Question 1). Long history of decriminalization. Strong harm reduction including syringe services and naloxone access. No automatic cannabis expungement statute. Active psychedelic legislation pending.

State minimum wage $15.10/hr. MIT living wage for 1 adult: $16.66/hr. Ratio 0.91 — minimum-wage workers earn 91% of what's needed to live there alone.

Above-average tax burden and high per-pupil spending paired with average NAEP scores. Decent life expectancy. Moderate value — you pay for what you get, no efficiency dividend.

IJ grades ME B (LD 1521, 2021 - conviction required, equitable-sharing limits). No QI reform but limited use. LD 1278 (2021) restricted facial recognition by police - among strongest in US. Body cam pilot programs. Strong sanctuary policy by tradition. Strong whistleblower protections.

No-excuse absentee voting; ongoing vote-by-mail expansion. Early voting via in-person absentee. Same-day registration since 1973. No photo ID required. Felons retain right to vote even while incarcerated (one of two states + DC). Bipartisan redistricting commission with low bias. Ranked-choice voting. No restrictive laws.

Medicaid expansion adopted 2019 (by ballot). Abortion legal throughout pregnancy when medically necessary (LD 1619, 2023). Gender-affirming care shield law. Low uninsured rate. Strong rural telehealth innovation despite aging population. Maternal mortality below median.

No qualified immunity reform. No statewide BWC mandate. Final discipline of certified officers became public in 2022 (LD 214). Maine Criminal Justice Academy decertifies. No no-knock ban. No necessity standard. AG investigates all police use of deadly force statewide (long-standing practice, fully independent of local DAs). Chokeholds restricted. Per-capita killings below median.

Abortion legal and statutorily protected through viability with later exceptions. Comprehensive LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination. Shield law for reproductive and gender-affirming care including telehealth. Conversion therapy banned. Strong church-state separation. No religious mandates in schools.

Not a right-to-work state. Paid family and medical leave program enacted 2023 (benefits 2026). Earned paid leave law (any-purpose) since 2021. Federal OSHA. Prevailing wage. Moderate wage theft enforcement via Maine DOL. Below-median fatal injury rate.