state budget

Maine Public host Nicole Ogrysko spoke with State House correspondent Kevin Miller about what's in and isn't in the $11.3 billion budget passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature as well as what political tensions surrounding the spending plan.

If enacted, this will be the third state budget passed largely or exclusively with Democratic support.

The bill aims to fill a nearly $120 million funding shortfall in MaineCare — the state's Medicaid program — and to provide $2 million to help address a looming spruce budworm infestation in the commercial forests of northern Maine.

Republicans are vowing to oppose the "targeted" tax and fee increases in the governor's $11.6 billion budget and Democrats are likely to oppose some of Mills' proposed spending cuts.

The governor is expected to focus on her proposed spending priorities during the final two years of her administration as lawmakers begin work on the state's next biennial budget.

While Gov. Janet Mills did not propose any broad-based tax increases, such as to the income tax, the Democrat has proposed generating additional revenue through taxes on tobacco, cannabis and video streaming services.

While the governor's proposal represents a $1.1 billion increase over the current budget, the administration points out that it is less than would be needed to fully fund current obligations.

In a memo on Tuesday, the state's top finance commission warned state lawmakers that "difficult changes must be adopted this year to balance the budget" after years of budget surpluses.

Maine's budget stabilization fund has reached a record high and the maximum under state law after the state finished the 2023 fiscal year with a $141 million surplus.

The Maine Legislature has approved an $800 million spending plan that will be folded into the state's two-year budget. But the proposal failed to garner the margin of votes needed to allow it to go into effect immediately.