Friday marks 90 days since the end of the last legislative session in Maine, which means new laws take effect.

Maine Morning Star asked legislative leaders to weigh in on which new laws they think have the potential to impact everyday life for Mainers. There were some common themes, particularly changes to guns, housing and healthcare policy. 

In addition to the individual bills that were approved to become law, the supplemental budget will also take effect Friday. The budget includes sweeping changes that Assistant House Majority Leader Kristen Cloutier (D-Lewiston) said “will make life easier for families in Maine.” She pointed specifically to investments in housing and child care as well as lowering prescription drug costs for older Mainers. 

“The budget really allowed us to do things for folks at every life stage, which I think is really important,” Cloutier said. 

New gun laws

Gun reform rose to the top for leaders of both parties when asked about how individual lives will be shaped by new laws. 

Though there were many pieces of gun legislation considered during the last session, only two will become law Friday. This includes the 72-hour-waiting period after certain purchases, which passed by a narrow margin, with some legislative Democrats joining all Republicans in opposition. Gov. Janet Mills said she was “deeply conflicted” about the reform but allowed it to become law without her signature. 

Cloutier, who represents Lewiston, which was the site of the state’s deadliest mass shooting last October that killed 18 people and injured 13 more, said the new law will make communities safer. 

But Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart of Aroostook County said, “Any right delayed is a right denied.” 

So while he agrees it will be one of the most impactful laws to come from the last legislative session, especially for the many Mainers who own or possess at least one firearm, he doesn’t see it as a positive one. 

While Cloutier said she is proud of the progress that was made to reform the state’s relatively lax gun laws, she also highlighted the Maine Mass Violence Care Fund that was created last session in response to the Lewiston shooting. 

The $5 million fund created through the supplemental budget will support victims by covering out-of-pocket expenses not covered by insurance that are connected to a mass violence event. While the gun legislation often dominated conversations, Cloutier said she thinks this fund “will be of equal benefit, maybe greater.”

Helping people stay housed

Friday will unlock the $18 million earmarked in the supplemental budget for the rent relief pilot program, which was considered a win for advocates who have long pushed for some form of rental assistance. 

Over the past several weeks, the Maine State Housing Authority has been developing the program based on the specifications spelled out in the budget, explained Director of Communications Scott Thistle. The program — which MaineHousing has dubbed an “Eviction Prevention Program” — is scheduled to open to applicants in October.

The law specifies that the program will provide eligible people with up to $800 per month in rental assistance paid directly to a person’s landlord for up to two years. To be eligible, a household must be at risk of eviction, fall below 60% of area median income and not owe more than $19,200 in back rent, among other criteria. 

Cloutier also highlighted a new law to provide more transparency around the fees that a landlord can impose on a renter prior to tenancy. Those protections will also apply to residents of mobile home parks.

Students without adult family members or guardians to help secure housing for them will benefit from a housing subsidy program also created with the supplemental budget, an initiative that was highlighted by Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) as well as the Senate Majority Office.

Accessing healthcare 

Jackson and the Senate Majority Office also pointed to multiple new laws that will make healthcare more accessible and affordable. 

For example, a new law that was sponsored by the Senate president will collect data on prescription drug coverage of generic drugs, which will give a sense of whether insurance companies are pushing patients to brand-name drugs when cheaper options are available. 

Likewise, another new law will help the 80 community health centers across the state provide affordable prescription drugs to more people. Those centers already provide primary care to one in six Mainers. 

There will also be better price transparency for patients now that healthcare providers will be required to give good faith cost estimates to uninsured patients and insurers will have to provide out-of-pocket estimates for insured patients. 

And patients who are sent to collection agencies will be protected from additional fees or costly litigation with debt collectors thanks to a new law originally sponsored by Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot), which prohibits unfair practices related to medical debt.