On Friday, June 18, at about 1:30 in the morning, the Maine Senate finished up most of our work and left the State House. It was a warm summer night that symbolized the end of a long seven and a half months since the Legislature was sworn in.

The Legislature did much of our work remotely this year – like many Mainers did – but we still accomplished a lot. The full Legislature will be meeting again over the coming weeks to take care of some final items, but the bulk of our work is behind us, so I want to share an update about some of the bills we passed.

Susan Deschambault

One bill I sponsored is the result of hard work from great partners like the city of Biddeford, MaineHousing, Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, local legislators and many others. Maine, including Biddeford and surrounding towns, is experiencing an affordable housing crisis, with towns struggling to provide resources for unhoused community members and families.

My bill, LD 953, gives towns another tool to address this problem in the form of tax increment financing. Also called TIF, this allows cities and towns to finance new developments using the predicted tax revenue that a project will generate. Gov. Janet Mills signed this bill into law, and I’m so glad that this opens up many new possibilities for towns across Maine to address the housing crisis.

Another crisis many Mainers face is a lack of access to quality health care. Luckily, five bills passed by the Legislature will help make sure Mainers aren’t paying more than they should to stay healthy. Two of these bills will give the Legislature information so we can pass targeted reform measures in the future, one by creating the Office of Affordable Health Care and the other by making more data about prescription drug prices public. Two other bills make sure drug companies aren’t unfairly increasing the price of lifesaving medications. One bill targets the big price hikes we often see in the news, and the other bill investigates the smaller increases we experience over time.

The fifth bill in this package will mean a lot for Mainers who rely on insulin. This bill will allow someone to purchase an emergency 30-day supply of insulin at a pharmacy for just $35, so that if they unexpectedly run out or have a problem with their prescription their health isn’t endangered. Many people with diabetes ration insulin, often because of money, and the results can be deadly. By creating this safety net program, we’re putting Mainers’ lives first.

One other bill of mine that has been signed into law creates the Maine Lighthouse Trust Fund specialty license plate to raise funds for the restoration and preservation of Maine’s lighthouses. The plate’s design will feature the Wood Island Lighthouse, which you can see from Hills Beach near the University of New England.

One of my other bills, which was passed by both houses and is awaiting final funding, recognizes the Marquis de Lafayette by marking the route he took when he was in Maine in 1824 and 1825. Lafayette played a critical role in securing French support for America’s independence.

The Legislature also passed a bill called the Buy American, Build Maine Act, to make sure that Maine businesses and workers have a fair shot at completing projects paid for with their tax dollars. We also passed a commonsense safety bill to help protect Maine children from unsecured, loaded firearms. There are so many great bills I could write about here, but these bills represent some of the best work we’ve done to make life easier for Mainers while celebrating Maine’s culture and heritage.

It’s an honor to represent you in Augusta, and if you have any questions about the bills we passed this year, or an idea for a piece of legislation you think would benefit Mainers, please reach out to me. You can contact me via email at Susan.Deschambault@gmail.com or call my office at 207-287-1515.

State Senator Susan Deschambault represents Senate District 32, Alfred, Arundel, Biddeford, Dayton, Kennebunkport and Lyman.