2023 MAINE LEGISLATURE 131ST SESSION

The 131st Maine Legislature is well underway. Maine legislators started the 2023 legislative session by introducing an unusually high percentage of placeholder bills that by title alone relate to big issues but are void of any details that might inform the public of their purpose, price tag or effect, this is because they contain only a title with no proposed language.

It’s a trend that some observers worry could short circuit transparency and participation in the lawmaking process as the details are usually first presented during the first public hearing by the bill sponsor, not allowing the public to prepare accordingly. Defenders of “concept drafts” say they can lead to more collaboration, particularly on complex issues. Critics contend that they can actually discourage participation in the legislative process because interested parties are unable to see the full language of a bill.

Roughly 2,000 bill titles were submitted at the end of the 2022 by legislators. At the end of February roughly half of these bills have been printed. The consensus among those in the State House is that the Legislature is about three weeks behind schedule and typically by this time in the first session most all bills were printed.

The Maine Democratic Party recently elected to promote Bev Uhlenhake to chairperson after formerly serving as the party’s vice chair. It’s a move that illustrates activists’ satisfaction following an election resulting in the reelections of Gov. Janet Mills, U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden. Democrats also preserved their majorities in the legislature, which is where Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, has returned after he helped guide the party during the 2022 election as its chairman.

Meanwhile, Republicans didn’t re-elect GOP chairwoman Demi Kouzounas and instead elected Joel Stetkis, the former assistant minority leader in the Maine House. The move by the Maine GOP follows the election in which Mills prevailed over former Governor Paul LePage by more than 13 percentage points and the GOP’s efforts in congressional and legislative contests appeared lackluster.

On Tuesday, February 14th Governor Mills gave her State of the Budget Address. Governor Janet Mills declared that Maine’s fiscal health is strong and touted her Administration’s budget proposal as tackling many of Maine’s most pressing issues, from the workforce shortage to the housing crunch.

The Governor indicated that her $10.3 billion budget proposal is balanced, does not raise taxes, and leaves the Rainy Day Fund untouched at a record high of more than $900 million.

Mills says the budget will advance initiatives to address Maine’s most serious challenges, including continuing her free community college initiative for another two years, building more housing, and strengthening Maine’s health care system through investments in behavioral health, services for older Mainers and people with disabilities.

The proposal also makes investment in infrastructure to unlock vast new sources of Federal funding to fix Maine’s multimodal transportation system.

To complement her budget, the Governor also announced a series of new initiatives to tackle the opioid crisis and improve child welfare, and she pledged to sign into law new legislation that would adopt “Housing First”, a highly-successful and costeffective approach to addressing homelessness. The Governor also announced that she will propose creating four new District Court judgeships to help the courts relieve a backlog of cases. Governor Mill’s said her budget proposal builds on her previous budget measure that achieves 55 percent of the cost of education,

New actions announced by the Governor include:

Addressing the Opioid Epidemic:

• Increasing Naloxone Availability by 25 Percent

• Doubling OPTIONS Team

• Building on expanded substance use treatment beds

Improving Child Welfare:

• Developing A Child Safety and Family Wellness Plan

• Supporting Caseworkers With Experts in Substance Use Disorder

• Creating A Recovery Coach Pilot Program for Parents

• Expanding Family Recovery Courts fully restores revenue sharing with municipalities, replenishes the Land for Maine’s Future Program, provides tax relief to working Maine families, and that delivered $850 direct relief payments to Maine people to help with the high costs of pandemic-induced inflation– one of the strongest relief proposals in the country.

Mills said budget complements her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, approved by the Legislature, to invest nearly $1 billion in Federal American Rescue Plan funds to improve the lives of Maine people and families, help businesses, create good-paying jobs, and build an economy poised for future prosperity. It also complements the Maine Connectivity Authority, which is expanding access to broadband to achieve Governor Mills’ goal of providing everyone in Maine with an internet connection who wants one by the end of 2024.

The Rainy Day Fund has grown to more than $900 million. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s credit rating agencies last year also reaffirmed Maine’s Aa2 bond rating and for rating Maine’s debt as stable, even while downgrading ratings of other states, citing Maine’s governance practices and its reserves in the Budget Stabilization Fund.

The Revenue Forecasting Committee has projected that the State will take in $10.5 billion in revenue for Fiscal Years 2024-2025 and approximately $11.6 billion in revenue for the following Fiscal Years 2026-2027.

The 131st Maine Legislature may be slow to start, but that doesn’t mean things won’t start to heat up and that controversial debates are near. MEMA will continue to work on behalf of its members and the public to ensure Maine policy goals reflect the interests of the local petroleum industry. We will continue to keep you informed as the session progresses through the year. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to reach out to Vice President, Megan Diver at mdiver@maineenergymarketers.com.