Lawmakers in Augusta have shut down a bill that would have created a new tax deduction allowing Mainers to subtract what their yearly electricity costs — up to $2,500 — off of their taxable income.
The bill’s defeat fell nearly along partisan lines in both the House (77-64) and Senate (20-14), with a small handful of Democrats voting alongside Republicans in support of the measure, including Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot), Rep. David A. Sinclair (D-Bath), and Rep. Scott Landry (D-Farmington).
First introduced by Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin) last session, LD 1873 was originally designed to establish a Home Energy Savings Account (HESA) Program that would give Mainers the opportunity to deposit up to $2,500 of their yearly income tax-free into a savings account.
These funds could then be used to cover costs associated with home weatherization efforts, as well as to pay their household’s fuel and electricity bills.
The Taxation Committee later amended the bill to scrap the HESA Program in favor of implementing a $2,500 tax deduction for previously incurred electricity costs.
Sen. Brakey noted on the Senate floor that he “completely support[s] this method of delivering tax relief,” but would have — if given the opportunity — introduced a floor amendment allowing home weatherization and non-electric heat costs to count toward this deduction as well.
Click Here to Read the Full Text of LD 1873 As Amended
Just as in the House and Senate, lawmakers on the Taxation Committee were split along partisan lines when it came to their support of, or opposition to, this bill.
The amended version of the proposal was supported by Rep. Meldon H. Carmichael (R-Greenbush), Sen. Jim Libby (R-Cumberland), Rep. Laurel D. Libby (R-Auburn), and Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield).
Opposing the bill were Sen. Nicole Grohoski (D-Hancock), Rep. Joseph C. Perry (D-Bangor), Sen. Ben Chipman (D-Cumberland), Rep. Edward Crockett (D-Portland), Rep. Tavis Rock Hasenfus (D-Readfield), Rep. Ann Higgins Matlack (D-St. George), and Rep. Ambureen Rana (D-Bangor).
“Rather than reacting from crisis to crisis with only short-term relief,” Brakey said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “I believe we should consider how we help Maine families prepare for future winters by empowering them to utilize their own money — tax free — for their home energy needs.”
Brakey described the amended bill as a “common sense solution” to rising home energy costs in Maine, contrasting it with programs that are designed around “taking [Mainers’] money and sending it back to them,” arguing that instead, lawmakers ought to be “empowering them to use their own resources to address their family’s needs.”
Sen. Nicole Grohoski (D-Hancock) and Sen. Eloise Vitelli (D-Sagadahoc) spoke in opposition to the legislation.
Sen. Grohoski said that while she “appreciate[s] what the Senator is trying to do,” she doesn’t “think this solution is properly tailored,” noting that “it comes at a great expense to the state.”
Sen. Vitelli referred to the bill in her comments as a “basically unnecessary and expensive effort.”
In the House, Rep. Joseph C. Perry (D-Bangor) explained Thursday that the bill would provide a maximum benefit of approximately $178 annually and would cost the state $45 million in 2025, a figure that is estimated to rise to $57 million by 2027.
“There’s nothing wrong with the bill. There’s nothing wrong with most of the bills we get down there in Taxation,” Rep. Perry said. “The problem is we have more bills to give back tax incentives than we have money — so we have to prioritize.”
According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), Maine has one of the highest electricity rates in the country at 28.04 ¢/kWh, led only by Hawaii, Rhode Island, California, and Massachusetts.
The opposition realized the state would be getting less money so of course this had to be shut down
Anything that jeopardizes the states ability to steal money from we the people will always get shot down. You will now them by their fruits and this legislator is completely rotten.
I would think allowing someone to writ off their electric bill would promote higher electricity costs.
” Maine has one of the highest electricity rates in the country at 28.04 ¢/kWh, ” Yes, and the socialist/democrats in Augusta and DC are doing their best to force us to heat our homes inefficiently with electrity by working to drive up the cost of alternatives such as natural gas and #2 oil.