Maine
Maine cities, nonprofits ask lawmakers to reject proposed limit on housing assistance
AUGUSTA — Several Maine cities and nonprofits asked lawmakers Thursday to reject a proposal to limit emergency housing support, saying it would put hundreds of families at risk of eviction and lead to higher demand for other safety net programs.
The proposal contained in Gov. Janet Mills’ $94 million supplemental budget plan for fiscal year 2025 would limit recipients to three months of General Assistance housing support in a one-year period. It’s aimed at reducing the ballooning expense of the program, which cost the state $36 million last year, well above the $13 million spent in 2019.
But municipal and nonprofit leaders who testified at a public hearing on the budget plan Thursday said the proposal could harm hundreds of Maine households that rely on the program to pay rent and avoid eviction.
“We cannot stress enough the concerns this raises for those across the state who rely on short-term GA to get through a hard patch while remaining housed, or for those working to achieve self-sufficiency in this extremely difficult housing environment,” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said in written testimony opposing the change.
Most people who testified on the proposal Thursday were opposed to the change, though the Maine Municipal Association, which advocates for the common interests of towns and cities in Maine, has not yet taken an official position and testified neither for nor against.
The conservative Maine Policy Institute submitted written testimony in support of the change, saying it is “a logical step toward reducing reliance on public assistance and encouraging individuals to seek other housing solutions.”
The Mills administration has defended the proposal as a necessary step to get the costs under control and focus resources on short-term emergency support.
“The department recognizes that General Assistance is a critical temporary support for Maine people, but reforms are needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program and to preserve its core mission of supporting basic needs for a short period,” DHHS Commissioner Sara Gagné-Holmes said in written testimony provided to the Legislature’s Appropriations and Health and Human Services committees Thursday.
General Assistance is Maine’s program of last resort to help people pay for basic necessities like food, utilities and shelter when they don’t have the resources to do so themselves. Under the current law, there is no limit on how much housing assistance people can receive per year. Mills’ proposal would cap assistance to 3 months in a one-year period.
The proposed limits would not apply to emergency shelters and would include hardship exemptions for people with severe mental or physical disabilities and those with a pending application for Social Security Administration assistance.
The proposal also limits municipalities from exceeding the maximum assistance levels the state sets for all assistance categories to no more than 30 days in a 12-month period per household.
While the state funds 70% of GA costs, municipalities cover 30%. Because the program is municipally run, the department is not able to precisely calculate how many people currently receive more than three months of housing assistance, said department spokesperson Lindsay Hammes.
However, the department has estimated that the proposal would affect about 1,400 households, she said.
In Portland alone, 592 households received housing assistance for four months or more in 2024 and would be affected by the proposed cap, a city spokesperson said.
In addition to Portland, the city of Bangor and the Maine Mayors Coalition also submitted testimony opposing the change, while the city of Auburn voiced concerns and urged the state to carefully consider how the reductions would impact vulnerable residents.
Auburn Mayor Jeffrey Harmon said many residents face challenges to maintain housing, including noncitizens who are not yet authorized to work, residents who have a criminal history that creates barriers to qualifying for housing programs and securing employment, and those with physical and mental health challenges.
AFFECT ON OTHER PROGRAMS
The proposed reduction to General Assistance could increase the demand on other programs, including low-income legal assistance, housing authorities and Social Security, Harmon said.
“While we acknowledge the necessity of addressing budgetary challenges, the proposed reductions to public assistance programs raise concerns for those in our community who depend on these services to maintain housing stability,” Harmon said in written testimony.
Nonprofit groups, particularly those that serve immigrants and asylum seekers, also testified against the change on Thursday.
Because federal rules prohibit asylum seekers from obtaining work authorizations for at least six months from the filing of their asylum application, families often rely on General Assistance to pay their rent while they await their work permits, said Ruben Torres, advocacy manager for the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition.
He said that without the continued support of General Assistance, landlords might be reticent to rent to asylum seekers or others who use the program.
“Asylum seekers come to Maine seeking safety, stability and an opportunity to contribute to our state. With proper support, they can — and do — enrich our communities,” Torres said. “However, (this proposal) penalizes families and communities striving to succeed under difficult circumstances.”
‘REALLY IMPORTANT TO US’
Antonio Tera, a student at the University of Southern Maine whose family came to Maine from Angola as asylum seekers while he was growing up, said they relied on General Assistance for about a year while they adjusted to life in the U.S. “I can tell you this program was really important to us,” Tera said.
Thursday wrapped up three days of public hearings on Mills’ proposed supplemental budget. Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee Co-Chair Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, said committees are now holding work sessions on the budget and will report back to appropriations. Rotundo said it is her goal to have the appropriations committee vote on the supplemental proposal by the end of next week.
Other major items in the supplemental budget include funding to cover a $118 million gap in MaineCare costs this year and cuts to cost-of-living adjustments for MaineCare rates.
“The sooner we finish with the supplemental budget, the sooner we can get to the biennial,” Rotundo said.
Lawmakers on Thursday also discussed moving the General Assistance proposal from the supplemental budget to the biennial budget, which is a change the administration has said it would support.
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This story will be updated.
The Maine Department of Transportation is moving to slash up to $400 million in projects from its agenda, a shocking and abrupt cutback that is rattling the state’s construction industry at the start of building season.
Roughly $50 million across six pavement projects have already been delayed, according to a memo exclusively obtained by the Bangor Daily News. The agency plans to cut or delay another $150 million in bridge, highway, intersection and multimodal projects later this month. A further $200 million or more in cuts are planned in the next three-year work plan.
Those figures were outlined by Transportation Commissioner Dale Doughty in the May 18 memo to Gov. Janet Mills that has since circulated widely in the transportation sector, which has been getting drip-by-drip details on the wide scope of the cuts over the past three weeks.
It comes at the beginning of the state’s relatively narrow construction season. Companies have hired workers and ordered materials for projects they expected to begin this summer. The severity of the transportation budget problems was not raised to lawmakers during the 2026 legislative session.
Kelly Flagg, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Maine, called the shortfall “deeply troubling” in a statement.
“We stand ready to work with policymakers, stakeholders, and industry partners to identify both immediate and long-term solutions,” Flagg said. “Maine cannot afford to fall further behind.”
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The cuts stem from a structural funding gap of at least $130 million in the state’s current work plan, according to Doughty’s memo. Losses are magnified because state money from the gas tax and other revenue sources is matched by federal funds. Lawmakers have long grappled with politically difficult long-term problems with the state’s transportation budget.
A Mills spokesperson said Wednesday morning that the administration was working on a response to questions from the BDN. The department says it needs roughly $240 million more in state capital funding annually to maintain the existing system, and that anything less than $200 million will erode it over time.
Doughty’s memo the only near-term solution is a series of bonds beginning as soon as possible. Lawmakers would have to return to Augusta to authorize that if one is going to appear on the November ballot.
The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Michael Capeci is the former chairman of the Bangor GOP.
Let’s be honest about Maine’s current state.
For many families, the cost of living has become unsustainable. Housing is out of reach for many young people. Energy bills keep rising. Many small businesses are struggling under taxes and regulations that make it harder to grow. Rural hospitals are under strain and despite years of increased state spending, the results are not showing up in people’s daily lives.
Concurrently, Maine continues to lose young workers to other states. That is not a statistic, it is a warning sign.
To me, the question in this Republican primary for governor is not about slogans. It is whether we continue with a political approach that has failed to reverse these trends, or whether we nominate someone with new ideas. I think that someone is Owen McCarthy.
Owen is not a political insider. He is an entrepreneur from Patten, a small town where opportunity is not assumed, it is built. He grew up in a working-class family, became the first in his family to graduate from college graduating from the University of Maine, and founded MedRhythms, a healthcare technology company focused on neurological treatment.
He didn’t just talk about opportunity. He built it. That distinction matters, because Maine’s problem is not a lack of debate it is a lack of results. We have seen the trajectory: higher costs, slower growth, and a steady outmigration of young workers. I believe Owen McCarthy represents a break from that pattern.
His Maine 2040 plan focuses on creating 50,000 new jobs in sectors where Maine has real advantages — maritime and defense, advanced forest products, and life sciences. These are export-driven industries tied directly to Maine’s workforce, geography, and institutions. What sets Owen apart is not only what he proposes, but how he approaches governing.
He prioritizes modernizing permitting so projects do not stall. He supports using technology to reduce costs and increase efficiency. He focuses on making it easier to build, hire, and expand in Maine.
That same practical mindset extends to healthcare. Expanding telehealth, strengthening EMS systems, improving provider flexibility, and shifting toward earlier intervention are not abstract reforms. They are system upgrades designed to improve access while controlling costs.
Maine voters consistently respond to competence. They reward candidates who understand problems and present plans to solve them. I believe they are tired of rhetoric that does not translate into results, and skeptical of politics that prioritizes messaging over execution.
Owen’s approach is grounded in solving the issues that shape daily life — affordability, healthcare access, job creation, and government efficiency. That is not just policy positioning. It is a governing model that speaks directly to voters.
Some will point to his lack of political experience. But I believe Maine’s core problems are not the result of insufficient political experience; they are the result of policies that have failed to deliver measurable improvement. Experience inside a broken system, by itself, is not a solution.
If Republicans want to win, this primary must be taken seriously. From my perspective, it is not about choosing a nominee for governor who can energize the base. It is about selecting someone who can compete in a broader electorate that is frustrated and looking for change.
That requires a candidate who can speak beyond the base, not by abandoning principles, but by demonstrating competence and a credible plan to address Maine’s challenges. I believe Owen McCarthy offers that combination. He represents a shift away from managed decline and toward economic execution.
This is not just another primary. It is a decision about whether Republicans position themselves to win Maine or whether they remain trapped in a cycle of repeating the same strategies and expecting different outcomes.
If Republicans want to compete for Maine’s future, they cannot afford to nominate a candidate who only motivates part of the electorate. They need someone who expands it.
I believe Owen McCarthy is that candidate.
And if the goal is to win Maine, then the choice should be unmistakable
The only notable change in the top-seven of the Varsity Maine baseball poll is that Gorham now has eight first-place votes, two more than last week. The order of the seven teams is identical. In fact, the only change in the top-seven over the past three polls is the swap at the top after Gorham’s win over South Portland on May 19.
Furthermore, Gorham, South Portland, Oxford Hills, Cheverus, Bangor, Mt. Ararat and Fryeburg have been ranked in the top seven for four straight weeks, and six of those squads have been among the top seven in every poll this spring.
Meanwhile, Scarborough is ranked for the first time since May 5, and Ellsworth and Thornton swapped spots.
The Varsity Maine baseball poll is based on games played before June 2, 2026. The top 10 teams are voted on by the Varsity Maine staff, with first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points.
1. Gorham (8) 89
2. South Portland 79
3. Oxford Hills (1) 75
4. Cheverus 55
5. Bangor 42
6. Mt. Ararat 41
7. Fryeburg Academy 30
8. Ellsworth 27
9. Thornton Academy 25
10. Scarborough 12
Also receiving votes: Washington Academy 8, Monmouth Academy 4, Cony 4, Leavitt 2, Falmouth 2.
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