This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

Well, as you know, in December, a powerful storm brought to our state severe flooding, power outages, and extensive damage, especially in central and western Maine.

In the wake of that storm, I asked President Biden to formally declare a Major Disaster Declaration in order to unlock Federal funding that can help our state recover and rebuild.

As part of that request, I asked the President to approve what is known as “Individual Assistance” – it’s a fancy way of saying financial help for real people. This type of assistance can help you repair your house, replace your car, pay for a temporary place to stay, or replace furniture or belongings that were damaged, among other things.

Thankfully, the President approved my request, making funding available to folks in Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford, and Somerset counties – those counties that were so hard hit by that storm in December. 

Now we want to make sure that folks who live in these counties know that they may be eligible for assistance, and we want to encourage them to apply.

As part of that effort, FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency – is sending Disaster Assistance Teams door-to-door, canvassing neighborhoods in Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford and Somerset counties, helping affected residents to register for FEMA disaster assistance.

And, earlier this week, FEMA and the State of Maine officially opened two Disaster Recovery Centers – one in Skowhegan and one in Rumford, with more to come.

The Somerset County Center is located at 4 County Drive in Skowhegan, and the Oxford County Center is located at 145 Congress Street in the Municipal Building in Rumford.

At those locations, which are both open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., FEMA staff will be on hand to help you apply for Federal assistance. And business owners can also apply for low-interest loans to repair or replace property damage. 

If you live in one of the five counties and were affected by the storm, you can visit these centers, no matter which of those counties you live in. We also hope to work closely with FEMA to stand up more Disaster Recovery Centers to serve eligible families soon.

These centers are a great resource to get help in person, but you know, if you’re not able to visit one in person, you can also apply for help by calling the FEMA toll-free helpline at 800-621-3362 – that’s 800-621-FEMA – or by visiting DisasterAssistance.Gov, or by downloading the FEMA app.

This is the first time since 2008 that Maine has actually qualified for federal assistance for individuals recovering from a natural disaster. If you suffered property damage during December’s storm, and these losses were not covered by insurance, please take advantage of this financial support. And make sure that any of your friends and family who were affected by the storm apply as well. No harm in trying.

In the meantime, the Maine Emergency Management Agency is continuing to work on the Major Disaster Declarations for the two storms that hit us so hard in January. If federal officials agree that the damage from those storms qualifies, I will certainly seek another Federal Disaster Declaration from President Biden for the January storms.

Please, if you incurred losses in the December storm, apply for federal assistance today.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, Me. Const. Art. IX, § 10 confers upon the Governor the authority to consider the removal of an elected sheriff “upon complaint, due notice and hearing” if the sheriff is found to be “not faithfully or efficiently performing any duty imposed upon the sheriff by law”; and 

WHEREAS, 30-A M.R.S. § 441 authorizes county commissioners to submit complaints to the Governor to request the removal of a sheriff from office; and 

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

In December, a powerful rain and wind storm brought severe flooding, power outages, and extensive damage to central and western Maine in particular.

After the storm, I wrote a letter to President Biden formally requesting a Major Disaster Declaration — and the federal funding that comes along with it — to help us repair damaged roads and bridges, as well as public buildings and other public infrastructure in the Maine counties hardest hit by the storm.

In addition to public assistance, I also asked President Biden for help for individual families hard hit by the storm. I told President Biden that families who are trying to recover from the December storm are having an awful hard time finding local, skilled contractors and affordable housing alternatives while their homes and businesses are under repair. And that they’re struggling to pay the high cost of replacing major household items or removing mold caused by the flooding.

I am very pleased to say that President Biden has approved both of those requests.

As a result, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with our Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and other State agencies, will establish Disaster Recovery Centers in Maine communities that were impacted by the storm.

Those centers will connect Maine families and business owners connect with federal agencies, find out about federal disaster assistance, check the status of their applications, and to understand notices or letters about their applications, among other services.

The locations and time frames of the Disaster Recovery Centers are being finalized and will be announced as soon as possible. More information about who is eligible for personal assistance, and how to apply for that, will also be released by MEMA.

I thank President Biden for his promptly approving our request for a Major Disaster Declaration, which will allow hard-hit communities in Maine move forward after the December storm.

Of course, Maine was also hit by two other powerful storms in January and I have directed MEMA to begin the Major Disaster Declaration process for those storms as well. If federal officials agree that the damage from those storms qualifies, I will certainly seek another Federal Disaster Declaration from President Biden.

My Administration will continue to do everything possible to help Maine recover from the recent catastrophic weather events that we’ve had and to make our communities more resilient to the impacts of our changing climate.

Earlier this week, in my State of the State Address, I proposed that we make two significant investments to improve infrastructure that is vulnerable to flooding, or rising sea levels, and other extreme events.

First, I proposed that we invest $5 million in our Community Resilience Partnership to help another 100 cities, towns, and tribal governments create plans to address local vulnerabilities to extreme weather, adding to the 175 communities that have already joined that Partnership since it launched.

And second, I proposed investing $50 million of our record high “Rainy Day” Fund into the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund, which provides grants for significant infrastructure adaptation, repair, and improvements.

Essentially, I’m proposing that we take $50 million from our Rainy Day savings fund to repair the damage from these very rainy days that we’ve had – and get ready for some more rainy days ahead.

Communities across Maine can use those grants for working waterfront structures, culverts, storm water systems, water system upgrades, and other interventions that reduce or eliminate climate impacts, especially coastal and inland flooding.

So, while we seek every available federal dollar for disaster assistance and resiliency, it is critical we focus state funds on repairing and making our working waterfront more resilient so our fishing industry can get things up and running in the next few months before the height of fishing season.

I hope that the Legislature promptly approves these commonsense investments that will strengthen our infrastructure in the long term.

With help from the Federal government and the support of the Legislature, and with the ingenuity and grit that are the hallmark of Maine people, we will rebuild stronger than ever.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, school counselors play a critical role in our public and private schools throughout the State of Maine to help all students reach their full potential; and

WHEREAS, school counselors are actively committed to helping students explore their abilities, strengths, interests, and talents as these traits relate to career awareness and development; and

WHEREAS, school counselors help parents focus on ways to further the educational, personal and social growth of their children; and

WHEREAS, Black History Month, previously known as Negro History Week, was founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson and first celebrated on February 1, 1926; and

WHEREAS, since 1976, it has become a nationally recognized month-long celebration held to

acknowledge and pay tribute to the contributions made by African Americans to the history of our country that for years were omitted by society and history books; and

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Days after the tragedy in Lewiston last October, I announced my intention to formally establish an independent commission of experts to determine the facts surrounding the shootings, including the months preceding those events and the police response to it.

So, in early November, Attorney General Aaron Frey and I announced the establishment of that commission and its members, who are seven nonpartisan experts with extensive legal, investigative, and mental health backgrounds.

In our letter to the members of that Independent Commission, Attorney General Frey and I asked them to determine the full and complete scope of their work and to request any resources and any additional investigative powers that they might need to complete that work.

In response, the Independent Commission requested they have subpoena power to obtain documents and perhaps to compel witness testimony as it conducts its work.  

That would take statutory authority. So, this week, Attorney General Frey and I introduced bipartisan emergency legislation to grant that request and to ensure that the Independent Commission has all the tools it needs to fully determine the facts of the tragedy in Lewiston.

This emergency bill, which was sponsored by all four Republican and Democratic leaders of the Legislature, would enable the Independent Commission to issue subpoenas to compel the production of documents and or the testimony of witnesses upon a majority vote of the Commission.

If an individual or an entity does not comply, the Independent Commission could ask the Maine Superior Court to compel compliance with a subpoena. Witnesses, of course, will have the right to have counsel present and other fundamental rights.

The families of the victims, and those who were injured, and the people of Maine and the nation deserve to know the complete facts and circumstances, including any failures or omissions, that led to the tragedy in Lewiston. They deserve to have those answers uncovered in an independent and nonpartisan manner.

I know that the Legislature shares that belief, and I am grateful for the support of all four legislative leaders – Democrats and Republicans – on this emergency measure to give the Independent Commission the power it needs to uncover those facts.

I hope that the full Legislature will quickly approve this measure with the support it needs to take effect immediately after I sign it into law, and the Commission can complete its work expeditiously and thoroughly.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, Maine is required to be carbon neutral by 2045, and has committed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 45% below 1990 levels by 2030 and at least 80% by 2050;

WHEREAS, a changing climate, and the need for new, more efficient technologies offers tremendous opportunities for Maine’s wood products sector, and Maine is poised to be a leader in innovative construction products;

WHEREAS, American history is an essential component of a complete and well-rounded education; and

WHEREAS, the study of history provides us a deeper understanding of our culture and traditions and connects us with events, people, places, and ideas of our country’s past; and

WHEREAS, understanding our shared history allows us to make better decisions about our future, and to prevent repeating mistakes of the past; and

WHEREAS, Saturday, January 27, 2024 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which marks the seventy-ninth anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp; and

WHEREAS, this is a day of remembrance for the six million Jews who were murdered by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945; and

WHEREAS, on this anniversary, the State of Maine recommits itself to combating the global rise in anti-Semitism; and

This past December, as you all know, a powerful rain and wind storm brought severe flooding, power outages, and extensive damage to central and western Maine.

Then, in January, two more powerful storms brought rain, wind, and flooding that once again ravaged our state, damaging coastal communities and working waterfronts, and altered the very landscape of our iconic coast.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

So, this week, I wrote a letter to President Biden, and I formally requested a Major Disaster Declaration to help ten Maine counties recover from the severe December storm, which caused an estimated $20 million in public infrastructure damage alone. Most of that damage was in Androscoggin, Franklin, Hancock, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington Counties.

So, if the President approves my request, we can then use federal funding to repair damaged roads and bridges, as well as public buildings and other public infrastructure in those counties.

In addition to public assistance, I also asked for help for individual families hit hardest by the storm. In my letter, I told President Biden that families who are trying to recover from the December storm are having a hard time finding local, skilled contractors and affordable housing alternatives while they make repairs. And they’re struggling to pay the high cost of replacing major household items or removing mold caused by the flooding.

So, to help those families, I asked the President to make assistance available to eligible people who experienced property damage in Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford, and Somerset Counties – because those are the counties the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, verified as reaching the federal government’s threshold for individual assistance.

In addition to my letter to President Biden requesting both public and private assistance for December’s storm, I also requested FEMA conduct a damage assessment of last week’s storms which brought historic flooding to the Maine coast, destroying homes, roads, buildings, docks, and iconic landmarks.

If FEMA agrees that the costs resulting from the back-to-back storms in January are beyond our ability to address, as they did after the December storm, I will formally request another Major Disaster Declaration from President Biden.

Look, if you experienced storm or flood damage in these most recent storms, I ask you to report it by dialing 2-1-1 or visit my Administration’s Flood Resources & Assistance Hub at maine.gov/governor/mills.

Your information will help us as we prepare to seek the maximum amount of federal assistance available. My Administration is working closely with local officials to assess and repair damage as quickly as possible and to seek any and all available Federal support.

Unfortunately, extreme weather events like these are becoming more and more common, and our state is certainly not immune.

By burning fossil fuels – like gasoline, oil, or natural gas – we are pumping harmful greenhouses gases into our environment. Those gases in turn envelop our planet like a blanket, trapping in heat and raising global temperatures.

In Maine, we are feeling the effects of climate change in many ways — the Gulf of Maine is getting warmer, faster than any other ocean waters on the planet. Storms are wilder, becoming more powerful and more frequent. They pick up energy over the ocean before they slam into our coast. Our growing seasons are more unpredictable, threatened by both droughts and downpours. Our farmers, our fishermen, and our coastal families are all feeling the impacts of climate change.

Over the past five years, we’ve been working on addressing the effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and investing significant resources to make our communities more resilient.

So, in the wake of these storms, and in anticipation of those to come, we must have a serious conversation as a state about what we can all do to make sure our state and communities are prepared for the impact of these weather events and climate change in general.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.