Earlier this week, my Administration recognized International Overdose Awareness Day.

We rededicated ourselves to preventing overdoses from claiming the lives of more people in Maine.

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

More than 5,000 overdoses have been reported in Maine this year through the end of June. Three hundred of those overdoses were deadly. As very troubling and unacceptable as that number is, the number is also a slight decrease from the same time period last year.

But these tragic deaths are driven by the ever-increasing prevalence of fentanyl, the highly lethal, highly addictive synthetic opioid, that is often present in other drugs consumed by unknowing users. In Maine, as in the rest of the nation, fentanyl is not only the leading cause of overdoses, it is responsible for 80 percent of all drug deaths.

Alarmingly, six percent of fentanyl overdose deaths in Maine last year included xylazine as well — that’s an animal tranquilizer that can cause horrible, painful wounds on your skin and even amputations of limbs of your body. The number of fentanyl overdose deaths with xylazine has increased, and unlike fentanyl, there is no reversal medication for xylazine. It is a killer.

The abundance of fentanyl and other drugs like xylazine is stealing away the futures of people across our state, including children and young adults.

These new drugs new have changed the epidemic of substance use disorder. But as a result, our work to stop it has changed too.

Using $260 million in funding for behavioral health and substance use services in the state budget, we’re focusing on stopping deadly drugs from getting into Maine in the first place; on preventing drug overdoses and reversing drug overdoses to save the lives of Maine people; on expanding treatment and recovery programs, especially in rural areas; and on preventing people from using drugs in the first place.

How are we saving lives?

• Well, we’ve trained hundreds of recovery coaches and we’ve opened more than a dozen recovery centers in rural and urban communities across Maine.
• We’re hiring more peer outreach workers, who have already done more than 200 trainings to communities across the state. They’ve distributed hundreds of naloxone kits, which saves lives. They’ve served nearly 600 people, including transporting people to detox, treatment, or sober living facilities.

Our goal is to prevent overdoses, but we’re also making sure bystanders can reverse overdoses to save a person’s life, so we can help put that person back on the path to a productive life again.

• So, we’ve increased our distribution of Naloxone, the lifesaving drug, by 25 percent, 25,000 doses actually, statewide. And since 2019, we’ve reversed more than 8,000 near deadly overdoses in this state.
• We enacted a new Good Samaritan law to encourage bystanders to call for help when someone is overdosing while still preserving law enforcement’s ability to arrest drug traffickers and violent offenders.
• And we’re buying and distributing xylazine test strips to people who need them. People need to know before they consume the most deadly drug out there.

My Administration will continue to do all we can to save lives because we know that recovery from substance use disorder is possible. Maine needs every person in our state to reach their full potential.

If you’d like to get involved with our response to the opioid epidemic in Maine, or if you need resources for yourself or your loved ones, please visit www.KnowYourOptions.ME.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS 1,578 Americans are still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, as well as 7,492 from the Korean War, 126 from the Cold War, and 72,187 from World War II, though thousands from World War II are assessed as unrecoverable deep-sea losses; and

WHEREAS, the families and friends of unaccounted for Vietnam War Veterans, as well as countless fellow Veterans and other Americans, still await recovery and identification of their remains or clarity regarding their fates; and

WHEREAS, Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the primary providers of community-based long-term support services for thousands of individuals with disabilities in Maine; and

WHEREAS, DSPs are valued for their work in building respectful and trusted relationships with individuals to assist them with their most intimate needs; and

Earlier this week, I was pleased to visit the University of Maine in Orono to announce the 2023 Northern Border Regional Commission Catalyst Awards. This year marks the largest single round of grants that Commission has ever distributed to the inventors and innovators who are driving the economic success of our region.

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

The Northern Border Regional Commission – or NBRC – was created by Congress back in 2008. It’s intended to spur economic and community development along the northeastern border of the United States, focusing on rural counties in particular. The Commission has five co-chairs, including me, the governor of Maine, and the governors of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York – along with a federal co-chair appointed by the President.

Since its creation, the NBRC has distributed 387 grants, amounting to more than $114 million in direct investments and attracting another $416 million in additional investments, across Maine and the other Commission member states.

Thanks to the advocacy of Maine’s Congressional Delegation, this year, Maine is receiving $11 million in federal funding and $36.5 million in other matching funds, or leveraged funding, through the NBRC Catalyst Awards. Sixteen awardees in Maine will use these funds to make sure that Maine people can live in healthy communities, have safe roads, clean drinking water, and good housing.

For example, the University of Maine will use its million dollar grant from NBRC to create the “GEM Gateway” within its Green Engineering and Materials Factory of the Future. 

The “Factory of the Future” is a manufacturing space at the University that uses sustainable, bio-based materials from Maine timber – things like CLT, or cross laminated timber. It is revitalizing our forest products industry and our rural Maine economy, it’s reducing carbon emissions, and helping us combat the effects of climate change to protect our environment.

I am very pleased the NBRC recognized the importance of funding the “GEM Gateway” in the University’s Factory of the Future. Among other benefits, the “GEM Gateway” will provide an immersive learning experience for young people to interest them in advanced manufacturing and careers in that area. The “GEM Gateway” is just one of sixteen projects in Maine funded by the NBRC Catalyst Awards this year. 

The Town of Greenville will use its grant to expand public roads and parking, and sewer and water lines, and storm water systems to help with the development of 26 units of new workforce housing near the CA Dean Northern Light Hospital. That investment will attract health care workers and their families to the beautiful Moosehead Lake region.

The Towns of Anson and Madison will use their joint grant to improve the water district’s wastewater treatment system and remove PFAS from treated waters.

And organizations in Oxford County will upgrade trail systems and trailhead parking, and establish miles of new mountain bike trails and purchase snow guns for Black Mountain ski resort in Rumford.

These investments will strengthen Maine’s heritage industries, and enhance our outdoor economy, increase our resiliency to climate change, and create good-paying jobs in our rural communities.

I thank the Northern Border Regional Commission for its continued support of rural Maine, and I thank the Maine Congressional Delegation—all four of them—for their work to secure the funding that made these projects possible.

On behalf of the state of Maine, I congratulate the University of Maine and the 15 other 2023 Catalyst Award Winners from Presque Isle to Washington County and everything in between, and I look forward to celebrating these projects as they are completed in the years to come.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, George J. Mitchell was born in Waterville, Maine on August 20, 1933, raised by hardworking Lebanese and Irish parents who instilled in their children a formidable work ethic and a drive to do well by others; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in and visiting our state; and

WHEREAS, a sufficient blood supply is a public health issue both locally and nationally, and our hospitals and medical centers need a readily available supply for our residents and visitors

WHEREAS, one blood donation can help save more than one life, and although most of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, only about 3 percent actually do.

WHEREAS, Maine is renowned for its agricultural heritage and commitment to producing high-quality, locally-sourced products; and

WHEREAS, the Maine Cheese Guild, a pioneering organization in promoting and advancing the art of cheese-making, was officially established in 2003 with an uncompromising dedication to cultivating a vibrant artisanal cheese community; and

WHEREAS, the 130th Maine Legislature unanimously passed L.D. 1861, An Act to Establish the Safe Homes Program, and as Governor, I signed the bill into law on April 7, 2022; and

WHEREAS, this bipartisan law promotes responsible gun ownership and educates Maine people about gun safety while ensuring that gun owners are not prevented from taking steps to safely secure their firearms because of an issue of affordability or lack of knowledge and information about safe storage options; and

As every household knows, emergencies can occur anytime, anyplace.

Part of being Governor is being prepared and planning ahead for unexpected events like economic downturns.

Well, I want you to know that Maine is better prepared today to withstand any economic downturn than at any other time in state history because of smart, deliberate financial choices by this Administration.

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

This week I was pleased to announce that Maine’s Budget Stabilization Fund, commonly known as the “Rainy Day” Fund, has reached a record high of more than $968 million — that’s the maximum allowed under state law.

That fund, set aside for emergencies, is not used for operating expenses of state government.

That’s an increase of more than $750 million since I have taken office in the Rainy Day Fund.

Well, how did we get here?

The State closed the 2023 Fiscal Year at the end of June with a $141 million surplus – we’re in the black again.

State law then requires that surplus funding be distributed to certain accounts, including the Rainy Day Fund, as determined by formula.

So, we got to deposit $52.3 million into the Rainy Day Fund, bringing it to an all-time high and, actually, to the maximum allowed under law. 

That’s pretty good news.

As authorized by the Legislature, we will then use some of the remaining one-time surplus to build affordable rental units in rural Maine and build low-income housing through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

Since I took office, we have quadrupled the Rainy Day Fund and we have produced balanced budgets in partnership with the Legislature, all while making historic investments in Maine people to improve their lives and livelihoods.

For example, our most recent balanced budget strengthens education, housing, child care, and workforce, and delivers tax relief for seniors, expanding the more than $200 million in tax relief we are already providing every year. The budget also lays the groundwork for a new, flexible paid family and medical leave program.

We are building on the previous investments we’ve made in infrastructure that Maine people need like housing, transportation, child care, and education, while living within our means.

As a result, our economy is strong. In fact, our state has experienced more economic growth over the last four years than it ever did in the preceding fifteen years. And our Gross Domestic Product is gaining.

Despite the current strength of our economy, depositing a record high amount into our state’s Rainy Day Fund will ensure that we are better prepared than ever to withstand any future economic downturn or unexpected emergencies.

Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings, companies that analyze and issue reports of states’ credit worthiness, cited our preparedness as a reason for reaffirming Maine’s strong credit ratings earlier this year. 

In its statement, Moody’s wrote that “the state's finances will remain in solid shape thanks to strong fiscal governance.” Moody’s and S&P have reaffirmed Maine’s good credit ratings every year since I took office.

My Administration will continue to work hard to deliver the resources and support that Maine people need to succeed, while still saving for a Rainy Day. 

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Recently, I was privileged to welcome President Biden to Auburn Manufacturing in Auburn, Maine to talk about how the innovation of Maine people is building a stronger, more prosperous state.

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

You know, Maine has a long and proud history of making high-quality products used by people around the world. For example, generations of hardworking Maine people have harvested timber from our forests and harnessed the power of our rivers to create high-quality paper products and textiles.

I grew up in the shadow of the paper mills in Western Maine. My classmates built their lives around those good paying jobs, and they lost more than a paycheck when our mills began to close some years ago.

As one former mill worker put it, "Losing the mill was losing a job, but it was also losing the status of the job. It's a job people look up to. Losing that pride, along with the relationships with everyone you work with, that was one of the toughest things."

Well, when I took office, I knew that to bring back that pride, to create good paying jobs, and to grow our economy, we had to invest in our greatest asset: Maine people.

Thanks to President Biden's investments in our state, and the hard work of Maine people and help from Congress, we are creating good-paying jobs, and our economy is growing stronger every day.

Maine's unemployment rate is at a record low, we have a near record high number of jobs, and our GDP has grown at one of the best rates in the nation.

New businesses are coming to Maine and existing businesses are expanding. More than 1,800 manufacturing companies now employ more than 56,000 people in Maine, exporting everything from aircraft parts, semiconductors, seafood, advanced forest products, textiles made at Auburn Manufacturing.

Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan has helped Auburn Manufacturing and companies like them expand their production. Now Auburn Manufacturing's high-quality, extreme heat protection textiles and fabrics, crafted by 50 skilled Maine workers, are used every day across North America and in more than 30 other countries. We are incredibly proud of Auburn Manufacturing's CEO Kathie Leonard and her entire team in Auburn.

Thanks to innovative Maine companies like Kathie Leonard's, and with historic federal funding, we are creating good manufacturing jobs once again. Jobs that Maine people can look up to. Jobs that Maine people are proud of. Jobs that provide for the families of Maine people.

I am so proud of the work we have done to bring back manufacturing jobs to Maine and build a stronger, more prosperous state.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.