2008 Highlights

2008 Budget:  Faced with an unexpected $190 million shortfall, the Legislature was forced to make tough decisions to bring the budget into balance without increasing taxes or dipping into the rainy day fund. The supplemental budget:

• Cut state spending by nearly $150 million, spending less money in FY09 than in FY08
• Reduced Health & Human Services spending by $65 million
• Cut the legislative budget by $2.2 million
• Rejected proposals to cut health care and prescription drug coverage for the poorest Mainers, cuts to domestic violence prevention, mental health and retardation services, and higher education
• Funded a new tax credit for redeveloping historic buildings and also funded school breakfast for low income families

Continued to improve access to affordable health care:

• Prohibited hospitals from charging patients to correct medical errors
• Enacted insurance reforms that will reduce private insurance rates by up to 40 percent and bring more healthy young people into the market
• Stabilized affordable health care for thousands of Maine families and businesses through Dirigo Health and protected efforts to reduce health care costs for everyone
• Created an income tax credit for dentists who agree to practice in underserved, rural areas
• Authorized a veterans’ campus in Bangor to provide housing, a community-based outpatient clinic, a hospice facility and other crucial services to Maine veterans

Protected kids from toxic chemicals:

• Prohibited smoking in a car when a child under 16 is present
• Required the state to test, track and eliminate dangerous chemicals from products that children are exposed to in Maine
• Prohibited lead in children’s products, boosted lead inspection and enforcement, and created the voluntary lead-safe housing registry

Supported working Maine families and the economy:

• Increased the minimum wage to $7.25 this fall and to $7.50 per hour in October 2009
• Amended the Family Medical Leave laws to include siblings
• Allowed towns to reduce property taxes for seniors who provide volunteer services for the town
• Allowed communities to save money and reduce jail overcrowding by allowing fine scofflaws to perform community service instead of serving jail time
• Added flexibility and corrected flaws in the school district consolidation law

Encouraged clean energy and environmental preservation:

• Created low-interest loan programs for geothermal heating units to encourage renewable energy use and reduce energy costs*
• Streamlined the process for approving wind turbines*
• Prohibited certain commercial vehicles from excessive engine idling, with exceptions for some industries and weather conditions*
• Suspended construction of new coal-fired power plants until the state establishes emissions limits*

Supported the natural resources economy and recreation:

• Required state agencies to ensure that there is no net loss of acreage open to hunting on state land
• Restored alewife passage at the Woodland Dam on the St. Croix River
• Developed laws to expedite the re-opening of clam flats and the sale of shellfish by commercial license holders
• Preserved access to Swan Island for day and overnight visits**

Boosted road and bridge repairs:

• Boosted funding to repair and replace old and outdated bridges, fix roads in the state and create thousands of new jobs
• Supported alternative transportation without raising costs by dedicating funds from existing accounts to support transit, aeronautics and rail transportation
• Funded track and bridge work to expand Downeaster train service to Brunswick by 2010*

Enacted important new consumer protection laws:

• Prohibited predatory lenders from taking homes through “equity stripping” and protected people selling their homes from having to pay undue property taxes
• Prevented prepaid calling card providers from changing the value of cards after purchase
• Allowed consumers to get a cash refund on most gift cards with less than $5 of value
• Established a statewide model building and energy efficiency code for new home construction, remodeling and substantial renovation*
• Added safeguards to make it more difficult for metal thieves to sell scrap metal in the state**
• Strengthened the Public Utilities Commission’s system to prevent excessive telephone landline rates**

2007 Highlights

Passed a balanced budget that makes funding for health care and education more sustainable, without raising taxes

·         Cut spending in original budget proposal by $114 million

·         Developed more sustainable long term funding in school and health care services

·         Met the citizen-voted mandate to increase state funding for public education to 55%

·         Kept tuition hikes down and expanded access to higher education; enhanced education services for blind and visually impaired children; provided additional support for domestic violence prevention and for Women, Work and Community

Supported the largest bipartisan investment package in state history of $295 million into the state’s economy - including the transportation network, research and development, higher education and environment

·         The package will inject more than $670 million into the state with federal and private matching funds

·         The bond package will build for Maine’s future economy through investments in the transportation network, fixing and upgrading roads and bridges; the Land for Maine’s Future program; natural resource based and environmental cleanup projects; developing the economy of the future through research and development; and infrastructure upgrades to higher education and K-12 school facilities

Made 2007 one of the best years for the environment in decades

·         Joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; banned the hazardous deca flame retardant; set new water withdrawal standards; protected shoreline trees, vegetation and animals from development; set emission standards and enacted needed regulations for wood boiler use; and passed a bond package to invest in Land for Maine’s Future and the working waterfront

Continued to lead the nation in proactive initiatives to keep health care costs down

·         Allowed DirigoChoice to self insure, which will save the program millions in overhead

·         Created more transparency in rising health care costs among providers and insurers

·         Allowed dependents up to age 25 to stay on their parents insurance to keep young healthy people in the market; prohibited advertisements in drug-prescribing software; required pharmacies to keep co-payments down; and protected seniors from manipulative insurance sales practices when they’re purchasing Medicare products

Protected consumers, seniors, kids and workers’ rights

·         Protected Maine homeowners from predatory lending practices, and seniors from financial abuse, neglect or exploitation; required landlords to notify tenants if they’re doing work that disturbs lead paint;  protected traditional community businesses by requiring impact studies for big-box retail development

·         Increased efforts to prevent domestic violence

·         Expanded the family medical leave act to include domestic partners

·         Required that domestic workers be paid at least the minimum wage

·         Established a commission to review children’s issues, including child development, care, visitation rights and other important issues 

Passed measures to develop Maine’s economy and invest in education

·         Created a new tax credit for Maine college graduates to help pay their student loans if they stay in the state

·         Reformed workers’ compensation - returning $68 million in workers’ comp taxes to Maine businesses, establishing a workers’ training program and eliminating both the social security unemployment offset and  the sunset on part time unemployment benefits