The Maine Legislature has been working hard. We recently passed a continuing services budget, which is a baseline budget that funds all services currently enacted in law. That means that most of the initiatives being funded by this budget are measures that passed in the 130th Legislature or earlier, often with strong, bipartisan support.

Henry Ingwersen

It is an essential step toward responsible governance. This budget honors the state’s ongoing commitments to education, child care, hospitals, behavioral health, long-term care, property tax relief, and more. These are not new initiatives, but they are transformational investments in the health and well-being of Maine families, communities, and local economies.

This continuing services budget ensures that the state can fulfill its obligations to the people of Maine. It is a responsible budget of needs, not wants. It pays the bills and provides stability for local municipalities that are currently working on municipal and school budgets. Knowing what municipalities can expect from the state in terms of revenue sharing and education funding will allow local leaders and school officials to budget more effectively. Delivering stability, transparency, and leadership to Maine families and communities is the least we can do.

I want to emphasize that with this budget, the Legislature is approaching the biennial budget in two phases. Using this strategy, there will be plenty of time for including measures that are not currently enacted in law later this year, with plenty of time to debate and find common ground. However, enacting Part I helps to avoid a government shutdown and is the responsible way to ensure that the state continues to operate without interruption. This continuing services budget also provides tax relief. In fact, Part I of the biennial budget delivers more than $242 million in tax relief.

In terms of making it easier for municipalities to create budgets, this is the first two-year budget to fully restore the municipal revenue-sharing program to 5 percent since it was eliminated in 2015. This commitment will surely bring stability to Maine’s cities, towns, and municipalities, and help lift the burden off local property taxpayers.

And while it also helps schools with their budgets, we continued other education related services as well. This budget continues the state’s commitment to Maine schools and municipalities by fulfilling the state’s promise of funding 55 percent of K-12 public education costs as outlined in statute. This is a big deal because it is only the second time Maine’s biennial budget has met the 55 percent threshold since it was mandated by voters at the ballot box in 2004. By maintaining this commitment, this budget lifts pressure off property taxpayers who were often forced to fill the funding gap in the past.

We also know that kids can’t learn when they’re hungry. That’s why I’m proud to say that this budget continues funding for our universal free school meal program, to ensure that Maine will continue to offer healthy meals at no charge to any student who wants or needs a meal. As someone who spent many years in classrooms, I can tell you just how critical this program is. I am so excited that we are continuing this commitment.

To ensure support for Maine farmers, we have included provisions to maintain funding for relevant programs. Specifically, the proposed budget allocates funds for a new grant program designed to help farmers deal with harsh weather conditions and improve access to irrigation. Additionally, the Legislature established a convenient platform for farmers to obtain information on sustainable agricultural practices and on financial aid for those seeking to shift toward healthier soil management techniques.

I am proud of this continuing services budget. If you have any questions about the information here or if you would like to reach out with a comment, question, or concern, you can reach out to me any time. If you want to stay up to date on what we’re working on in Augusta, please sign up for my email newsletter at mainesenate.org.

Henry Ingwersen represents Senate District 32 which is made up of Arundel, Biddeford, Dayton, Hollis and Lyman. He can be reached at Henry.Ingwersen@legislature.maine.gov or 207-287-1515.