Democrats Advance Supplemental Budget to Safeguard Healthcare Access and Maine’s Economy

AUGUSTA – On Tuesday, the Legislature voted on a supplemental budget that funds Maine nursing homes and hospitals and ensures MaineCare recipients have access to health care. This supplemental budget, LD 209, would also invest in time-sensitive remediation efforts to stop further spruce budworm damage, preserve Maine’s forest industry, and prevent forest fires. On initial action the legislature advanced the supplemental budget 20-14 in the Senate and 74-71 in the House.

The Senate President, the Speaker of the House, and the AFA committee chairs released the following statements regarding the supplemental budget voted on today:

Senate President, Matthea Elizabeth Larsen Daughtry:

“By supporting this budget, Democrats demonstrated our commitment to Mainers. Now it’s on Republicans to step up and deliver. We have continued to work with them, we have made offer after offer. We have entertained and had an honest conversation on all of their proposals, but for every agreement there have been more and more demands. There is a difference between a negotiation and a list of demands. They haven’t offered legitimate reasons not to support this budget. I hope my Republican colleagues realize the harm this holdup causes and pass this budget with us. Once we address these emergencies, we can get to work on the other important issues facing Maine people.”

House Speaker, Ryan D. Fecteau:

“Republican leadership chose to put the political games of one caucus member ahead of Maine’s people and economy–plain and simple. Voting against the supplemental budget today was a vote to leave our elderly neighbors with no place to go when their nursing homes close. It was a vote to leave half of Maine children without access to health care. And it was a vote to risk wildfires and the loss of thousands of jobs in Aroostook County. But I will tell you this - our caucus is committed to doing the right thing for Maine people. On February 25th, this measure will be before us again. Democrats will be voting for it, so that its provisions take effect immediately, and we expect our Republican colleagues to join us because that is the right thing to do.”

Senate Chair of the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, Peggy Rotundo:

“This proposal was crafted in good faith. Both sides made compromises. Committee chairs and their Republican counterparts worked hard to find common ground, exactly the way we are supposed to. This is what we were elected to do. This is what Maine people expect of us.”

House Chair of the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, Drew Gattine:

“For the first time in many years we have taken up a supplemental budget that is a true emergency. Failing to pass it in a manner that allows it to go into effect immediately will have dire impacts on the health and well being of Maine people, a devastating impact on our health care economy and our rural economy. It will disrupt the basic functioning of our government. It’s that serious.”

Supplemental Budget Highlights:

• Closing MaineCare Funding Gap: Provides one-time funding to close the MaineCare gap of $118 million due to rising healthcare costs and decreased financial support from the federal government. Half of all Maine children and one in three Maine people have MaineCare coverage, with a higher percentage of rural Maine people relying on MaineCare.

• Funding Spruce Budworm Remediation: This budget initiative provides $2 million in funding for spruce budworm remediation to protect Maine’s forests. The Maine Forest Service, coordinating with landowners and other partner groups, will oversee implementation of the response program. A severe spruce budworm outbreak in Maine could cause a reduction of 494,000 cords of annual wood supply, which is equivalent to forty percent of the 2021 spruce and fir harvest. This could result in a loss of 3,856 direct and indirect Maine jobs and have a $794 million economic impact.

These items were among a small list of emergency items included in the final supplemental budget. The budget faces additional votes in the House and Senate before final passage.