Maine could tap its cash reserves to cover programs affected by a possible shutdown of the federal government, but a spokesperson for Gov. Janet Mills' budget office says the state would need assurances that those monies would be repaid.
Maine has about $1.2 billion in available cash, but the spokesperson said it's too soon to say when it would need to utilize those funds or for how long it could if there's a protracted shutdown.
That's because the Mills administration is still awaiting guidance from the federal government about what funding streams might be affected by a shutdown, if one occurs this weekend.
Additionally, the state would want to know that its cash reserves would be replenished by the U.S. government if used to cover program expenses typically paid with federal dollars.
Maine's budget is more reliant on federal money than most states, ranking 13th overall when counting federal dollars as a percentage of its revenues two years ago.
