AUGUSTA, Maine — Democrats on the Legislature’s budget committee voted Wednesday to raise the cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack, going further than Gov. Janet Mills’ original proposal and revealing a centerpiece of their upcoming spending bill.

The party-line change would mark the first time Maine has raised that tax in 20 years. It would rise from $2 to $3.50 per pack of cigarettes with a corresponding hike in taxes on other tobacco products. It is expected to generate $111 million over the next two budget years.

That money will be crucial to a planned addition to the $11.3 billion state budget that the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed over Republican opposition in March. After doing that, lawmakers had only $130 million in projected revenue available to spend with $120 million of that earmarked for a budget gap in the Medicaid program.

It sent Democrats scrambling for more money to neutralize cuts to certain programs that Mills made in her January budget proposal and to fund new bills piling up in the State House. They turned to the tobacco tax that Mills proposed raising by $1 per pack in that original plan.

Public health groups pushed for the change by noting that Maine’s tax is the second-lowest in New England despite the state having a higher-than-average cancer rate. Matt Wellington, the associate director of the Maine Public Health Association, called it “a long overdue step that will save lives” and reduce cancer in the state.

Yet critics have noted the tax falls hardest on low-income people. Some Democrats banded with Republicans to kill a flavored tobacco ban last year. Convenience stores have led an aggressive lobbying effort against a tax increase, and conservatives were incensed after the committee vote on Wednesday.

“This is a tax-and-spend budget,” Rep. Ken Fredette, R-Newport, an appropriations committee member, said Wednesday night.

Democrats have taken several party-line votes on the budget in the appropriations committee this week. On Wednesday, they voted against Mills’ proposed cuts to child care subsidies. They have also opposed controversial ambulance and pharmacy tax increases in the governor’s original budget offer.

The budget panel expects to vote on the final budget early Thursday, Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, the committee’s co-chair, said. The full cost of the spending plan won’t be known until then.

With money sending apps and online banking, why are so many new bank branches popping up in Massachusetts? 

Ever spot a “Space Available for Lease” sign and hope a new café, bookstore or restaurant is coming to town? Excitement builds and then you learn… it’s another bank? It seems to be recent trend in banking and now it’s happening in Massachusetts. 

In Needham for instance, a town of about 32,000 people, there are nine bank branches. One of the newest is a Chase Bank that replaced a convenience store which had replaced a Friendly’s restaurant. 

“I was hoping it would be a restaurant,” said Eileen Baker, who owns Proud Mary, a gift and fashion boutique in the heart of Needham. “We would love to see little coffee shops; I know a lot of people would love to see a bookshop in Needham. Little specialty foods.” 

Baker and many other small business owners thrive when people are drawn downtown by new specialty shops and restaurants. Banks, not so much. 

Chase opening 50 new branches

With mobile banking and Venmo, physical banks might seem outdated. But Chase, the country’s largest commercial bank, plans to open 50 new branches in the state by 2027, including brand-new branches in towns like Sudbury and Weston. 

“I don’t really understand why there are so many banks,” said one young man outside of the under-construction Chase in Sudbury.
Opening in wealthy neighborhoods 

Good question. So, we asked Eric Rosengren, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. 

“They would only do it because its cost effective,” Rosengren said. “You don’t see it in lower income neighborhoods. You see it in wealthy neighborhoods, because even a few wealthy individuals can provide a significant amount of income coming from the wealth management.” 

Rosengren says these often-plush new branches are designed to attract affluent customers who might still value face-to-face financial advice. 

Recent surge 

This surge is a very recent shift. In fact, nationwide, the total number of bank branches has dropped by 13,000 in the last decade. In 2014 there were about 81,000 U.S. bank branches. In 2023 – for the first time in a long time- there was an uptick in new branches- leaving about 68,000 branches. 

Will the trend continue? Most research says younger customers are using mobile banking and very seldom visit their local branch. Will they change their minds once they begin to accumulate wealth? Sound like some financial companies are banking on it.

If you have a question you’d like us to look into, please email questioneverything@cbsboston.com.

On June 11, 1968, Joanne Dunham left her mobile home in Charlestown to catch the school bus. Her body would be discovered the next day in a remote area of Unity, more than five miles away.

Now, 57 years later, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office says it is reopening the case in an effort to determine who killed Dunham.

“This case is not just about solving a crime,” said Todd Flanagan, who is leading the state’s investigation. “It’s about standing with Joanne’s family and honoring her memory. She was only 15 years old.”

Along with re-examining evidence, investigators plan on conducting new interviews and pursuing additional leads, according to a statement. A spokesperson said the agency is “exploring new information” but declined to provide details, including if any DNA evidence may be available.

Dunham died from asphyxiation, according to an autopsy done at the time of her death.

As part of the investigation, Flanagan recently visited the unmarked gravesite for Dunham at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Claremont. Funds from a victim’s assistance program, along with a donation from a local monument company, were used to erect a new headstone that reads “Taken too soon, loved forever.”

Anyone with information about the murder is asked to call (800) 525-5555 or email coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov