AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- Maine lawmakers are back in Augusta to begin their 2012 session.
The House and Senate will conclude business left unfinished during the opening round of the 125th Legislature last year. Energy, education and voting rights are among the issues on the table, but the budget will be center stage in the opening weeks after the session starts Wednesday.
Gov. Paul LePage wants to balance the state budget by making up for a gaping $200 million-plus shortfall in the Medicaid program that's expected to develop in the next year and a half.
Lawmakers will meet Wednesday, Thursday and next Tuesday before they depart for their three-day Maine Development Foundation bus tour to southern and western Maine businesses and educational institutions.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)