Maine People's Voting Coalition says Gov. LePage's action is illegal

"A lawyer for the Maine People's Voting Coalition says that Gov. Paul LePage is not authorized to remove the 36-foot mural at the Department of Labor.

The group issued a release Friday saying a petition could be filed with the State Museum Commission to stop LePage from moving the mural.

The administration plans to move the mural because LePage believes its depiction of Maine's labor history is too one-sided toward organized labor.

According to the coalition's Jon Beal, a Portland lawyer, the governor doesn't have the authority to remove the mural without approval from the Museum Commission, the artwork's current owner.

Beal cited a section of state law: "The Maine State Museum holds title, as trustee for the state, to all historical materials, other than documents or other library or archival items under the administrative jurisdiction of the Maine State Library or the Maine State Archives, that are or may become the property of the state and are or may be housed in the public buildings of the state.""

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For complete story in the Lewiston Sun Journal, see http://www.sunjournal.com/state/story/1004915