These are some of the stories central Maine is talking about today.

A new online calculator will allow residents to compare the tax rates and credits under current law to Gov. Paul LePage's tax overhaul plan. LePage will unveil the new online calculator at the Statehouse today. LePage has proposed a massive tax overhaul in his more than $6 billion budget plan, which is currently being considered by the Legislature. He wants to slash the individual and corporate income tax and pay for it in part by raising and expanding the sales tax. (AP)

A Republican state senator is renewing an effort to require that Medicaid and welfare applicants live in Maine for at least six months before receiving benefits, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down similar restrictions in other states. Sen. Eric Brakey says he believes Maine's welfare programs are too generous and attract people who've used up their benefits in other states. He acknowledges that his bill would likely face a court challenge if approved, but says it's a fight that the state needs to have. A legislative committee will consider Brakey's bill Wednesday. (AP)

The Republican-controlled Maine Senate has supported a bill that would prohibit people from using hand-held cellphones while driving. The Senate on Tuesday voted 24-10 in favor of rejecting the Transportation Committee's recommendation that the bill be killed. The Senate then gave the bill initial approval, sending it to the Democratic-led House for consideration.  Sen. Roger Katz's bill would still allow people to use hands-free devices to talk on the phone. He said that distractions caused by hand-held cellphones have become a bigger public safety hazard on the road than drunk driving. He says that 14 states have passed similar laws. Opponents say they bill is unnecessary because Maine already outlaws distracted driving and question whether it would really solve the problem. (AP)

After a fire in the Whitefield school gym last month, school officials discovered that every light in the gym was a fire hazard and they were lucky it wasn't much worse. According to WCSH, all the ceiling lights had been incorrectly installed 28 years ago. They said the lights were supposed to have been installed 11 inches from the ceiling to prevent overheating, but they weren't. Investigators found scorched and damaged electrical wire and other places where the heat had scorched inside the ceiling. (WCSH)

The issue of genetically modified organisms in food is being discussed again in Augusta. According to WCSH, lawmakers are considering a bill that would require labeling on food to let consumers know whether it contains genetically modified ingredients. They passed a similar law last year, but it will not go into effect until the five other New England states pass labeling laws as well. The charge is being led by eight legislators who are part of the Youth Caucus. The bipartisan group of supporters said consumers have a right to know what's in their food. (WCSH)

Congress has approved legislation permanently changing how Medicare pays physicians in one of Congress' rare recent displays of bipartisanship. The Senate's 92-8 vote Tuesday sending the measure to the White House let both parties claim victory. Passage headed off a 21 percent cut in doctors' Medicare fees that would have begun taking effect Wednesday. It also let lawmakers finally change a 1997 law that has repeatedly threatened reductions in physician's payments that doctors have said were pressuring them to stop treating Medicare's elderly patients. The measure also has extra money for health care programs for children and low-income people. President Barack Obama has said he will sign the bill. (AP)

The White House says President Barack Obama will remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. The designation has been an impediment to efforts to improve relations between Havana and Washington. In a message to Congress, the president said the government of Cuba "has not provided any support for international terrorism" over the last six months. (AP)

While the electronic cigarette industry continues to boom, Maine lawmakers must decide whether to include the products in the state’s no-smoking law for restaurants, bars, parks and other public areas. The process often is called vaping, and critics say that, while it may not be as dangerous as smoking regular cigarettes, the effects of the vapor still can be harmful to the user and those exposed secondhand. But, because vaping doesn’t produce smoke, using the devices is legal in places where smoking is prohibited. (Sun Journal/BDN)

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