Maine lawmakers far from budget deal with a short window to make one

May 18—AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Legislature has the power to distribute most of $1.1 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds dedicated to the state, but Gov. Janet Mills has not yet sent lawmakers a bill with leaders targeting a mid-June departure from the State House.

It promises a quick and fraught set of negotiations after the governor and fellow Democrats in control of Augusta pushed through a two-year budget in March over Republican opposition. Lawmakers now have to deal with a new Mills proposal to hike that budget to nearly $8.8 billion using improved revenue projections, plus separate plans to spend the stimulus aid and borrow another $140 million.

While Mills has outlined her plan to spend the federal money, the U.S. Treasury only released long-awaited guidelines on it last week. The state says it is preparing a bill, but lawmakers do not know when to expect it. All of it sets up a tight window for a deal as Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on borrowing and tax relief.

"All I can tell you is to stay tuned," said Rep. Barbara Cardone, D-Bangor, who sits on the Legislature's budget committee, when asked about the stimulus progress on Monday.

With the Legislature out of session and working under emergency powers, Mills was able to unilaterally allocate $1.25 billion in aid under the CARES Act, the major COVID-19 stimulus package passed by Congress last year. But the landscape is different around the money recently allocated to Maine under the American Rescue Plan Act.

A supplemental budget passed this March included language intended to give lawmakers a seat at the table, subjecting any discretionary federal aid to majority votes in the Legislature. Of the $1.1 billion in state aid in the new stimulus package, $997 million will be subject to legislative control, a Senate Democratic spokesperson said.

It is a big pool of money with relatively few restrictions with relatively little time to allocate it. Lawmakers are supposed to vote all bills out of committee by Friday. Presiding officers are hoping to be done with their work by a statutory deadline of June 16 despite technically being in a special session to pass the last budget.

Cardone said Democratic leaders are telling members to clear their schedules every day between June 1 until adjournment, suggesting a marathon finish at the State House after conducting chamber sessions at the Augusta Civic Center since December.

The governor is reviewing new guidelines around the federal aid and plans to put a proposal forward, said Kelsey Goldsmith, a spokesperson for Mills' budget department. She did not give a timeline. Mills' plan includes $260 million in short-term business aid, $105 million in higher education facility upgrades, $100 million for affordable housing and more for economic growth.