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budget totals $10.47 billion in general fund spending, an increase of $127.4 million, or 1.3 percent, above the originally enacted fiscal 2024-2025 biennial budget.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.