Jan. 6—Housing, child care, energy prices and other cost-of-living pressures will be at the top of the priority list when Maine lawmakers gather in Augusta on Wednesday for the start of a new legislative session.
Leaders of both parties cited pocketbook issues as their primary focus in a series of interviews last week, although it’s clear they will have different ideas about how to solve them.
The 132nd Legislature will begin with Democrats maintaining control of the House of Representatives, Senate and governor’s office, but with slightly smaller majorities than last year.
While the deadline to file bills is not until Jan. 10, lawmakers also are likely to resume debates on topics such as gun safety, abortion and climate change.
Work on a new two-year budget will begin as soon as Gov. Janet Mills presents her spending plan, which could happen by the end of the week.
One of the first orders of business will be to consider emergency legislation that Mills plans to introduce to improve the state’s ability to respond to extreme weather and prepare for climate change. The bill will be based on the recommendations of a commission Mills created after back-to-back damaging storms last winter.
And, throughout the six-month legislative session, both Mills and lawmakers will be keeping a close eye on the incoming Trump administration to see how its policies affect Maine and how the state might respond.
COST OF LIVING KEY
“A lot of us are looking at ways to approach cost-of-living issues and make sure that we are addressing the needs of Mainers and looking out for their pocketbooks, whether that’s cost of housing, cost of energy or child care,” said Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick. “I think those are things that you’re going to be seeing from both sides of the aisle.”
Candidates from both parties heard a lot about those issues while out campaigning this fall, said House Majority Leader Matt Moonen, D-Portland.
“Costs across the board are rising for housing, child care and energy bills,” he said. “All those things are going up and it’s harder for working families to make ends meet. I think that will be our priority, to tackle all those things.”
Republican leaders also talked about cost-of-living issues, with special emphasis on energy prices.
“It’s something we campaigned on and something we worked hard on in the last Legislature,” said House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor. “I think one of the reasons the people of Maine rewarded us with more seats is because of what’s going on with energy costs.”
Specifically, Faulkingham said Republicans want to repeal Maine’s net energy billing program, which provides generators with credit for renewable power they produce and send to the electric grid, and a 100-megawatt cap on hydropower plants.
Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, cited the same issues during the Senate swearing in ceremony last month. He did not respond to messages for this story.
“We have got to get a handle on our energy prices in Maine,” Stewart said. “We have to get a handle on property taxes across the state of Maine. We have to get a handle on what’s happening with our state’s finances and this tumultuous budget period we’re heading into.”
Assistant House Minority Leader Katrina Smith, R-Palermo, said education also will be a priority for her party.
“We plan to address declining test scores and the worsening mental health of our children so that we can ensure they have the tools they need to thrive,” Smith said in an email.
HOUSING WORK WILL CONTINUE
Lawmakers in 2023 created a two-year housing committee to focus on a statewide shortage of affordable housing. That work will continue this year under a new standing Housing and Economic Development Committee.
“I’m excited to see that committee dig in and to see it paired with economic development because as an employer, I know not only for my own business but also for a lot of my friends who are on the working waterfront or on farms, they really struggle to find housing for their employees,” said Daughtry, who runs a brewery.
She said she hopes the new committee structure will ensure that housing is discussed in conjunction with economic and workforce issues.
House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, said he plans to bring forward bills to build on funding in recent years to develop more housing. “We need to make sure we find a way to keep a steady funding stream available to build more housing and maintain the momentum we’ve had for the last three or four years,” Fecteau said.
WILL ABORTION BE DEBATED AGAIN?
Abortion and reproductive rights have been dominant issues in the Legislature the last two years in the wake of the 2022 repeal of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. A new law expanding abortion rights later in pregnancy took effect in 2023. Last year, the Legislature failed to pass a proposal that would enshrine abortion rights in the Maine Constitution.
Those issues will be top of mind for many lawmakers again this year, especially with Donald Trump taking over the presidency, Daughtry said. Trump has boasted of his role in repealing Roe v. Wade by appointing conservative justices and putting abortion law in the hands of individual states, many of which have since approved new restrictions or bans.
“I think that’s going to be a wait-and-see for all of us regarding how this new administration interacts with the states,” Daughtry said. “We are lucky here in Maine that we for decades, not just in the past two years, have prioritized Mainers’ abilities to make their health decisions between themselves and their doctor.”
GUN SAFETY DEBATE TO CONTINUE
Democrats championed gun legislation proposals last year in the wake of the Lewiston mass shooting and they hope to make more progress this year.
While lawmakers were successful in passing a 72-hour waiting period on purchases, expanding background checks for private sales and improving the yellow flag law, a proposal for a red flag law failed to get a vote from the full Legislature.
It’s not yet clear if lawmakers will make another attempt to pass a red flag law, which would allow family members as well as law enforcement to seek a court order to remove a person’s weapons if they pose a threat to themselves or others. Democratic leaders seem to be taking more of a wait-and-see approach as advocates gather signatures to force a citizens initiative referendum on the proposal.
“I think it’s safe to say that somebody will be sponsoring more gun safety legislation, but I don’t know yet what it is,” Moonen said. “The red flag proposal did exist last session and it kind of got caught up at the end. I know there was a lot of interest and a lot of support… At the same time there is an effort to take it to referendum, so I don’t know if someone will file a bill or if folks are more inclined to step back and let the referendum go forward and see what the people of Maine have to say about it.”
The Maine Gun Safety Coalition has yet to submit signatures to force a referendum, but Executive Director Nacole Palmer said last week the coalition was nearing its goal of 75,000 signatures, much more than the 67,682 required. They must be turned in to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State by Jan. 23 in order for the referendum to appear on the Nov. 2025 ballot.
Palmer has said the coalition is working with lawmakers on bills that would ban bump stocks, ghost guns and a new secure storage law to prevent firearm accidents and teen suicides.
Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, who last session proposed a bill to ban bump stocks and other rapid-fire devices but said she was not ready to talk about the likelihood of another attempt, wrote in a column in the South Portland Sentry that she is again working on legislation to ban rapid-fire devices added to firearms after purchase.
“This is popularly known as a ‘bump stock ban,'” Carney wrote. “Last spring, it passed the Legislature, but was unfortunately vetoed by the governor. This widely accepted policy would reduce the lethality of firearms and would help to make our communities safer here in Maine, without infringing upon the rights of hunters and gun owners.”
MORE SCRUTINY OF CHILD WELFARE
Lawmakers are certain to continue their examination of the state’s child welfare system, which has been under intense scrutiny because of a series of deaths of children who had contact with the Department of Health and Human Services because of suspected abuse or neglect.
Last month, after more than 140 staff in the Office of Child and Family Services signed a letter of no confidence in Director Bobbi Johnson, Republicans offered support for reforms and prioritization of the office in the upcoming budget proposal.
“Child welfare remains a concern for me and my colleagues,” said Fecteau. He said the Government Oversight Committee, which has led the Legislature’s review of child welfare, will continue to work on the issue.
“We have to remain steadfast in holding the department to account, and in making sure they’re given the resources to do their jobs effectively,” Fecteau said.
FAMILY LEAVE AT RISK?
Lawmakers will also be watching the rollout of the state’s new paid family and medical leave program.
A payroll tax to fund the program went into effect last week — 1% of a worker’s paycheck split 50-50 between employers and employees. Starting in 2026, the program will allow eligible workers 12 weeks of paid time off for family or medical reasons, including illness, to care for a relative or the birth of a child.
Rep. Joshua Morris, R-Turner, has said that he submitted a bill seeking to block the tax and defund the program.
“Mainers are still dealing with the effects of high inflation, high gas, grocery, health care, and energy costs caused by Democrats’ out-of-touch big government policies,” Morris said at the time.
But that last-ditch effort to block the law will face an uphill battle in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
“I think Democrats are definitely going to be firm on this,” Daughtry said. “I think that bill, as I’ve said in other interviews, is really a gotcha bill looking for headlines before being part of a solution. Like any new law, there’s always a transition period… I think there will be an adjustment but we know this is something that is possible and needed, and that it will have incredible benefits.”
MILLS TO INTRODUCE ‘LEAN’ BUDGET
Gov. Janet Mills has warned that the next state budget “is going to be tight” in response to forecasts that state revenues slowing revenues and a report projecting a $636.7 million structural gap between revenues and expenses over the next two years.
“With state revenues leveling off and programmatic costs increasing, the Governor is focused on introducing a lean and balanced biennial budget proposal that maintains her core commitments to Maine people, including the expansion of voter-approved health care, 55 percent of education funding for Maine schools, free community college, and five percent of revenue sharing for municipalities,” Ben Goodman, a spokesperson for Mills said in an email.
The governor is expected to introduce her budget proposal Jan. 10.
“The Governor will continue to safeguard the Budget Stabilization Fund, which should not be considered a checkbook for the Legislature, and she will continue to oppose any broad-based tax changes, as she has throughout her term,” he wrote.
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