Freshman State Rep. Allison Hepler, D - Woolwich, is sponsoring bills to aid people with brain injuries, encourage small businesses' growth and wipe out the sales tax on newspapers. The ideas all came from constituents, the House District 53 representative said.

In an interview and emails, Hepler explained the proposals are in different stages toward reaching fellow legislators for a shot at becoming law. She expects all to be considered this session.

The only one with a bill number so far, LD 297, would let the Maine Department of Health and Human Services contract with providers to help serve people who have brain injuries, Hepler said. That would include injuries opiate addiction survivors can have, she said. The bill was recently assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee, she said.

The other two proposals have been going back and forth between her and the revisor's office, she said. In one, Hepler wants to bring back a tax credit for businesses to do research and development. "The Super Credit for Substantially Increased Research and Development was established in 1998. It was abolished in 2014 as a way to find additional revenue," Hepler explained. "It's a tax incentive for businesses that are R and D-intensive and that conduct this research in Maine. R and D expenses often occur well before the fruits of this research generate any profits."

She said a 2015 attempt to revive the credit failed. It's time to try again, Hepler said. "(It) helps them take that risk" of spending on research and development to grow their businesses, grow the workforce and keep young people in Maine, Hepler said about why she supports it.

Hepler is also proposing the state go back to exempting newspapers from the sales tax. For her and the constituent who suggested the bill, it's about supporting the First Amendment, she said.

According to estimates from Associate Commissioner for Tax Policy Mike Allen, because fiscal year 2014 was the first without the exemption, the tax on newspapers brought in under $2 million. "But from FY15 on, the data we have looks like a steady $2 million or so," Allen wrote in a Feb. 4 email response to questions.

Hepler has heard no opposition to her proposals, and is now lining up co-sponsors. She said the work has helped her learn the process. But much of her time, and the part she is most enjoying, is talking with and doing outreach for constituents, she said. As a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources, she hears a lot from lobstermen and clam diggers, she said.