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More than half of $450 relief checks have now been sent to Mainers, state says

Lucinda Tyler and Aaron Raymo sit outside their home with fuel containers they used to fill their heating oil tank at their home, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022 in Jay, Maine. The couple shopped around for the best prices and bought heating oil 5 gallons at a time throughout the summer whenever they had any extra money.
Robert F. Bukaty
/
AP
Lucinda Tyler and Aaron Raymo sit outside their home with fuel containers they used to fill their heating oil tank at their home, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022 in Jay, Maine. The couple shopped around for the best prices and bought heating oil 5 gallons at a time throughout the summer whenever they had any extra money.

The state finance office says nearly 60% of recently approved energy relief payments have been mailed to eligible Maine residents as of Friday.

The $450 checks were approved by the Legislature in early January after Democratic Gov. Janet Mills proposed them in an emergency bill.

The governor has described the payments as a band-aid to address soaring heating and electricity costs as policymakers seek longer term solutions to volatile energy prices.

Her nearly half-billion dollar proposal is drawn from the state surplus, and it's expected that 880,000 Maine tax filers will receive a payment.

The payments are exempt from state taxes and are designed to be exempt from federal income taxes, although the IRS has not yet made a determination.

The agency recently determined that state-issued pandemic and inflation payments are exempt.

Mills said during her recent budget address that she expects all of the checks will be delivered by the end of March.

Journalist Steve Mistler is Maine Public’s chief politics and government correspondent. He is based at the State House.