(dramatic music) - Good evening and welcome to Maine Public's live coverage of Governor Janet Mills' State of the Budget address.

I'm Robbie Feinberg, I am here with Maine Public's chief political correspondent, Steve Mistler, and we are coming to you from the State House in Augusta, where in just a few minutes, the governor will deliver an address before a joint session of the legislature.

Governor Mills is expected to speak for about an hour we're expecting tonight.

After she's completed her remarks, we will turn to the Republicans for a roughly five minute pre-recorded response to the budget.

So Steve, this budget plan from Governor Mills, it's actually already been out for more than a month now.

What's the real goal of tonight's address?

- Well, I think at the end of the day, Robbie, her goal, the governor's goal is to deliver this budget to the Maine people, basically sell it to the Maine people.

To outline her agenda for her second term, and essentially, you know, she's already presented this budget to the press and others, and it's been reported on, but at the end of the day, I think this is an outline of her agenda, and she wants to show the Maine people what she has done and what she plans to do with the budget.

- [Robbie] And as we mentioned, the budget plan is already out there.

Give us a few highlights of that budget.

- [Steve] Yeah, broadly speaking, the proposal is effectively a continuation of initiatives included in the current two year budget.

You know, among them continuing to fund 55% of local education costs, continued free meals to all public school kids, free community college for students graduating in 2024, 2025.

That's a continuation of a pandemic era program.

She's trying to extend that for the next two years.

And also more money for substance abuse programs, housing, and of course, infrastructure spending as well.

- [Robbie] Sure, Steve.

And as you can see right now, we are looking out over the house chamber right now where both the House and Senate are gathered tonight.

There is Senate President Troy Jackson right there.

Steve, are you expecting that we'll be hearing anything new from the governor tonight that we haven't already heard?

- [Steve] Yeah, I do, but I'm not sure that the news will be strictly related to the budget, even though that's the purpose of this address.

It's not technically a state of the state address, which is typically more sprawling in nature than a budget address.

But I expect to hear something about the state's embattled child welfare agency, something the governor might be able to do administratively, and maybe without the approval of the legislature.

And there may be some other initiatives that she unveils related to energy, climate change, and substance abuse programs.

- [Robbie] Yeah.

And are we expecting any big areas of tension in this budget among lawmakers?

I'd imagine even just that top line figure that we've heard floated, is that gonna be a big area?

- Yeah, the top line figure is a real bugaboo for a lot of Republican lawmakers in particular, and I think you're gonna hear a lot about that.

And I think, you know, the price tag is $10.3 billion.

We've never exceeded $10 billion in a budget before.

And so that in and of itself is maybe symbolic to some people, but I think it's meaningful to folks who maybe think that that's too high.

- Yeah, and are there any specific policies as well that you think might be challenged here?

- Well, that's just it.

We haven't heard challenges to the spending so far.

We've just heard from Republicans that it's too much.

And I think one of the challenges for Republicans is that they agreed to a lot of this spending, because again, this budget proposal is effectively a continuation of the one that's already in place, and a lot of that spending was supported in a bipartisan way by a lot of the Republicans that are sitting in this chamber tonight.

- [Robbie] Yeah, so it sounds like it's tough to say what exactly, what the fights are gonna be kind of over the next few months, then.

- [Steve] Yeah, I mean I think the big one, the big fight is over taxes to the extent that the Democrats will allow it to happen.

You know, the Democrats have control of the legislature.

They could use their majorities to pass a budget on their own.

I don't think that they want to do that necessarily, but if they get bogged down in a protracted debate about taxes, they may end up going that route, especially if they feel like the Republicans are digging in their heels.

And the big deadline here is July 1st, because if we don't pass a new budget before July 1st, there's a shut down of state government.

- [Robbie] Sure.

And Steve, it sounds like that the Herald is going to be approaching in the house chamber shortly.

We're expecting the governor in just a moment.

As we just saw there, we saw the senators coming up.

This is an interesting arrangement here in the House chambers right now, right Steve?

- [Steve] Right, so it's a joint convention of the legislature, which means that the Senate basically sits up near the rostrum near where the Speaker of the House would normally be.

- [Robbie] Got it, and we've got leaders up there obviously, and then we've got House lawmakers as well, so.

- [Steve] Here's the Herald.

- Hear ye, hear ye.

Make way, make way.

Make way for her excellency, governor and Commander in Chief for the state of Maine, the Honorable Janet T. Mills, justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

The honorable (indistinct).

- [Announcer] Chairs please welcome the honorable Janet T. Mills, governor of the state of Maine.

(audience applauding) - [Robbie] Governor Mills coming out right there, saying hello to lawmakers, as we can see.

- [Steve] Yeah, it's interesting, 'cause the leaders of the legislature, or the House in particular, tend to sit on the far ends of the aisle, so she's not actually interacting with those folks because they're not on the aisle.

But she will be able to interact with the House Speaker, Rachel Talbot Ross, she's supposed to sit next to her, and of course, Troy Jackson, who's presiding over the convention, will vacate that seat in in a few minutes and she'll take the rostrum.

- [Robbie] And there is Troy Jackson.

(gavel bangs) - The Chair would like to thank this evening's Herald, Senior Airman Matthew Hamill from the 265th Combat Communication Squadron Maine Army National Guard.

Would he please rise and accept the greetings of the convention?

(audience applauding) The chair would request that Governor Janet T. Mills please step forward and address the convention.

- Thank you.

(audience applauding) Ooh, am I tall.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Madam Speaker, Mr.

Associate Justice, Mr. Attorney General, I believe is up there, and the treasurer, Henry Beck, and Secretary of State and members of my extraordinary cabinet and members of the 131st legislature and esteemed guests.

We come together for the annual time-honored tradition of a governor's address to you, the people's representatives, on the same day as another time-honored tradition, Valentine's Day.

As luck would have it.

I know one of these time-honored traditions is more fun than the other, but I'm grateful for your willingness to be here this evening, and I know you do it out of a sense of duty and responsibility for our state.

And I'm grateful for the love you have for the people of Maine and for the honorable pursuit of public service that despite our varied ideological beliefs and positions, unites us in pursuit of a common noble cause, to improve the lives and livelihoods of Maine people.

And as my Valentine's Day gift to you, when you leave the chamber, you'll find chocolate lobster treats from our friends at Wilber's of Maine in Freeport, a treat I hope that tastes much sweeter in the wake of our victory in Congress to pause the unfair right whale regulations imposed by the federal government on our lobster industry.

(audience applauding) Where's Billy Bob?

So we'll raise a chocolate lobster toast to our lobster fishermen, right, Billy Bob, where is he?

There he is, of course you're over there.

The corner, that corner!

Okay, so, as we look to the future, it is my pleasure to report that Maine's budget is in a stable and secure position.

We have taken a cautious approach to budgeting during these uncertain times and have made investments in key areas such as education, infrastructure, and healthcare to support economic growth and stability.

Well, at least that's what ChatGPT tells me I should say.

Seriously, you punched it out, that's what they come up with.

Actually.

On a serious note, though, those words aren't far from my own.

But our state stands on a solid fiscal footing, and we are prepared to weather whatever economic challenges may come.

The state of our budget is strong.

(audience applauding) We approached the end of the 2023 fiscal year in the black, with a substantial surplus.

Like surpluses before it, with your bipartisan support last month, we are returning money to the people of Maine to provide some small measure of relief from high energy prices right now.

Those checks are in the mail right now, and by the end of next month, every eligible main taxpayer will receive one.

Looking forward, thank you, yes.

(audience applauding) Looking forward, our revenue outlook for the next two fiscal years is also strong.

According to the independent nonpartisan revenue forecasting committee, comprised of experts in the economy, the state may anticipate a total of $10.5 billion in revenue over the next two years.

That's $1.1 billion more than the current baseline budget.

On top of that, for the following two fiscal years, '26 and '27, the revenue forecasting committee projects approximately $11.6 billion in revenue.

These strong revenue projections did not just happen by themselves.

They are the direct result of a strong economy created by federal support and deliberate policy and financial choices we have made in state government to fuel our recovery from the pandemic and create the conditions necessary for sustained economic growth.

And today, despite years of pandemic driven turmoil and even with the possibility of a recession on the horizon, our economy does remain strong.

Since 2019, our gross domestic product, an important measure of growth as you know, rose by 10.1%, the ninth best growth rate in the nation and the best in New England.

(audience applauding) In fact, Maine experienced more economic growth over the last four years than it did in the entire proceeding 15 years, and wages are up substantially.

Even when adjusting for inflation, Maine people are earning about 8% more than they were just a few years ago.

Nationally, new businesses are starting at some of the fastest rates on record, and last year alone, nearly 14,000 new businesses registered with the Secretary of State.

The state of Maine Secretary of State.

Our unemployment rate stands at 3.8, down from 4.1 a year ago.

Our state's credit ratings are in good shape, reaffirmed during the pandemic, when other states experienced downgrades.

Our unemployment trust fund remained solvent, where other states had to borrow from the federal government and then repay that money with great interest.

And with your help, we built up Maine's rainy day fund to a record high of more than $900 million.

Not bad.

(audience applauding) And Maine has become a top destination for people relocating in New England.

Between July 2019 and July 2021, we boasted the seventh highest in migration rate in the nation.

(audience applauding) We're reversing that brain drain thing we all grew up hearing about, right?

And in 2021, we experienced the largest population gain from net migration since the 1950s.

In the last two years, a net 34,237 people moved here, maybe a couple more since yesterday, I don't know, about 31,000 of them coming from other US states.

Well, this is all welcome news.

Maine is not without its challenges, however.

Even with our strong influx of people, new people, we face an alarming shortage of workers and high costs.

Right now, as elsewhere across the nation, there are two jobs for every unemployed person in Maine.

Help wanted signs hang in the front windows of shops and factories across the state, and this shortage is taking its toll.

Some schools have canceled classes because too many teachers and bus drivers are out sick.

Police and firefighters are working extra shifts to fill gaps in coverage.

Shops and restaurants are closing early, some closing altogether because of staff shortages.

So how do we address this?

Well, my guiding belief as governor is that the foundation of Maine's economy is our people.

And I firmly believe that if we are to build a stronger, more prosperous state where opportunity will be available to everyone, then we have to invest in the people of Maine.

That's why my budgets and my jobs plan have focused on investing in health and education and in the infrastructure working people need.

Housing, childcare, and broadband, for instance.

Two years ago, you enacted my Maine Jobs and Recovery plan.

We invested nearly a billion dollars of federal American Rescue Plan funds to improve the lives of Maine people and families, to help businesses create and fill good paying jobs, and to build an economy that is poised for future prosperity.

Well, since that bill took effect, we've delivered direct economic relief to a thousand small businesses.

We've supported more than a hundred infrastructure projects around the state to create jobs and revitalize communities.

We've invested $300 million of those funds to support our workforce in everything from job training to business support to housing to childcare.

These critical investments are helping tens of thousands of people acquire skills and find good paying careers in healthcare, in the trades, in teaching, and in paid apprenticeships for all sorts of employers so that people with skills may quickly enter and remain in our workforce.

Our investments are also connecting 6000 high school students with paid, hands-on work experience with Maine employers throughout the state through our Maine Career Exploration program.

Since last fall alone, nearly, about more than 2000 people, young people have signed up to gain skills and work with local employers so they can discover good careers right here in Maine and provide a little extra help to Maine businesses at the same time.

There are more slots available.

So if there's a teenager in your family who would like to explore a career, please ask your school about this program.

In addition to job training, the jobs plan has invested in childcare, in housing, and in reliable broadband, making about 68,000 connections in the last couple years, I believe.

These are the things people tell us they need to enter and to remain in the workforce.

So the new biannual budget proposal compliments the budgets we enacted in the last legislative session.

Lest anybody forget, we actually got a lot done in those budgets, you and I.

We achieved 55% funding for education for the first time in Maine history.

(audience applauding) A few teachers out there.

You did that.

We did that.

We put funds directly into the classroom to benefit Maine kids regardless of their zip code.

We became the second state in the nation, barely, almost the first, but the second state in the nation to provide universal free food in the public schools and erase the shameful divide between the haves and the have nots in the lunch line.

We delivered two years free community college to recent high school grads, driving enrollment up by a record 12% and restoring the dreams of higher education that so many young people gave up on during the pandemic.

We restored, you and I, municipal revenue sharing back to 5%, sending nearly $700 million of our state revenues back to the towns to reduce the property tax burden and to fund services like fire and police.

(audience applauding) You did that.

You, we, provided significant tax relief as well, reducing income taxes for retirees and property taxes for seniors.

Bipartisan progress on issues critical to Maine people became the foundation for the biannual budget before you now.

Of course I have long said that we cannot have a healthy economy without healthy people.

It's pretty darn hard to hold a job, support a family, or pay attention in school if you are sick or suffering.

Having healthcare enables you to shape your future and contribute to your economy and to your community and our economy, as it did for one woman who approached me at the polls back in November to tell me that MaineCare expansion allowed her to get that much needed heart surgery finally that saved her life.

(audience applauding) More than a hundred thousand more people, Maine people, receive treatment now for accidents and illnesses, prescriptions, and procedures, and now dental care just through the Medicaid expansion, and now, independent of Medicaid, we're also providing dental care, free dental care, to hundreds of Maine veterans who couldn't otherwise afford to see a dentist through a partnership between my administration and Northeast Delta Dental, supported by members of Maine's Masonic Lodges and others.

And if you know a veteran who could benefit from this, please contact our Maine Bureau of Veterans Services.

And we established coverme.gov to help 63,000 people get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

People like Pamela Gray of Gorum, a cancer survivor who is now finally getting the healthcare she needs thanks to affordable coverage through coverme.gov.

And together, altogether we have reduced our uninsured rate from 8% in 2019 to 5.7% in 2021.

(audience applauding) That's the largest decline of any state in the nation.

And we've made sure that Maine people will not be charged more or denied coverage based on some preexisting condition thanks to the law you've passed three years ago.

But there's more we can do to make Maine a healthier state.

And I propose focusing on some of our most vulnerable and valued citizens, residents.

Last year you know I signed an executive order creating the Cabinet on Aging to mobilize state government, get rid of the silos, to keep making strides in taking care of older Mainers.

This year I'm proposing $144 million in federal and state dollars combined to expand and improve services that will allow older Mainers to age safely in their homes and communities.

(audience applauding) We'll use that money to deliver home meals, home delivered meals, and with programs that reduce abuse and neglect and exploitation and the like.

We're also investing in the health and wellbeing of people with disabilities.

You know, I'm the grandmother of a beautiful young man, a loving child with autism.

I understand the difficulty that parents of children with disabilities face on a day-to-day basis, especially when it comes to getting through the bureaucracy and finding consistent help to support the needs and strengths of that child.

So my budget proposes $84 million in combined state and federal funds to improve access to services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including those in urgent need of comprehensive residential care through Section 21, and eliminate the wait list for day work and daycare and work support services known as Maine Care Section 29.

Eliminate the wait list.

(audience applauding) We can do better by people with disabilities.

Many of the individuals on wait lists are children whose parents have reserved a spot years in advance, anticipating the more intensive services the children will need as they grow into adulthood.

But when it comes time to move these children into adult services, our system of care right now leaves those families with abrupt and burdensome paperwork and transitions.

A woman named Carrie Woodcock, executive director of the Maine Parent Federation, described her experience of caring for her child with a developmental disability as "episodic."

She said it was so much work just to keep up with her child's case that she became fluent in filling out eligibility paperwork.

That's not right.

And it's why my budget proposes a fundamental reform in how we deliver those services.

We are proposing a lifespan waiver that flips the system to focus on the services individuals need, not on the bureaucracy that provides those services.

With a lifespan waiver, people can get the services that are tailored to their preferences, their ages, their needs, along with help finding a suitable job and a plan for their future that can be updated as circumstances change.

I asked you to approve this initiative.

Individuals with disabilities and their caregivers deserve the peace of mind of a system that is adaptable and provides individual supports.

(audience applauding) Well, education also remains a central piece of this budget.

We recognize that education is a great equalizer in our society and that every child, regardless of where they live, deserves a world class education here in this state.

An education that will prepare them for successful adulthood.

And we recognize and applaud the talented support staff and the educators who step into the classroom every day with our students.

Well, as I mentioned, two years ago we met the state's obligation to provide 55% of local education costs.

For the first time since 2004, when the people told us to do so.

My budget includes $101 million to continue that commitment, to keep it at 55%, investing directly in our schools, teachers, and staff and helping our communities hold the line on property taxes.

(audience applauding) Two years ago, you passed and I signed nation leading legislation spearheaded by Senate President Jackson to ensure that no child in Maine goes hungry during the school day.

My budget continues this crucial program to ensure that no kid has to try to learn on an empty stomach.

(audience applauding) (indistinct) And last year, we worked together to make two years of community college free for recent high school graduates impacted by the pandemic.

We believed that it would not only help students pursue debt-free education, but it would make ready a trained workforce in much needed sectors of our economy, and it's worked.

Students like Elizabeth Ackerman, who was able to go back to school because of this initiative, will soon graduate with a degree in early childhood education and help fill our work need, our need for more childcare workers, especially.

Students like Zim Cunningham, who says that while he's struggled academically in high school, he's now excelling at Washington County Community College, and will soon enter the workforce without college debt, trained to become a power sports and small engine technician.

And students like Margarita Callustino, who last year told her advisor she'd have to drop out 'cause she needed to earn more money to stay in school.

Free community college has allowed her not only to stay in school, but to enroll full-time instead of just picking up a course here and there when she had enough saved up.

Well, because of your initiative, Maine's community colleges experienced record enrollment last year, and now students like these can spend less time worrying about how to pay for college and more time focused on earning the credential or degree they need to succeed in Maine's workforce, and we need them there.

Free community college is working, let's keep it up for another two years.

(audience applauding) My budget also includes $71 million for the University of Maine, the Maine Community College System, and Maine Maritime Academy, which includes a four and a half percent across the board increase for operational costs, along with $10 million to boost the Maine state grant program.

That will increase the maximum grant award to needy students to $3000, help more students afford the cost of college.

And if you approve, we will have doubled the Maine state grant award over the past four years, and I think that's worth doing.

(audience applauding) This biannual budget also proposes one of the largest investments in our roads, bridges, and other multimodal infrastructure.

Largest increase in history.

For years, you know, we've been playing catch up when it comes to upgrading the critical infrastructure that we rely on every day to go to work, to go to school, just to get around.

A lack of resources has forced the Maine Department of Transportation to operate in what Commissioner Van note has called "MacGyver mode," stretching each each dollar as far as it can go to fix problems when and as they arise.

Well, Maine DOT and all of state government should always aim to get the most value out of every dollar.

But addressing problems only when they become critical costs us more over the long term and makes our roads and bridges and highways and the people who travel over them much less safe.

In 2020, the American Society of Engineers gave Maine a C. C-minus, actually, for our infrastructure, and a D for our roads in particular.

The average age of our bridges, you know what it is?

It's about 55 years, average age of our bridges.

That's unacceptable, and it's dangerous, and it's costing all of us in repairs and wear and tear on our cars and our trucks every year.

Well, the good news is, in 2021, the United States Congress, with support from our four members of Congress, passed, and President Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure law, which makes available historic levels of federal funding for infrastructure projects.

Now, much of this new funding requires a match from the state, so we have to contribute.

So my budget proposes making $400 million available to Maine DOT in order to leverage hundreds of millions of additional dollars in federal funds to make long-term investments in our roads, bridges, highways, and in our iconic villages and downtown areas, making them safer for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists as well.

If you approve this proposal, these federal dollars, along with our state match, will allow Maine DOT to pave more than 3000 miles of road, reconstruct 271 miles of highway, and fix 302 bridges, on top of many other worthy multimodal projects.

That's a thing that we should do.

(audience applauding) Look, it's February 14th.

Pothole season is right around the corner.

So as my friend Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan likes to say, let's fix the damn roads!

Do it.

(audience applauding) Look, protecting our environment is also a priority, and I'm especially proud of the important bipartisan progress we've made over the past four years.

Together we've reinvigorated the Land for Maine's Future program, which has already conserved 37 new projects, preserving working waterfront, working farmland, working forests, and the largest deer wintering areas ever.

And we've... aaa Deer wintering areas.

We've led the nation in combating PFAS contamination, which is devastating many communities in Maine, forcing some schools to switch to bottled water, leaving some farmers in financial shambles, and fishermen and hunters questioning whether the wildlife they're harvesting might be contaminated.

In all, with your help, we've dedicated more than a hundred million dollars of the past two years to address PFAS, funding environmental testing and remediation, creating a trust fund to assist farmers, installing more than 300 drinking water treatment systems, and establishing temporary standards to protect drinking water.

Now I'm asking you to approve an additional $6 million in state and federal funds to further strengthen our ability to detect, test, and mitigate PFAS, including sampling and continued testing of wells, of soils, and wildlife.

It's a continuing process.

We're gonna do everything we can, continuing the good work that you instituted these last few years.

(audience applauding) Now, of course, one of the greatest threats, if not the greatest threat to our environment is climate change.

Which the United Nations scientists called a code red for humanity.

In 2019, I was privileged to stand before the United Nations General Assembly and tell the world that when it comes to climate change and action, Maine will not wait.

Our environment, our people, and our infrastructure remain at serious risk from climate change, and it's our communities that are on the front lines of this battle.

Communities that are reeling from storms that are growing more severe and more frequent, damaging more infrastructure and threatening our safety.

If you remember just two days before Christmas, a winter storm battered our coast like none we'd seen in years.

With heavy rains and high winds that caused extensive flooding and power outages.

We have to make our communities more resilient to the impacts of storms like these.

So our community resilience partnership has been providing grants and assistance to more than 130 communities across Maine to reduce their carbon emissions, transition them to clean energy, and protect them from rising seas and extreme weather events.

For example, we provided $41,000 to the town of Paris to install a solar array on the roof of the police station with a goal of integrating battery storage and ensuring that the police station remains operational during power outages.

The city of Rockland is using a $50,000 grant to redesign the piers and seawall of its downtown waterfront, which is increasingly vulnerable to more powerful storm surges.

So I'm proposing $3 million more to continue this important work and to ensure that our communities are better prepared to protect our people from the impacts of climate change.

I hope you agree.

(audience applauding) Fighting climate change also requires us to embrace clean sources of energy, which will help us reign in outrageous energy prices as well.

Whether it's the cost of heating fuel or electricity, the price of energy in Maine is simply unaffordable, and it discourages people from staying here and businesses from coming here in the first place.

We know what the problem is.

It's the stranglehold that fossil fuels and their companies have on our state and on our people.

We are the most heating oil dependent state in the nation, as you know, with nearly 60% of our homes relying on heating oil or kerosene to stay warm.

60%, when the national average is just 4%.

The electricity from our grid, which we share with the rest of New England, is overly reliant on natural gas, and the price of natural gas has shot through the roof in large part as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Every year, Maine people, Maine families send more than $4 billion out of state to line the pockets and the profits of big fossil fuel companies, money that could and should stay here at home while our families and our environment remain at the mercy of those large companies.

Enough is enough.

We're making unprecedented strides to embrace renewable energy, to weatherize more homes and businesses, and to install more efficient heating and cooling technologies, like heat pumps, and it's working.

Maine is now among the nation's leaders in energy efficiency.

In 2019, you remember I set a goal of installing a hundred thousand heat pumps by 2025.

Well, today we're well on our way, with more than 82,000 new heat pumps already installed, making progress.

(audience applauding) And Maine people are recognizing the value of these measures, not only for their own wallets, before our environment and for our economy.

The Washington Post did a story recently and they asked a woman named Mariana from Freeport, Maine if she missed her propane furnace after installing a heat pump.

She said, "oh, hell no."

She went on to say that her heat pump is comfortable, quiet, and a really good system.

"I'm excited," she said, "our state is so forward looking.

And we have to be," she said, "because we live in a drop dead gorgeous part of this country, and we're invested in keeping it that way."

And to that I say, "hell yeah, Mariana!"

(audience applauding) To bring down the cost of electricity for Maine people, to protect our environment from harmful carbon emissions, and to create new and exciting jobs that attract young people to Maine, we have to loosen the stranglehold that fossil fuel has on our state.

We must diversify our energy sources.

In 2019, I signed into law of bipartisan bill that required our state to achieve 80% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

The resulting low cost energy contracts saved Maine rate payers more than $68 million last year.

Today, 48% of our electricity comes from renewable sources.

We expect that to be 53% by the end of this year.

But the time has come to be bolder.

I'm announcing tonight that I'm directing the energy office to draft legislation requiring that 100% of our electricity come from clean energy by 2040.

Let's get moving down this path.

(audience applauding) By accelerating our pace towards 100% clean energy, we will reduce costs for Maine people, create new jobs and career opportunities that strengthen our economy, and protect us from the ravages of climate change.

Something else that has become unaffordable is housing.

It's just too scarce and too high priced for too many.

More competition within the housing market has driven up rents and home prices here and around the country.

When combined with higher interest rates, home affordability has soared out of reach for far too many people.

The problem cuts across nearly every facet of our society, contributing to homelessness and limiting our ability to expand our workforce.

Bath Ironworks, for instance, one of our largest employers, said their main problem is not actually finding workers, but instead finding those skilled workers places to live.

The company hired 400 people in 2021 and 2022 who needed to relocate to take those jobs.

When all was said and done, a quarter of those people, a hundred of them, couldn't take the job because they couldn't find housing.

That is unacceptable.

But it's all too common a story I hear when traveling all across the state.

And Maine Housing has told us we need more than 20,000 new housing units to meet demand.

That's why we've made the largest investments in housing in our state's history, signing the long overdue senior housing bond, enacting the Affordable Housing Tax Credit, renewing the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, and committing $50 million to housing through my jobs plan.

You all did that.

And all combined, these actions have resulted in more than 1500 new residential units that are built or on their way to being built, with hundreds more in the pipeline.

But we have our work cut out.

(audience applauding) But we have our work cut out for us.

In my budget, I propose an additional $30 million to build more housing, especially in rural Maine.

$15 million of that funding would recapitalize the rural rental program established in my jobs plan.

In 2021, we dedicated $20 million of that very popular program, and now, because of that, there are more than 130 units of affordable housing being built in towns from Norway to Madison to Presque Isle.

The other 15 million will build on another jobs plan and program to leverage matching federal housing tax credits.

With the money we've already provided through the jobs plan, we've added more than 325 affordable housing units in that program in communities from Heartland to South Portland to Bridgeton.

I ask you tonight to approve this additional funding so we can continue to ensure that Maine people are housed across our state.

And I understand... (audience applauding) I also understand that there's a proposal before you... To espouse the concept of housing first.

Well now Housing First has proven to be a very successful and cost effective approach to addressing the needs of people experiencing chronic homelessness, many of whom are struggling for stability, while suffering from acute mental illness and/or substance use disorder.

This bill would create a path to ending chronic homelessness in Maine by expanding the Housing First model statewide.

Under this legislation, Maine would provide permanent supportive housing for hundreds of Maine people, providing communities across Maine with desperately needed resources to address chronic homelessness, reduce healthcare and public safety costs as well.

I think the time for this legislation has come, and tonight I call on the legislature to send that bill to my desk and I will sign it.

(audience applauding) (indistinct) I'm also aware that Senate President Jackson and Speaker Talbot Ross and this legislature have established a joint Select Committee on Housing.

My administration looks forward to working with committee chairs Senator Pierce, Representative Gear, along with Republican leads, Senator Pulia and Representative Bradstreet, as you address homelessness, build and preserve workforce and affordable housing, and support reasonable zoning and land use changes that will expand housing opportunities across our state.

Thank you for that.

Because housing's not a partisan issue, it's an issue that cuts to the core of our identity.

A home is not simply a place where we live.

A home is where my late husband Stan and I raised five daughters.

Where we gathered for holidays and sat around the table with loved ones.

Where we laid our heads to rest at night, knowing we were safe and together.

We can and will work together across the aisle to make sure that every person in our state has a safe, secure, and affordable place to call home.

(audience applauding) Many of those who are unhoused are struggling with substance use disorder.

The scourge of addiction continues to reach into every corner of our state, rural and or urban, robbing us of friends, family, and loved ones, diminishing our sense of community, our workforce, and our future.

Since 2019, we've taken some significance actions to respond to this crisis, addressing the three-legged stool of prevention, interdiction, and treatment.

We began by expanding Medicaid, which has provided substance use disorder treatment to more than 25,000 individuals in Maine, leading them back into productive lives.

We sharply increased access to the lifesaving medication, overdose medication, Naloxone, distributing more than 276,000 doses, which were used to reverse more than 7100 overdoses that otherwise would've been fatal.

We increased access to treatment and recovery, adding 140 residential treatment beds and detox beds, and I've directed the Department of Health and Human Services to invest another $2 million to further increase the availability of those beds across Maine.

They are sorely needed.

Meanwhile, in the Maine State prison system, we provided substance use disorder treatment to more than 2200 incarcerated individuals.

A nationally recognized strategy that has reduced assaults and self-harm and overdoses.

A strategy that should be expanded to every county jail in Maine, and it reduces recidivism.

And last year, working closely with Democrats and Republicans, we enacted one of the best good Samaritan laws in the country to encourage people to call for help when and if they witness an overdose.

This work is good, it is important, it is necessary, it is not enough.

Last year alone, there were more than 10,000 overdoses in Maine, and out of those, 716 were fatal.

In December alone, there were 928 overdoses, with 75 people dying, the highest number of deaths of any month on record.

This is a crisis, and right now it is driven by the ever increasing prevalence of fentanyl, the highly lethal and highly addictive synthetic opioid, often mixed with heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, and pills consumed by unknowing users.

In Maine, as in the rest of the nation, fentanyl is now not only the leading cause of overdoses, it is responsible for nearly 80% of all drug deaths.

80%.

Last year, law enforcement in Maine seized more than 36 pounds of fentanyl in Maine, nearly 60% more than in 2021.

That's pounds, ladies and gentlemen.

It's enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman, and child in the state of Maine and then some.

And that's just the part we got off the streets.

There's so much more out there.

You know it.

The prevalence of fentanyl, along with methamphetamines and now this xylazine, contributes to deadly traffic accidents and police involved shootings and the health and safety and academic performance of our children.

It's sneaking into every community and stealing the lives and livelihoods of valued citizens.

So what can we do?

First of all, I'm announcing tonight that we will increase the state's purchase and distribution of naloxone by 25%.

It's a strategy that has contributed to a 93% survival rate among those who experience an overdose.

We start by saving lives, pure and simple.

And then, with non-tax payer funds committed by Attorney General Aaron Fry, we will double the number of trained individuals to join law enforcement on calls related to substance abuse and who can lead people to treatment and recovery services.

Last December, these options liaisons, so-called, responded to dozens of calls with law enforcement officers and got nearly a hundred people into treatment.

Options is working, and by expanding it, we will save more lives, and Attorney General Fry, thank you for helping us provide this lifesaving program to more and more people.

Thank you, Aaron.

(audience applauding) As part of this budget, I'm also proposing an historic $237 million in combined state and federal funding for substance use disorder and mental health services to include an increase in rates to providers.

This will allow, for example, a 48% increase for methadone treatment and an 8.2% increase for intensive outpatient services, which are pretty successful, to compliment an increase in recovery residences and the 24/7 drop-in center.

And recognizing that the pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of Maine people, including our children.

Our budget strengthens Maine's mental health system, proposing rate increases starting at 15% in crisis residential services, 30% in school and community based services, and other improvements as part of our commitment to also end the 30 plus year old (indistinct) consent decree.

I ask you, please approve all of these much needed investments, please.

Look, there isn't anybody in this room who hasn't been touched somehow by the scourge of substance use disorder.

There were people like the family of Hannah Flaherty of Eustis, 14 years old, straight A student, no history of drug use, a kid who was loved by her community, who died after ingesting what she evidently thought was cocaine.

It was pure fentanyl.

Then there was the 11 month old baby girl in Corina who overdosed on fentanyl, some fentanyl that her parents had left lying around.

She was saved by Naloxone and by the heroism of first responders.

The police found traces of fentanyl in her crib and on her teddy bear.

And then of course there was three year old Haley Goding of Old Town, which you've read about, whose mother is now serving 19 years in prison for the fentanyl overdose of that little girl.

We must acknowledge that the drug epidemic is jeopardizing the safety, security, and welfare of our youngest children as well as our adults, our families, and our workforce.

Prevention programs in our schools and communities are also key, but we must protect children at risk first and foremost.

Substance use disorder, in fact, is identified as a risk factor in 53% of the cases where a child is removed from the home.

To improve the safety of our children, we have to recognize that Maine's drug epidemic is a grave threat to the safety of our children.

And tonight I'm announcing a series of new actions to address both issues.

First, we will partner with the Maine Child Welfare Action Network to develop a new comprehensive plan to keep children safe by keeping families strong, by ensuring kids have healthy food, safe housing, childcare, and supporting parents with job training and education and mental health and substance use services.

If we keep families healthy, we can keep children safe.

(audience applauding) Secondly, I'm directing the Department of Health and Human Services to embed a clinical expert in substance use disorder in every child welfare district in Maine, to better recognize the influence of substance use to navigate the risks posed to children and to steer parents into treatment and make sure they get there.

We know the strategy strategy works, because we've done it before.

Providing experts, for instance, in domestic violence to help case workers identify and confront abuse in the home and combat its profound effects on children in particular.

Thirdly, I've directed the Department of Health and Human Services to engage recovery coaches with lived experience to assist parents who are struggling with substance use disorder.

Remember that...

The opposite of addiction is not simply sobriety, but connections.

These people can share their own experiences with parents and walk them through, walk them along the road to recovery while also making sure that children are protected.

And lastly, I want to expand the number of family recovery courts in Maine.

These specialty courts work with families whose children are at risk because the parents are struggling with substance use disorder.

I intend to engage with the Chief Justice, with the Attorney General, and with others to expand these courts and promote them aggressively as an effective means to get parents into treatment and to keep them there, and closely monitor their progress and ultimately reunite them with their children only when it is appropriate to do so.

This approach recognizes that the safety of our children is deeply entwined with the safety of our families and our communities, and that each of those is threatened by the growing prevalence of dangerous, deadly drugs.

It also compliments the significant action taken by my administration, and by the last legislature to improve our child welfare system, enacting bipartisan legislation to strengthen the office of the child welfare ombudsman, investing more than $30 million to bridge the gaps in our child welfare workforce, and improving our policies and practices in child welfare.

To date, we've increased case worker positions by 29%.

We've increased the number of resource or foster homes by 31%, and we've replaced an outdated child welfare information system.

We've created a new unit to respond 24/7 to emergency reports of suspected abuse or neglect.

We can't let those calls linger.

And we've improved our intake systems for reports of abuse, including launching an online reporting system for school personnel, medical personnel, and law enforcement who suspect abuse or neglect.

And tonight I also ask the legislature to approve my request for nearly $15 million for foster care and adoption assistance so we can support those who care for our children in custody.

I welcome the legislature's continued oversight of child welfare.

Every death of any child in any way connected to the child welfare system should be scrutinized for ways to improve and strengthen our system while preserving the ability of prosecutors to prosecute and put behind bars anyone who caused that child's death.

(audience applauding) As we talk about ways to improve our child welfare system, we must also have a robust debate about all the ways we can improve the overall wellbeing of all children and families.

I pledge to you that my administration will not shy away from any good, effective idea to ensure that every child in Maine is happy and healthy.

We cannot and shall not rest in this fight.

And to that same end, we need the assistance of the courts, who are facing an unprecedented backlog of cases, stemming from the disruption of the pandemic.

In this budget, I'm proposing $15 million to allow the courts to hire additional marshals and clerks to enable them to operate safely and more efficiently.

And to build on this investment, I am also announcing that I will propose an additional four district court judgeships to relieve the backlog of cases in our courts, allow the courts to prioritize the most urgent matters, such as domestic violence and serious crimes and child protection cases and intensive, but effective specialty courts such as the family recovery courts.

And I know the legislature is concerned about our constitutional obligation to provide legal counsel to low income Maine people.

I am too.

I've proposed funding for 10 new public defenders, building on the five positions established during the last legislative session.

I ask you to approve these positions.

And to compliment this effort, I've written to dozens of law firms across the state asking them to designate one or more attorneys in their firms to join the roster of council available to accept indigent legal cases.

It's good for the firms, it's good for the courts, it's good for the people.

This problem will require a comprehensive effort, inside and outside of government, including first and foremost reducing the backlog in our courts, as the rising number of cases itself discourages many lawyers from accepting court appointed matters, that in turn increases the backlog.

But I look forward to working with the legislature throughout the budget writing process to discuss what steps we can take to strengthen our legal system and make sure we deliver justice to all Maine citizens.

(audience applauding) My friends, this budget proposal is strong, it is balanced, it lives within our means, it does not raise taxes, it makes meaningful investments in the things people rely on every day while maintaining our record rainy day fund to protect us against an economic downturn.

You know, 18 time baseball all star Yogi Berra once said, "if you don't know where you're going, you might not get there."

Well, we know where we're going, and this budget is our blueprint to get there.

You know, I have never wavered in my fundamental belief that the people of Maine are our greatest asset.

We've weathered long winters, terrible storms, wars, floods, famines, recessions, and yes, pandemics.

We've taken to deep coastal waters to haul lobsters.

We've worked the fields in the county to harvest potatoes.

We've ventured far into the Maine woods to fell trees.

Some have traveled from away, braving the daunting prospect of change, and in some circumstances, even risking life and limb to come to this beautiful place we call home.

In each of these acts is unshakable courage, a spirit of independence and self-reliance.

A fortitude that is as fearless as it is inexhaustible.

That is the inherent character of Maine people.

Our job, our responsibility, is to foster that character.

If we provide the human infrastructure, a strong healthcare system, good schools, housing, roads, childcare, broadband, then the people of Maine will do the rest.

And that is what this budget does.

It carries forward what we promised the people of Maine.

With it, we will unlock our vast potential.

I look forward to working with all of you in the coming months to enact a strong bipartisan budget that is worthy of the people we serve and that addresses our most pressing needs.

As always, it is a privilege to be here in this historic chamber with all of you.

And I wanna wish you all happy Valentine's Day from me to all of you.

Thank you.

(audience applauding) - [Robbie] And that was Governor Janet Mills concluding her State of the Budget address to a special joint session of the legislature tonight.

You see there Governor Mills shaking hands with legislators.

We saw the fist bump there with Senate President Troy Jackson.

- [Steve] Yeah, she seems to be moving quite quickly out of the chamber now, so.

- Yeah, very quickly making her way out of there.

Seems to have received a gift from one lawmaker.

More fist bumps.

So Steve, clearly in that speech, you know, heavy on accomplishments there, and a real focus on, you know, we heard about the education, the opioid crisis, a lot of different issues.

We knew about a lot of these proposals before tonight.

Did you hear anything new that was in that speech right there?

- Yeah, I mean I think the speech in and of itself was an exhaustive look at the budget proposal, what informed it, which is effectively the current budget.

But the new stuff was interesting, and it may not even be budget related, it's budget adjacent, if you will.

The one that stood out for me was the accelerating of renewable energy targets so that the state is getting 100% of renewable energy, or using 100% of renewable energy by 2040.

That is a lot faster than the current timeline that she has laid out.

She also looked at doing some reforms within the child welfare agency, which struck me as administrative reforms.

Things that she could do within the bureaucracy, almost unilaterally, just by reorganization or just, you know, without even needing the legislature's approval.

And then of course there was the substance abuse disorder initiatives, increasing Naloxone access by 25%.

That's the life, the overdose reversal drug, Naloxone.

Also increasing residential treatment beds, which the state sorely needs.

They're concentrated in one or two places and they're not scattered throughout.

So those are sort of the highlights of new things.

But most of the speech was obviously focusing on the budget proposal that's been out for over a month now.

- Sure.

Thanks, Steve, and we will be hearing lots more about that budget surely over the next few months.

And we will now head to the Republican response that's recorded earlier today, before the governor's speech.

We will hear from House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor and Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart of Presque Isle for a joint address.

- Good evening.

I'm Senator Republican Leader Trey Stewart Aroostook County.

- And I'm House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor.

It's our pleasure to join you this Valentine's Day for the Republican response to Governor Mills' State of the Budget address.

I'm a lobsterman from Winter Harbor, which is about two and a half hours east of Augusta.

So when I make the trip, I do so hoping we're gonna do something great working together for the Maine people.

Here's what worries me.

There are too many people down here who think that doing great things means spending more money, a lot more money.

Even if it means breaking a promise made to the people of Maine a few years back that we won't spend beyond our means.

In fact, Democrats and Republicans agreed that when more money arrives in Augusta than we planned on, we would cut taxes, period.

That is missing from this budget.

And we have returned to the bad old days where if you send it, the politicians will spend it.

That's not right.

- I agree, Representative Faulkingham.

The governor's budget is another episode of Spending Gone Wild.

In fact, this spending bill is what's wrong with government.

It puts the government first and the taxpayers last.

Think about this.

While the folks where I'm from in Aroostook County struggle to pay their electric bill, cut costs at the grocery store, and wonder how they will pay their property taxes or the IRS, the governor and her minions dream of new ways to spend more of your money.

The goal for this budget should be clear.

Maine must be in a place where Maine people can afford to live, work, raise a family, and retire.

And this budget moves us in the wrong direction for that dream.

- Let me follow up on something Senator Stewart just said.

The burden on Maine families is real.

The 165% increase in electricity costs is real.

$6 for a dozen eggs is real.

Inflation is real.

But what's unreal to me is that this budget ignores that reality.

Are there things in this budget that are important and worthy?

Of course.

There are things that we will 100% support.

Things like nursing home funding, money for the disabled, schools, roads, bridges, and a safety net for Mainers in need.

But this budget goes far beyond our ability to pay for it.

We are headed down a dangerous road of dependency that will burden our children and grandchildren with debt and disastrous choices when we face the next economic downturn.

- Okay, I think we talked enough about the doom and gloom.

You sent us here to make things better, not talk about how bad things are.

Here's the good news.

Things can get better, and here's how.

First, limit spending to the limits already set in the law.

That means this budget is about a billion dollars too high.

Second, return all the extra money to the taxpayers through tax cuts.

Third, build a budget that protects the safety net and eliminates the hammock.

There are far too many people in this state who should be going to work and paying taxes, but they don't, they sit at home.

That needs to stop.

And finally, make Maine a place where you can live, work, raise a family, and retire.

- There's a lot of work to be done to implement the four point plan that Senator Stewart just laid out, but we can do it, and I'll promise you this.

We will work with the governor, we'll work with the Democrats, and we'll work with each other to do whatever we can to pass a budget that puts Mainers first.

- Thank you for tuning in to the Republican response.

Now, let's get this done.

May God bless you, your family, our great state of Maine, and our country.

We hope you have a great evening.

- And that was Maine House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham and Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart with the Republican response to Governor Janet Mills' budget proposal.

That was pre-recorded before the governor's address tonight.

Steve, message starkly different there.

What stood out to you about the Republican response?

- Well, first of all, it's the old saw, you know, spending versus tax cuts, the Republicans want tax cuts.

They make the argument that we have a budget surplus and that spending is going up by a billion dollars from the current budget into the new one, and they don't want that.

And so it's essentially that tension that we alluded to earlier at the top of this program, which is that they would like to see some sort of a tax cut.

Now they haven't been specific about what they want to do.

Like what income levels do you want this to kick in on the income tax, and those details are very, very important, because you know, those tax cuts will cost money and they won't just, it won't be a one-time expense, it'll be an ongoing expense.

- Sure, yeah.

And I also wonder, the governor, she really focused on issues like education, on issues like infrastructure, a lot of issues that tend to be pretty bipartisan.

Do you have a sense for where we could see the GOP look at potentially cutting programs going forward?

- Well, that's the $1 billion question, because that's effectively what they want to cut out of this budget proposal, is about a billion dollars, and we don't know that.

And I think that will be part of the negotiations.

I think they're also gonna have to make a public case for it as well, especially if this becomes a protracted negotiation.

- Sure, thank you so much, Steve.

Steve Mistler is Maine Public's chief political correspondent, and that concludes Maine Public's live coverage of the State of the Budget address in Augusta.

We will have more coverage of the address tomorrow morning during Morning Edition on Main Public Radio, and you can also see the program at your convenience online at mainpublic.org.

Thank you for watching.

(dramatic music)