AUGUSTA, Maine — In Augusta, the legislative session was supposed to wrap up Wednesday night, but that didn't happen.
During an afternoon press conference, Maine Senate Republicans accused House Democrats of dragging the session out, as a number of major bills still need to be voted on.
"We have this tremendous backlog of bills over in the house," Sen. Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Aroostook, said.
Stewart didn't mention her by name but put the blame on Speaker of the House Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland.
"As of tomorrow, it will be costing taxpayers over $50,000 every day that we have to come back in because of her mismanagement," Stewart added.
Democratic House Leadership said they were too "busy" to address the accusations on camera, but did provide a statement:
"House Democrats have been diligently working throughout the legislative session - that will continue this evening and over the next few days as they wrap up a highly productive session. Thus far, the Legislature has fully funded public education, invested millions into addressing the housing crisis, and are in the midst of advancing bills critical to economic security for Maine families, bolstering rural health care, and recognizing self-determination for the Wabanaki Nation."
Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Cumberland, said everyone has worked as hard as possible.
"We’ve had more bills this session than in any other session, I do believe, and those folks have stayed through the night, not been with their families to get these bills to the floor, as well as having robust floor debates," Daughtry said.
The senator told NEWS CENTER Maine they're getting some significant bills passed through the senate—including paid family medical leave.
"It's a huge day," she said. "This is something I've been working on for over a decade."
But there are more issues to address from gun safety bills to abortion legislation and the budget.
As for when this session will end, both parties have different answers.
"It's up to the majority party and their leader's the speaker," Sen. Stewart explained.
Meanwhile, Daughtry said they're putting their best foot forward, nose to the grindstone, and working as hard as they can to adjourn.
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Correction: An earlier version of this story mis-identified Trey Stewart's political affiliation.