The Maine Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing Monday on a bill that proposes to increase state reimbursement for municipalities and Indian tribes administering general assistance programs, and for the biggest spenders in graduated increments over the next five years.
General Assistance (GA) is a statewide, municipally administered welfare program that provides vouchers for housing, food, and other essentials to Maine’s poorest residents.
LD 978, introduced by State Rep. Samuel Zager (D-Portland), proposes raising the state’s reimbursement rate from the current 70 percent to 90 percent for most municipalities and Indian tribes starting July 1, 2026.
For the six communities with the highest reimbursements from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2025, the bill outlines a phased reimbursement increase: 75 percent from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2028; 80 percent from July 1, 2028, to June 30, 2030; and 90 percent from July 1, 2030.
“A community that serves people through GA does not get money on balance, the net impact is a fiscal loss for the municipality in budget terms,” Rep. Zager said introducing his bill to the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Monday.
“I know in this room I’m not alone, though, in viewing this as an investment in, and even an act of love for our fellow human being,” he said. “It’s an expression of what it means to live in a just society, we take care of each other in our time of greatest need.”
Zager said that although the committee previously discussed and ultimately decided against raising the GA reimbursement rate in the last legislative session, he believes the two-track approach of his bill that separates the major service provider municipalities will lessen the fiscal strain incurred by the change.
“As a good faith, bipartisan, rural, urban proposal, rebalancing the statewide GA system in this manner will cost some money, but it will be much less than prior proposals in the near term, and in the out years,” Zager said.
The bill’s fiscal note estimates that increasing the reimbursement rate from 70 to 90 percent would require general fund appropriations of $2.7 million in fiscal year 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 respectively, and $4.2 million in fiscal years 2027-2028 and 2028-2029.
LD 978 is cosponsored by Republican lawmakers Sen. Marianne Moore of Washington and Rep. Amy Arata of New Gloucester, and Democratic Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross of Cumberland.
From January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2023, Maine’s total general assistance spending reached $109.3 million, with Portland accounting for $79.6 million—72.8 percent of the state’s total, according to Maine Department of Health and Human Services (Maine DHHS) records.
The state reimbursed $55.7 million of Portland’s welfare costs, while local taxpayers covered $23.9 million. Per resident, Portland spent $1,164.93 on general assistance, compared to $171.67 in Bangor, the next highest spender, and a statewide average of $79.71. The next biggest spenders on general assistance were South Portland, Lewiston, Augusta, Westbrook and Sanford.
Rep. Zager’s bill comes as Portland grapples with significant financial strain, exacerbated by a recent state rule change that slashes funding to the city’s homeless shelters.
The financial strain on Portland’s general assistance program has intensified due to a new Maine DHHS rule, effective April 1, 2025, which cut the city’s shelter reimbursement rate from $84 to $48 per night, a change that will cost the city a projected $4.4 million.
Maine DHHS previously issued a notice of violation to the city last fall for requesting a reimbursement of $84 per shelter night, which the city has said is based on homeless shelter operating costs.
The Portland City Council met last week in executive session with the city’s attorneys concerning the Maine DHHS rulemaking and “pending litigation concerning the Department’s [Maine DHHS’] audit of the City’s general assistance program.”
Portland Corporation Counsel Michael Goldman said at the start of the April 23 Council meeting, prior to entering executive session, that the Maine DHHS audit was from September 2024. The Maine Wire has requested a copy of that audit under Maine’s Freedom of Access Act.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="38515 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=38515">9 Comments
My roomate’s mom-in-regulation makes usd eighty one each hour at the laptop . She has been fired for eight months but remaining month her paycheck turned into usd 17367 just operating on the pc for a few hours…..
.
More Details For Us →→→→ tinyurl.com/3wmk2tpb
This is just like feeding pigeons. taxpayers will never be able to foot the bill for this increase. How about cutting the rate by 50%.
Loooove for my fellow human beings!!!
*gag*
Love for power and getting more dependents and votes you men.
They really do think we’re stupid. As if we don’t know that the cities and state ALL get their money out of our pockets.
More shell games
Figures this guy is from Ptld.
Heck no, usual suspects. No more money laundering through ‘sanctuary cities’. Invest in deportations as 80% of American citizens have MANDATED! Enabling this unaffordable debaucle to continue into 2030 is not love. The touchy feely wokester families need to feel the full financial impact of tripling property taxes. Importing slaves, criminals and terrorists from around the world to support by stealing from the hard working taxpaying legal American citizens is not sustainable. No matter how much financial trickery Janet continues to organize with other people’s money.
This is a huge NO!!! All these cities can pay for their own welfare queens and kings along with the illegal aliens!!! These cities wanted these lazy people they can pay for them. This is why Maine has the worst roads, schools and other infrastructure.
From the lands identified by only numbers, GFY
The Communist Democrats have been stealing from Citizens for decades to lure and support welfare seekers from around the world!
END ALL FORMS OF PUBLIC FUNDING FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS/BOGUS ASYLUM SEEKERS !
“a bill that proposes to increase state reimbursement for municipalities and Indian tribes administering general assistance program,”
Sounds like folks don’t understand chain of command. For the haters, read the quote above again. Municipalities or local communities could possibly be wanting to do more for their folks just like any other town in this state. It also could provide fertile ground for corruption at the expense of everyone else.
“It’s an expression of what it means to live in a just society, ” No, its an expression of what it means to live under communism: Karl Marx, “To each according to his needs, from each according to his abilities.”