After receiving unanimous, bipartisan support, Maine lawmakers have largely reversed course on a series of programs designed to bolster the state’s child care industry and improve wages for workers and affordability for families.
LD 1955, sponsored by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, was originally designed to make a handful of noteworthy changes aimed at improving compensation for Maine’s child care providers and making it easier for those looking to enter the industry.
After both the House and Senate advanced the Health and Human Services Committee’s unanimous Ought to Pass as Amended report without taking a roll call vote, the bill was placed on the Special Appropriations Table.
Any legislation that would have a financial impact on the state’s General Fund must be placed on the Special Appropriations Table after passage to ensure that these effects are appropriately taken into consideration before any spending is approved.
As initially passed, LD 1955 carried a $5.3 million price tag for FY25-26 and was projected to cost $1.5 million in FY26-27.
Wednesday morning, the Senate pulled the bill back from the Special Appropriations Table and unanimously approved a floor amendment eliminating nearly all of this proposed funding, leaving just a $500 appropriation for each fiscal year.
This amendment also adds language directing the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to develop and implement the programs and awards outlined in the legislation when funding is available for them in the future.
For example, the bill originally proposed investing $1 million per biennium into the Salary Sustainability Program for Child Care Professionals program, something that currently exists in the state under the name of the Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement.
Earlier this year, about 200 child care workers gathered at the State House to protest millions of dollars in proposed cuts to the program due to concerns over its long term sustainability.
This program, first launched in 2021, provides a monthly stipend to workers in the child care industry. In the beginning, this benefit was valued at $200 per month and was funded using federal pandemic assistance.
The Salary Supplement program continued to be funded into 2022, with benefits being increased to between $275 and $625 — depending the caregiver’s education and experience — in early 2024.
Due to high demand on the program, lawmakers quickly reduced the benefit amount over the summer to between $240 to $540.
[RELATED: Maine Child Care Workers Gather to Protest $30M in Proposed Cuts to Salary Supplement Program]
The single most expensive proposal in the original bill was to make an upfront investment of $3.8 million to clear the wait list for the Child Care Affordability Program, an existing program that helps eligible parents pay for child care expenses.
Going forward, the bill would have seen the state make a $2 million investment in the program every two years.
Wednesday afternoon, however, both the House and Senate approved a floor amendment that eliminated practically all of this funding and instructed DHHS to carry out the bill’s initiatives should funding become available in the future.
The legislature’s action on its final day will allow the bipartisan and unanimously supported policy changes to be signed into law without requiring that the state immediately foot the bill for them.
Other proposals put forward in this bill include continuing the pilot program allowing child care workers to receive free child care for their own children, as well as providing access to scholarship and apprenticeship opportunities for child care providers and early childhood educators pursuing degrees or certification related to their profession.
With its new, significantly lower price tag, LD 1955 was easily advanced for a second time in both the House and Senate, once again setting it on a path for approval.
