GOVERNOR MILLS ANNOUNCES MAINE’S BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND HAS REACHED NEW RECORD HIGH, STATUTORY MAXIMUM Govenor Janet Mills at the Maine State House, Augusta, Maine | Photo Credit: Public Domain
Governor Janet Mills announced that the State’s Budget Stabilization Fund, also commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund, has reached $968.3 million, a record high and the maximum allowed under State law. The Fund reached its maximum after the State ended the 2023 Fiscal Year in the black with a $141 million surplus, triggering a “cascade” that distributed the surplus funding into certain accounts, including the Budget Stabilization Fund. In addition to the $52.4 million distributed to the Budget Stabilization Fund, $65 million of surplus funding is being distributed to MaineHousing to address housing insecurity. $35 million will be used to build affordable rental units in rural Maine through the Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program, created by the Mills Administration and MaineHousing, while the remaining $30 million will be used to help incentivize the production of low14
MEMA MAG | Fall 2023
income housing through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program. This builds on the historic funding dedicated to housing included in the recently passed budget and expands the $1.2 billion in public and private investment. Under State law, the Budget Stabilization Fund is allowed to reach a maximum of 18 percent of the Fiscal Year’s General Fund actual revenue from the most recently closed Fiscal Year, which, based on Fiscal Year 2023, amounts to $968.3 million. The maximum amount is recalculated annually. According to Maine State law, when year-end revenues exceed projections and result in a General Fund surplus that is not appropriated, those funds are allocated to certain accounts in order of priority – including the Budget Stabilization Fund – through the process known as the “cascade”. This year, the
