Maine

Maine

Budget Cycle
Biennial

Governor Submits Budget
January

Fiscal Year Begins
July 1 

Governor Signs Budget 
10 days after legislative approval

Supplemental Enacted Budget – Fiscal Year 2025 

Maine Governor Janet Mills signed the state’s fiscal 2024-2025 supplemental budget on April 22. The supplemental budget totals $10.47 billion in general fund spending, an increase of $127.4 million, or 1.3 percent, above the originally enacted fiscal 2024-2025 biennial budget. For fiscal 2025, under the supplemental budget general fund appropriations would total $5.39 billion, a 6.2 percent increase over fiscal 2024 appropriation levels. Undedicated general fund revenue is estimated at $5.33 billion for fiscal 2025 after incorporating forecast revisions and enacted legislation but before transfers. After transfers, other adjustments, and appropriations, the supplemental budget estimates a general fund ending balance for fiscal 2025 of $11.4 million.

The supplemental budget makes investments in areas including public safety and mental health; storm response and resiliency efforts; housing and homelessness; and child protection. Highlights of the budget in these priority areas include establishing behavioral health crisis receiving centers; dedicated funds to rebuild infrastructure damaged due to severe storms as well as funding for the state’s share of estimated disaster recovery costs; new funding for emergency housing and to build additional housing; and steps to strengthen the child welfare workforce and caseworker compensation levels. The budget also invests additional funds in K-12 education, childcare, and child development services, as well as provides cost-of-living adjustments for behavioral health providers and an overhaul of nursing facility rates. Additionally, the supplemental budget modernizes certain provisions of the sales tax to better align with the practices of states around the country by eliminating the requirement that business owners must pay the sales tax upfront on purchasing property to rent to consumers and simplifying the sales tax exemption for nonprofits. 


Proposed Supplemental Budget - Fiscal Year 2025

During the 2023 legislative session, Maine enacted a biennial budget for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 totaling $10.34 billion in general fund spending for the biennium. On February 14, Maine Governor Janet Mills introduced a supplemental budget proposal for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 representing $71 million in additional appropriations on net, bringing the total general fund budget to $10.41 billion. The supplemental budget proposal is based on an updated general fund revenue forecast adding approximately $265 million in revenue for fiscal 2024 and 2025. The state’s rainy day fund is currently at an all-time high and the maximum allowed under state law at $968 million. Later, on March 29, the governor released a budget change package proposing one-time funding for housing, childcare, and long-term care initiatives, based on a revised March revenue forecast recognizing $108 million in additional one-time revenue; the change package proposal would bring the total budget to $10.44 billion.

Proposed Budget Highlights 

The governor’s supplemental budget funds initiatives to strengthen public safety and the state’s mental health system in the wake of the tragic mass shooting in Lewiston in October 2023; support disaster response efforts; and invest in housing, child welfare, health care, and other key areas. The budget also proposes saving $107 million in a new, temporary reserve for the next biennium to fund ongoing commitments and additional anticipated needs, based on expectation that state revenue growth will flatten in the coming years. Additionally, the governor calls for actions to streamline, simplify and modernize various sales tax provisions. Below are details on some supplemental initiatives included in the governor’s February 14th proposal; this list does not include items from the March 29th change package.

Public Safety and Mental Health

  • $2.8 million ($0.6 million ongoing general fund) supplemented by enhanced federal matching funds to strengthen mobile crisis teams through a comprehensive Medicaid payment model.
  • $200,000 one-time, supplemented with federal funds, to promote safe storage of firearms.
  • $5.5 million to hire more state troopers ($3.6 million general fund).
  • $422,400 to support surge in mental health assessments after the Lewiston tragedy.
  • $1 million to establish an Injury and Violence Prevention Program as a central hub to bring together data to help identify patterns and inform measures to reduce suicides and homicides.
  • $950,000 one-time funding to establish a crisis receiving center to improve access to behavioral health services.
  • $5 million in one-time funding to create the Main Mass Violence Care Fund to cover health out-of-pocket expenses connected to a mass violence event.
  • $6 million in one-time funding to address Victims of Crime Act federal funding shortfall.

Disaster Response

  • $15 million for the state’s share of estimated disaster recovery costs.
  • $5 million to help additional local governments create plans to address extreme weather vulnerabilities.
  • $6 million to repair state park damage from recent storms.

Homelessness and Housing

  • $16 million for the Emergency Housing Relief Fund.
  • $10 million to strengthen the Affordable Homeownership Program.

Child Welfare

  • $1.4 million for targeted positions to support child caseworkers.
  • $1.3 million ($0.7 million general fund) to support services for children in state care.
  • $4 million ($3.1 million general fund) to initiate reclassification of child welfare positions.

Health Care

  • $4 million to expand Medication Assisted Treatment for those in county jails recovering from opioid addiction. 
  • $34 million ($11.4 million general fund) for Medicaid cost-of-living adjustment for behavioral health providers and to overhaul nursing facility rates.
  • $96.4 million in federal, state and hospital revenue to reform hospital reimbursement rates.
  • Amends the recently enacted expansion of the Medicare Savings Program to generate $14.1 million in general fund savings this biennium.

Other

  • $22.6 million for public K-12 schools through the state funding formula.
  • $25 million to implement plan to improve Child Development Services
  • $3 million one-time payment to milk producers in the state to help mitigate increased production costs.
  • $15 million to fund final payments to municipalities under the Property Tax Stabilization Program for Seniors.
  • $4 million to upgrade the Judiciary’s computer systems.
  • Authorizes the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services to transition unused funding to expand the network of public defenders.
  • Establishes an Office of Community Affairs.