AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) The Maine Senate has effectively ended an attempt to eliminate the state’s secretive state police “fusion center” that came under under scrutiny after a whistleblower lawsuit.

The bill to close the fusion center was rejected 29-6 in the Senate on Monday, just hours after the House voted to eliminate the center.

So-called fusion centers were created after the 9/11 attacks to share information among law enforcement agencies.

Maine’s center faced scrutiny after being accused of gathering and storing intelligence on gun buyers, power line protesters and employees of a camp for Israeli and Arab teens.