Maine’s $500 million supplemental budget was signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills (D) Friday after narrowly passing the House and Senate the day before.
While lawmakers in the House were divided along strict partisan lines, one Democrat in the Senate, Sen. Nicole Grohoski (D-Hancock), broke ranks to join the Republicans in opposition to the measure.
Among the provisions included in the final version of the budget are a new tax on Mainers earning over $1 million, free community college, funding for “reproductive health care” providers, as well as a plan to send $300 checks to many Maine residents, among other things.
[RELATED: New Millionaire Tax Included in Maine’s Proposed Supplemental Budget]
While Democratic lawmakers have praised the bill, Republicans have criticized it on several counts, including for dipping into the state’s emergency fund, also known as the Rainy Day Fund, to cover the cost of some of these initiatives.
During debate on the chamber floor, numerous Republican-backed amendments were raised and rejected before the final version of the legislation was passed to be enacted and sent to the governor’s desk for a signature.
“The Democrats just passed, on a total party line basis, the largest tax increase in my lifetime. They did so largely under the cloak of darkness running these votes literally at midnight Wednesday night,” Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook) said in response to the budget’s passage.
[RELATED: Supplemental Budget Includes $5M for “Reproductive Health Care” and “Family Planning” Providers]
Gov. Janet Mills (D) shared a statement Thursday celebrating the supplemental budget’s passage, drawing attention to federal policies in the process.
“This budget will deliver significant relief to Maine people facing rising prices because of the shortsighted actions of the Trump Administration,” Gov. Mills said.
“The supplemental budget gives money directly back to the people of Maine, it builds on my Administration’s historic investments in housing, it makes Free Community College permanent, it delivers more property tax relief and funding for childcare and importantly, preserves critical funding for schools and health care for the coming years,” said Mills.
Mills signed the supplemental budget into law at an automotive technology center Friday, placing emphasis on the new free community college program.
