AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)   The Latest on the Maine Legislature (all times local):

3:45 p.m.

A bill to provide $21 million to the Maine child welfare system has cleared its first hurdle.

The Maine Senate approved the bill on Thursday. The House will take it up later.

The funding will pay 16 new caseworkers and provide raises for foster families and caseworkers.

The bill is one of several 11th-hour changes to Maine’s struggling child welfare program in light of the deaths of two girls. Republican Gov. Paul LePage and lawmakers say the bills are just the start of wider reform.

The session got underway Thursday with a salute to Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who died Saturday at 87.

12:15 a.m.

Lawmakers are returning to deal with reforms to Maine’s struggling child welfare system and the state’s tax code.

The Legislature is set to return Thursday to begin wrapping up a special session that has dragged on for over two months. State records show it’s rare for lawmakers to still be at work so late in the year.

Lawmakers are considering 11th-hour changes to Maine’s struggling child welfare program in light of the deaths of two girls.

Republican Gov. Paul LePage and lawmakers say the bills, which include $21 million of spending, are just the start of wider reform.

A widely supported bill to overhaul Maine’s tax code in light of Republican President Trump’s tax reform has been tabled because of politics since June. Lawmakers are expected to consider it Thursday.