Highlights of Maine’s 2022 Legislative Session

Maine’s legislature has been hard at work to provide quality healthcare, affordable housing, a more equitable tax system, and a strong, secure election system.

Thank you! Mainers for Working Families applauds the strides our representatives have made this past legislative session to improve the lives of working Mainers across the state. Read on to see some of the highlights, and learn what’s still needed to get us back on our feet. Click here to see how your elected officials voted on important issues impacting working Mainers.

Tax Fairness:

Ending the Dark Stores Loophole: Our leaders took on big box stores that shift their property tax burden onto local municipalities. The Maine Legislature passed LD 1129 to stop corporations like Walmart from exploiting what is known as the dark store assessment. That loophole allows corporations to lower their assessed property value and short-change the municipalities that house their big box stores. This new legislation effectively blocks them from evading their fair share of taxes.

Closing Tax Havens: Lawmakers also passed legislation to ensure that corporations do not manipulate the tax system to avoid paying their fair share of income tax. Representative Denise Tepler introduced LD 428 – An Act To Prevent Tax Haven Abuse – and worked with lawmakers to pass an amended version, which directs the Maine Revenue Service to review the impact of taxing income from jurisdictions outside the US and submit a report to the legislature. That report would then be used to draft legislation to close the tax haven loophole.

Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit: Lawmakers took decisive action to lessen the financial strain on many low-income Mainers and their families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Our leaders took action to ensure that working families are supported amid the COVID-19 pandemic, rising cost of living, and rising inflation. Expanding the EITC will give families in poverty more leeway to pay their bills and cover other basic living expenses.

Housing:

Combatting the Housing Crisis:

This past session, House Speaker Fecteau worked with other lawmakers to address Maine’s housing crisis. Speaker Fecteau proposed LD 2003, a critical bill that deals with the many obstacles presented by zoning laws – many of which slow down the building process. Governor Mills signed the legislation into law, setting the stage for increased housing opportunities across the state in the near future.

Addressing Housing Disparities: Senator Craig Hickman sponsored LD 1961 – An Act To Help Alleviate Maine's Housing Shortage and Change the Membership of the Maine State Housing Authority – which, as enacted, addresses significant disparities in housing needs and promotes economic diversity in housing access throughout the state.

Healthcare:

Investigating Barriers to Affordable Care: Healthcare was a major priority for the Legislature this session, beginning with addressing disparities in the health insurance system and possible solutions to obtain healthcare regardless of ability to pay. Introduced by Rep. Dr. Richard Evans, LD 1778 directs the Office of Affordable Health to study barriers to affordable healthcare and ways to expand coverage for families and small businesses.

Providing Easy Enrollment:

Also introduced by Rep. Evans, LD 1390 helps the state identify people without health insurance who may be eligible for MaineCare or a health plan in the Maine Health Insurance Marketplace (CoverME) by asking about health insurance status on state income tax forms. The Department of Health and Human Services and CoverME then contact uninsured individuals and families and help them to enroll in an affordable health insurance program.

Economic Security:

Funding Paid Family and Medical Leave: As part of the 2022-2023 budget, the Legislature allocated additional funding to support the Commission to Develop a Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program. This funding will assist the commission in crafting policy recommendations for a statewide paid leave system to be enacted by the Legislature.

Democracy Reform:

Securing Maine’s Elections:

Across the country, claims of “election fraud” sowed distrust in our electoral system. LD 1779 strengthens our elections and protects voters by requiring that municipal clerks keep ballots in sealed containers, moving them only with permission from the Secretary of State. If for any reason ballots need to be inspected, they must remain in the sole custody of the inspector, and the inspection must be supervised by a public official.

Thanks to our leaders in Augusta, Maine’s equitable economic recovery from the pandemic is moving in the right direction. However, there is still more work to be done to reduce health care costs, establish a Paid Family and Medical Leave program, and more. We applaud Governor Mills and the Maine Legislature for working to meet the needs of our working families.

What the Roe v Wade Battle Means For Abortion Access In Maine.

The future of abortion access hangs in the balance for millions of women across the country.

Last week a draft opinion leak revealed that a majority of justices on the US Supreme Court support overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1976 ruling that legalized abortion access nationwide.

Naturally, this news sparked nation-wide protests and Maine was no exception. It is broadly understood that an ensuing decision from the Court affirming its draft opinion would make abortion access illegal at the federal level and leave states to enforce their own laws on the matter. So what would Roe’s reversal mean for Maine women?

The good news is that Governor Mills and our leaders in the state Legislature have taken numerous actions to bolster abortion rights for Maine women in recent years.

In 2019 Governor Mills and state lawmakers worked together to pass LD 820 – a bill designed to cover abortion services for MaineCare members. That legislation also frees up state funding for abortion services that are not covered by Medicaid.

In that same year, our leaders passed LD 1261, which allows a physician's assistant or an advanced practice RN to perform abortions.

Rep. Joyce McCreight of Harpswell sponsored another bill to enact a protest-free buffer zone within eight feet of medical facilities. That bill was eventually signed into law by Governor Mills to ensure Maine women seeking reproductive health care and other medical services are not intimidated by protesters.

Since her appointment in 2019, Governor Mills and the Maine Legislature have worked to build off abortion protections previously enshrined in state law.

As state law currently stands:

• People in Maine have an affirmed right to choose to terminate a pregnancy pre-viability, which is protected even if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

• Abortion after viability (about 24 weeks) is possible only if it’s to save the life and health of the mother, and can only be administered by a physician.

• Minors seeking an abortion must have consent from an adult family member, except if sole consent is granted by a court. They must also undergo unbiased, non-coercive counseling about their options.

• MaineCare and other insurance companies covering pregnancy must also cover abortion without additional restrictions or limitations.

In light of recent developments, at least one state lawmaker is considering a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would guarantee the right to an abortion.

Meanwhile, Governor Mills is standing by her continued commitment to protecting Maine women’s reproductive rights. In a recent statement, the Governor declared that, " as long as I am Governor, I will fight with everything I have to protect reproductive rights and to preserve access to reproductive health care in the face of every and any threat to it – whether from politicians in Augusta or Supreme Court Justices in Washington."

Senate President Troy Jackson recently shared a few words echoing the Governor's stance on abortion rights.

"The right to decide if and when to start a family is fundamental to who we are as Americans and to our freedom. It is a deeply personal decision that should not be made by politicians or justices," said Senator Jackson.

House Speaker Ryan Fecteau also shared a few words bout the right to choose in a recent statement.

"Over my eights years, the Maine Legislature has expanded access to abortion care in our state. We will keep fighting for these rights. That isn’t going to stop because an extremist Supreme Court is working to take our country back to dark days," said Speaker Fecteau.

In the meantime, people across the state are taking a number of actions to protect Maine women’s right to choose. They include taking part in protests, urging lawmakers to support access to abortion, and donating to local abortion providers.

Join the fight by contributing to your local abortion provider to ensure that Mainers seeking access to reproductive rights get to do so in a safe manner.

Mainers For Working Families applauds our leaders in Augusta for working to protect the right to abortion and other reproductive rights.

Big Box Stores Will No Longer Dodge Their Fair Share of Property Taxes.

An ongoing battle between Corporate America and municipal government is finally drawing to a close.

Last week, Maine lawmakers passed LD 1129 to ensure that big box stores, such as Walmart, can no longer shift their property tax burden onto local municipalities by exploiting what is known as the dark store assessment.

As we previously reported, the dark store assessment is a loophole that big box stores use to lower their assessed property value and in turn, reduce their property taxes. As a result of this practice, municipalities across the country, including Maine towns like Ellsworth, are being cheated out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes.

Now Maine stands to be the first state in the country to ensure that corporations do not short-change the municipalities that house their big box stores.

Rep. Ann Matlack, who sponsored the legislation, had a few words to share about the bill’s passage.

“These big box stores want the benefits of municipal services, such as police and fire protection, sewer and water services and well-maintained roads, while shifting their share of the cost onto the rest of the property tax payers. This law ensures that local assessors have the tools they need to support their determination of just value for these properties,” said Rep. Matlack.

Corporations who use our infrastructure and our labor have a responsibility to pay their fair share of taxes. We applaud Maine lawmakers for taking action and standing up for our local municipalities.