Two years after my Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan took effect, Maine’s economy is stronger than it was before the pandemic and it is continuing to grow. 

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

Nearly four years ago, Maine and the world faced a once-in-a-generation pandemic that threatened lives and livelihoods of people across the globe. 

As the world economy came to a halt, it was clear to me that our state needed a strong public health response and a deliberate plan to stabilize our economy and position our state for future prosperity.

In May 2020, I convened a group of Maine’s leading economists, business leaders, and bipartisan public officials to help get our economy moving again. Drawing on the 10-Year Economic Development Strategy that I had unveiled just six months before, my Economic Recovery Committee developed specific policy recommendations to stabilize, sustain, and grow Maine’s economy.

Based on their recommendations, I released my Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan in May 2021. That plan had three goals: one, to achieve immediate economic recovery from the pandemic; two, achieve long-term economic growth for Maine; and three, revitalize our infrastructure.

That framework enabled Maine to hit the ground running following the passage of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan in March of 2021. While other states struggled to allocate their federal relief funds, Maine quickly put nearly a billion dollars in federal funds to work through the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan.

We invested in small businesses and heritage industries. We encouraged new businesses and job creation by stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship. And we invested in the infrastructure that Maine people need to live, work, and raise a family – everything from roads and bridges to broadband, affordable housing, transportation, childcare, and education.

As a result of those investments, Maine’s economy is stronger today than it was before the pandemic.

Our gross domestic product—a key measure of economic growth—has grown at one of the fastest rates in the nation. In fact, Maine has seen more economic growth over the last four years than in the preceding fifteen years.

Our state has seen historic in-migration, the top rate in New England in fact, and as high as seventh highest rate in the nation. Today, Maine has a near record low unemployment rate and a near record-high number of jobs, an increase in manufacturing, and nearly 14,000 new businesses which registered last year with the Maine Secretary of State’s office.

So, Maine people of all ages and backgrounds are finding new opportunities in meaningful careers, and forward-thinking Maine companies are creating good-paying jobs, diversifying our heritage industries, and helping tackle our climate crisis at the same time.

While we have more work to do, of course, it is clear that our economy is strong and getting stronger every day, thanks to the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan.

My administration will continue to work to ensure that Maine is a place where all people can get a good education, have a rewarding, good-paying career, raise a happy and healthy family, and live comfortably in a community they love.

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

WHEREAS, since its inception in 1976, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program has helped to lower energy costs for more than 7 million low-income households, including thousands in Maine; and

WHEREAS, Community Concepts, Inc., headquartered in Lewiston, was credited for having the first ever weatherization program in the nation by the U.S. Department of Energy; and

WHEREAS, eighty-nine percent of Maine's land is forested, making it the most forested state by proportion in the United States; and

WHEREAS, of Maine's 17.6 million forested acres, including the largest contiguous block of undeveloped forestland east of the Mississippi River, 15.9 million acres are private, productive timberland; and

WHEREAS, Maine's approximately 86,000 private woodland owners, of whom over 75,000 manage more than 10 acres, all play a vital role in the future of the forest industry; and

WHEREAS, domestic abuse and violence are serious injustices that affect people and families of all races, ages, genders and income levels; and

WHEREAS, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men has experienced abuse and violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, and trans and gender non-binary people experience abuse from partners at disproportionate rates; and

WHEREAS, each year, nearly half of all homicides in Maine are related to domestic abuse and violence; and

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

Some years ago, there was a young woman who dated a man who was handsome and charming and smart, and she was in love with him. The man was also an alcoholic, as it turned out. And one night in a drunken rage, that man held a gun to her head. 

The gun did not go off.  She was alone in a strange city and had no place to go. She packed her bags and left that place and never turned back.

The rest of the story is that that young woman went to law school. She became a prosecutor, later the Attorney General and now the Governor of the State of Maine.

Yes, I was one of the lucky ones. Many others who experience domestic abuse are not so lucky.

So, to make sure that Maine women who have experienced, or who are experiencing domestic abuse—make sure that they know they’re not alone, and know that escape from violence is possible, I have declared October Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Maine.

Here are some things that you ought to know about domestic abuse and domestic violence:

• Domestic abuse and domestic violence affect people and families of all races, ages, genders and income levels.
• Nationwide, one in four women and one in seven men has experienced abuse and violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. And, transgender and gender non-binary people experience a disproportionately high rate of domestic abuse and violence from their partners.
• In Maine, nearly half of all homicides are related to domestic abuse every year. And more than 14,000 people who are affected by domestic violence reach out for help every year.

We can prevent domestic abuse and domestic violence in Maine by spreading awareness, by improving public policies to better support people affected by abuse, and by holding perpetrators accountable. 

Every day, but especially during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, may we all do our part to spread awareness about domestic abuse, to challenge the behavior of abusive people, and to support survivors of domestic abuse, whoever they may be. 

Together, our individual actions are what will end domestic abuse in the State of Maine.

So, if you, or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please call the Statewide Domestic Abuse Helpline at 1-866-834-HELP. That’s 1-866-834-HELP.

You are not alone and escape from violence is possible.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

My Administration has been focusing on improving the things that people need to live and work in Maine successfully. Things like high-speed internet, good schools, safe communities, good-paying jobs, and a clean environment. Those efforts are attracting new families to our state and strengthening our economy.

That’s all good news, but one of the greatest impediments to our economic growth is the lack of affordable housing for our growing workforce.

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

Earlier this week, we released a study that describes causes of our housing shortage and identifies housing goals that would support our expanding workforce strengthen our economy based on current projections.

That study makes clear that Maine has a large unmet need now of housing, and, an increasing need for more homes over the coming decade.

Of course, Maine is not alone in this housing shortage. The entire country is short millions of homes, both for rent and for sale, in part because new housing construction slowed down after the recession of 2008 to 2009 and it never truly rebounded.

Still, while states across the country are struggling with a housing shortage, Maine is one of the few states that is doing something about it.

We’ve been focused on building more workforce housing and more housing in general, on rehabbing and restoring our housing stock, on strengthening emergency shelters and support services to make sure every person in Maine has a safe place to sleep at night.

Since I took office in 2019, we have authorized nearly $285 million, an unprecedented amount of money, to incentivize the building of more apartments and homes. These state and federal funds have now built 618 new homes, with 1,126 homes under construction, and 2,187 more homes in the pipeline.

While we welcome the development of new housing statewide, we’ve focused on affordable housing for people of all incomes, especially in rural Maine.

• For example, I signed legislation to create the State Affordable Housing Tax Credit. Budgeted at $80 million, that tax credit was the largest single investment in housing in Maine’s history.
• I signed legislation to create the Affordable Homeownership Program and the Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program to provide housing in rural Maine.
• I signed legislation to address our outdated zoning restrictions and allow the building of “accessory dwelling units,” or what I call “in-law” apartments, so homeowners can build new units on their property, at the same time limiting sprawl.
• I signed the affordable senior housing bond as soon as I took office to build more affordable housing units and weatherize homes for low-income seniors.
• I used federal funding to install heat pumps in mobile homes and weatherize those homes to bring down the energy costs for low-income families.
• I signed legislation to adopt the highly successful “housing first” model to address the needs of people experiencing chronic homelessness, many of whom are suffering from acute mental health and/or substance use disorder.
• And I dedicated funding to address the needs of asylum seekers as they transition to their new lives so that they can enter the workforce as quickly as possible.

I am proud of the progress we have made on housing, but it’s clear that work remains. This new housing report shows without a doubt that the need for affordable housing in Maine is serious, and it’s growing.

I read something recently that said, “home wasn’t built in a day,” and I agree. Ultimately, we want to build permanent, affordable, comfortable housing for all who need it or who want it here in Maine, so that all people can become productive citizens and live and work and raise a family here in our state.

That may mean transforming existing buildings, that may mean taking old schoolhouses and turning them into rental apartments. It may mean more boarding homes of the sort that I used to see when I was growing up in Farmington. Workforce housing of a variety of sorts. And affordable housing. And housing, certainly for Maine’s seniors. Comfortable, safe, affordable housing.

My Administration will continue that work until we can tell every person who wants to live in Maine, “welcome home.”

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.