The Maine Wire
  • News
  • Commentary
  • The Blog
  • About
    • Contact
  • Investigations
    • Data
  • Donate
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending News
  • Maine Pledges Real Probe into Death Of Police Pup in a Cop Car – Meanwhile, Dog Owners Beware the Heat
  • Maine Cities and Towns Will Not Be Allowed to Collect an Extra Tax on Temporary Rental Accommodations
  • Biddeford Big Shots Convicted on Drug Trafficking and Firearms Charges Following Violent Robbery
  • State Department Begins Scrutinizing Social Media Accounts Of Student Visa Applicants
  • National Guard Joins Feds in Massive California Marijuana Raid That Leads to Arrest of 70 Illegals
  • Speaker Fecteau and Leader Moonen Once Again Shut Down Laurel Libby’s Effort to Speak on House Floor
  • Winthrop Drug Bust Nets Two Arrests and Deadly Cache of Fentanyl and Cocaine Worth Over $44,000
  • Principled Stand Winnows from Six to One as Dems Cave and Support Majority Budget Passage
Facebook Twitter Instagram
The Maine Wire
Thursday, June 19
  • News
  • Commentary
  • The Blog
  • About
    • Contact
  • Investigations
    • Data
  • Donate
The Maine Wire
Home » News » News » State Commission Wants New $182M Per Year Welfare Program for Renters, Including Asylum Seekers
News

State Commission Wants New $182M Per Year Welfare Program for Renters, Including Asylum Seekers

Steve RobinsonBy Steve RobinsonNovember 2, 2022Updated:November 4, 20221 Comment3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Reddit
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

Members of a commission in Augusta are proposing the creation of a new rental assistance welfare program that would cost Maine taxpayers more than $182 million per year — or $500,000 per day.

The push for a new state welfare program comes as funding for the federally funded Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program expires at the end of November.

The program, which began under former President Donald Trump and was funded again under President Joe Biden, sent more than $270 million to landlords and hotel operators to help renters remain sheltered during the government lockdowns.

Now that ERA recipients are facing the prospect of paying their own rent again, some lawmakers and non-profit activists in Augusta want offering rental subsidies for the poor to become a permanent job for the state government.

The Commission to Increase Housing Opportunities in Maine by Studying Zoning and Land Use Restriction was created in 2021 by a legislative resolve approved by Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat.

Commission co-chair Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Winthrop) is leading the charge for the new benefit, telling Maine Public that the alternative is a homelessness crisis.

“Now that those funds have dried up, I think that it’s critical that we think about how to fund a state-funded program because we know otherwise a large number of people will be becoming homeless because of non-payment of rent and utilities,” Hickman told the outlet.

“For us as a commission to recommend that the legislature consider establishing this program and figuring out a way to fund it that doesn’t drive up taxes is a perfectly reasonable thing,” Hickman said, according to MPBN.

[RELATED: Maine Emergency Rental Assistance Ending As Funding Dwindles…]

Hickman did not say how the state would create a $182 million program to subsidize rent payments without increasing taxes.

Katie McGovern, a commission member who works for Pine Tree Legal Assistance, also supports the creation of a new state program to pay rent for low-income individuals, according to Maine Public.

The Maine Municipal Association, in a letter last week to the commission, warned of the consequences of the ERA running out of funding for municipal general assistance programs. MMA, which represents city and town governments, said a flood of requests for general assistance welfare could easily overwhelm small municipal offices and break their budgets.

According to MMA’s letter, there are nearly 15,000 individuals in Maine who may be affected by abrupt eviction if they can’t pay rent without government help, including 726 households in Lewiston, 872 households in Portland, and 944 households in Bangor.

Currently, there are more than 500 families, many of them asylum seekers and foreign nationals, living in hotels or motels with the government picking up the tab.

The Maine Housing Authority calculated that making the ERA a permanent state program would cost $182 million per year. That estimate is based on current program enrollment and does not factor in the growth the program could experience as word spreads that Maine will pay for housing.

The Maine Wire has asked the Maine Housing Authority precisely how many foreign nationals have benefited under the ERA program and would stand to benefit should the program become permanent. The story will be updated if those figures are provided.

Previous ArticleReject “Pandemic Amnesty”
Next Article White House Deletes Misleading Tweet After Twitter Fact-Check
Steve Robinson
  • Twitter

Steve Robinson is the Editor-in-Chief of The Maine Wire. ‪He can be reached by email at Robinson@TheMaineWire.com.

Subscribe to Substack

Related Posts

Maine Pledges Real Probe into Death Of Police Pup in a Cop Car – Meanwhile, Dog Owners Beware the Heat

June 19, 2025

Maine Cities and Towns Will Not Be Allowed to Collect an Extra Tax on Temporary Rental Accommodations

June 19, 2025

Biddeford Big Shots Convicted on Drug Trafficking and Firearms Charges Following Violent Robbery

June 19, 2025

<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="16922 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=16922">1 Comment

  1. vorbelutrioperbir on May 26, 2023 5:26 PM

    Right now it looks like Drupal is the preferred blogging platform available right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?

Leave A Reply

Subscribe to Substack
Recent News

Maine Pledges Real Probe into Death Of Police Pup in a Cop Car – Meanwhile, Dog Owners Beware the Heat

June 19, 2025

Maine Cities and Towns Will Not Be Allowed to Collect an Extra Tax on Temporary Rental Accommodations

June 19, 2025

Biddeford Big Shots Convicted on Drug Trafficking and Firearms Charges Following Violent Robbery

June 19, 2025

State Department Begins Scrutinizing Social Media Accounts Of Student Visa Applicants

June 19, 2025

National Guard Joins Feds in Massive California Marijuana Raid That Leads to Arrest of 70 Illegals

June 19, 2025
Newsletter

News

  • News
  • Campaigns & Elections
  • Opinion & Commentary
  • Media Watch
  • Education
  • Media

Maine Wire

  • About the Maine Wire
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Commentary
  • Complaints
  • Maine Policy Institute

Resources

  • Maine Legislature
  • Legislation Finder
  • Get the Newsletter
  • Maine Wire TV

Facebook Twitter Instagram Steam RSS
  • Post Office Box 7829, Portland, Maine 04112

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.