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.
More liberal trash spending for non citizens no doubt
“Shortsighted actions of the Trump Administration.” Jackboot Janet never looks in the mirror for the disastrous fiscal, political and “woke” agenda that she and her Commie cronies created. Typical!
Another half billion dollars we have to come up with? Raid the Rainy Day Fun, illegally?
Mainers, what is wrong with your brain. These spend happy democrats are going to bankrupt you and me.
Maine moves a step closer to becoming a shiphole state,……
“a plan to send $300 checks to many Maine residents, among other things.” You can bet a dollar to a doughnut every one of those many Mainers will be “new Mainers” and non-taxpayers.
TAX AND SPEND DEMO-KKK-RATS
Gangsters-R-US. If Republicans were in the majority and mobbed their way thru passing the most reckless budget in recent memory, the woke-tards would be throwing themselves into highway traffic in protest. And the $300 clear as day vote buying for a second time should land Don Vito Mills in the hoosegow, but the game is so fixed that isn’t happening. They funded abortions with millions to “family planning” and are giving tax dollars away to any deadbeat who hasn’t paid their rent for six months (what could possibly be the fraud potential in this giveaway) with non-citizens solicited to be first in line. Want to help break the Dem Socialist Woke Bolshevik’s stranglehold in the legislature? Last legislature passed a 62% pay increase making this legislature a $50-$65K a year elected public office. A dozen Independents elected to the House and Senate, voting as a block, would destroy the Dem mobster Kabal that is driving this state into the likes of Oregon, Washington and California. Clean Election financing does away with the partisan begging component of running for office. Time to start a new movement before all is lost.
This state and the whole darn country is in a downward spiral, as the political party’s rob us blind , BLATANTLY IN OUR FACES
Southern Maine liberals have infested the state house in support of freeloaders. The mid terms will change that much the Janet and her flying monkeys’ chagrin.
Typical Democratic playbook. Throw money at the problem and wait for the applause. And when that doesn’t work, blame Trump.
That lady blames everything on the Trump administration. Seems to be her whole political agenda, short of sticking it to Maine taxpayers.
Hello Maine,
If you care to educate yourselves, I suggest you do. Mills and her Democrat robots are robbing you blind. Don’t believe it??? Do some research. This isn’t Democrat vs Republican. This is one party always on the wrong side of history. They were with slavery and they are now about EVERYTHING! Ask yourself, if 80% of Mainers disagree with boys/men in women’s spaces, then why are Mills and her minions still insisting on pushing this agenda??? They seem to forget they work for us. A shutdown for absolutely nothing, but show. ICE is already funded and they’re going to do their job. But, now you have Americans without pay for 6 weeks just for politics. They don’t get to make constituents suffer, then go vacation on a beach somewhere when people are trying to pay mortgages and feed their children. Wow people!
Oh and Janet,
$300 rebate checks???? 🤣 I bet they’re going to illegals too??!! Of course they are! Great, $300 might pay for a week of groceries, if that. Shove your $300 check. She’s pathetic!
California did community colleges……(you fill in the rest) early 80s mind you.
Check Maine Highschool graduates reading, writing and arithmetic skill levels.
So, let’s make a bigger promise the state can’t keep.
We will call it “college” so to extrapolate more from the “working” taxpayer to an already failing public education system.
Goot One.