Legislative Updates
124th Maine Legislative Accomplishments
The 124th Legislature tackled tremendous economic, energy and health care policy issues during the past two years, while also balancing the budget in the face of unparalleled economic uncertainty.
While 33 states across the country were forced to raise taxes to balance their budgets, Maine lawmakers worked together to find creative and thoughtful solutions to close the revenue gap, cutting roughly $800 million in spending. With partisan gridlock and revenue crises gripping the country, Maine lawmakers stayed above the fray to solve tough problems, gaining praise from media across the state and the nation.
In addition to approving a bipartisan budget, this legislature passed a number of bills that will help improve the lives of all Maine people, from advancing job creation and economic development to investing in alternative energy and protecting public health and consumers.
We created thousands of jobs through proposed bond measures and encouraged global investment through tax incentives for businesses. Governing toward the future, we passed sweeping energy legislation that included funds for renewable energy, weatherization and workforce development programs in emerging green industries.
Additionally, the legislature passed landmark civil rights laws legalizing same-sex marriage as well as a tax reform package providing relief to 95 percent of taxpayers. The accomplishments were hailed nationally, though the marriage law was rejected by a slim margin in a People’s Veto and the tax reform law faces a public vote in June. Regardless, the efforts were groundbreaking, with accolades even coming from the conservative Wall Street Journal, which called the tax reform package the “Maine miracle.”
In Maine’s tradition of national leadership, the legislature also approved a first-in-the-nation bill to protect consumers from catastrophic health care debt, approved a Health Care Bill of Rights to protect consumers and established a universal childhood immunization program.