Inflation, along with increased oil and gas prices resulting from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, are hitting Maine people hard. Last week, I proposed some changes to our budget to put money directly back into the pockets of Maine people to help them deal with these rising costs.
Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.
Last month, consistent with the calls of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, I proposed giving back half of the budget surplus to Maine taxpayers in the form of $500 checks to help them deal with pandemic-driven inflation.
Since that time, Maine’s nonpartisan Revenue Forecasting Committee has upgraded our revenue forecast by nearly $412 million, while cautioning that our long-term revenue projections are “volatile and susceptible to significant downside risk” in the years to come. Well basically, that means that we shouldn’t count on State revenues staying this high in the future, so we got to be careful to invest these funds to address immediate needs, while not spending one-time revenue in some ongoing, long-term way.
Now, you know that Maine’s constitution requires us to have a balanced budget. So, with the new revenues, I am proposing revisions to the budget to make sure that it is balanced.
Last week, I proposed using those revenues to provide more direct relief to Maine people. I’m proposing increasing those give back checks to $850, or $1,700 for the average Maine household.
These checks — a one time initiative paid for with one time surplus funds, just like I just mentioned — will responsibly provide relief to Maine people as soon as the Legislature passes the budget.
In addition to increasing these direct relief checks, my budget proposal dedicates funding to:
- bolster Maine’s behavioral health system;
- save the Maine Veterans Homes in Caribou and Machias;
- capitalize a Trust Fund to Address PFAS Contamination to help farmers who are discovering these dangerous forever chemicals on their property;
- create an Emergency Housing Relief Fund at MaineHousing as well to address homelessness; among many other initiatives.
Overall, my budget proposes increasing the Budget Stabilization Fund — the Rainy Day Fund — to more than $500 million for the first time in state history; also we’re providing $100 million to the Maine Department of Transportation to fix those crumbling roads and bridges; we’re proposing delivering crucial tax relief to working Maine families; and increasing pay for child care workers; and expanding tax credits to help Maine residents pay off student loans; and providing two years of free community college to recent high school graduates to strengthen Maine’s workforce.
My proposed budget and the changes will help Maine people through this difficult time, it will tackle pressing problems, and it will lay the foundation for strong economic growth.
I am sure the Legislature shares my commitment to addressing these issues, and I look forward to working with them to pass this proposal as quickly as possible in a strongly bipartisan manner.
This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.