AUGUSTA – A new emergency bill from Rep. Holly Stover, D-Boothbay, would protect Maine’s fisheries and economy by providing funding to replace the Maine Sea Grant, which was abruptly terminated by the Trump administration last week.
“The Maine Sea Grant has served as a crucial investment in our coastal communities for more than a half century,” said Stover. “It is baffling and frankly indefensible that the federal government would suddenly roll back this funding without any warning or valid explanation. I am submitting this bill as a backstop, because if we aren’t able to restore the Maine Sea Grant, it will have devastating effects on our fishermen, their families and communities, and our economy statewide.”
The University of Maine received notice on Feb. 28 that the Maine Sea Grant would be terminated effective immediately. The Maine Sea Grant is one of 34 such programs in coastal and Great Lakes states administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. No other sea grant appears to have been terminated by the federal government.
Stover’s proposal would transfer up to $3 million from the so-called Rainy Day Fund to replace the lost federal funding over the next two years. If the grants are restored, the funding would be returned to the Rainy Day Fund.
According to the University of Maine, the Maine Sea Grant generates $15 in activity for every federal dollar invested. The total economic impact in Maine is $23.5 million annually. The federal and matching funds also directly support statewide research and salaries for 20 university employees both on the Orono campus and in Maine’s coastal communities.
The bill requires approval by Legislative Council before it can move forward for consideration by the full Legislature.
Stover is serving her fourth term in the Maine House and represents Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb, South Bristol, Southport and Westport Island. She is a member of the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.