What We’re Fighting For in 2022

It’s a new year, which means a new legislative session is underway. Our leaders in Augusta made great strides last year to make healthcare accessible and affordable, ease the strain on renters and homeowners, and ensure that workers have the resources they need and deserve as we continue through the pandemic.

But there is still a great deal of work to be done in the year ahead. Here at Mainers for Working Families, we’re setting our sights on three critical legislative priorities:

• Developing and executing a statewide Paid Family and Medical Leave program: Following the creation of Maine’s Commission on Paid Family and Medical Leave, Mainers are looking forward to a statewide solution that will ensure nobody has to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for themselves and their loved ones. As members of the Maine Paid Leave Coalition, we insist that this program must be universal and 100 percent public, fully protect jobs and wages, and make sure that every Mainer who can access these benefits pays into the system.
  

• Expanding health insurance benefits to every Mainer who needs them: LD 1390, carried over from last session, would ensure that uninsured Mainers have the support they need to get affordable healthcare coverage. By requiring state income tax forms to ask filers if they and/or others in their household are uninsured, officials can determine their eligibility for MaineCare or any of the other healthcare plans at CoverME.gov, the state’s new public insurance marketplace and help the filer enroll.
  

• Securing our elections: Maine remains one of the most voter-friendly states in the country, and the state’s laws account for many of the problems facing voters and election officials across the nation. LD 1779 would require municipal clerks to keep sealed ballot containers after an election unless the law dictates that they be transferred to some other entity. If the ballots need to be inspected, those authorized to make the inspection would have to hold the ballots in their sole possession in a secure location to avoid ballot tampering. This bill would also prohibit municipal clerks from transferring voting machines to anyone unless directed to do so by the Secretary of State.

We are looking to our leaders in Augusta to do what is right for Maine’s working families during this new legislative session. This means policies that keep us healthy, secure, and moving forward. Mainers for Working Families will continue to fight for these values in 2022 and beyond.

The future of affordable housing in Maine

Demand for homes in Maine skyrocketed in response to the pandemic, bringing us to the peak of a housing crisis that experts say has stretched over a decade.

Meanwhile, the supply of affordable housing available to Mainers has dwindled while property tax rates have spiked. According to the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, 1 in 5 Maine renters pay more than half their income toward housing costs, and, for every family living in an affordable, federally subsidized unit, nearly three families are on a waiting list. Experts estimate that the state currently lacks about 20,000 affordable housing units, and the state builds an average of just 230 units per year. At that rate, even if demand stayed the same, it would take 87 years to cover the shortage.

These are the circumstances that led House Speaker Ryan Fecteau to take action. During the 2021 legislative session, Speaker Fecteau introduced an emergency measure to create a commission to tackle the housing crisis in Maine. The 15-person bipartisan commission was tasked to review data on housing shortages in the State for low-income and middle-income households, state laws that affect the local regulation of housing and zoning laws, and efforts in other states and municipalities to address housing shortages. Using this data, the Commission proposed measures that would encourage increased housing options in the State, with an examination of the historical role of race and racism in zoning policies and the best measures to ensure that new zoning laws do not serve as barriers to racial equality.

The Commission’s final report and recommendations were released earlier this month. Some of the highlights:

• Allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in all places currently zoned for single-family homes;

• Eliminating single-family zoning restrictions in all the state’s residential zones by allowing up to four residential units on all lots, giving municipalities time to adjust zoning laws accordingly;

• Banning municipal caps on housing; and

• Providing state-level technical and financial assistance to communities looking to make zoning improvements and identify opportunities to increase affordable housing.

“We know Mainers are facing an affordable housing crisis. In too many municipalities, a web of various zoning and land use ordinances and state laws, some decades old, are preventing sensible affordable housing projects — big and small — from coming to fruition,” said Speaker Fecteau in a statement to the press. “Our commission was thoughtful about how Maine can grow the supply of housing through new construction and how we can incentivize the revitalization of buildings and housing stock that already exists across Maine.”

Mainers for Working Families applauds the members of the Commission to Increase Housing Opportunities in Maine. Every Mainer deserves a safe, affordable roof over their head, and with the work of this Commission, we’re on our way.

Celebrating Maine’s Healthcare Achievements

This month marks three years since Governor Mills vastly expanded Medicaid in the state of Maine. On her first day in office, Governor Mills signed an executive order that made Medicaid available to an additional 90,000 Mainers.

“Maine people knew that expanding health care was not only the right thing to do for our people, but it was also the right thing to do for our economy,” Governor Mills said in response to the milestone. “My Administration will continue to fight for more accessible and affordable health care.”

Nearly one in ten people in Maine have accessed healthcare through MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, in the past three years, making preventive care, emergency care, and prescription drugs more affordable. These measures have been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic because these funds also reduce operating costs for hospitals.

And expanding Medicaid was just the beginning for our leaders in Augusta:

• In 2019, Governor Mills and the Legislature codified protections for pre-existing conditions into law, meaning insurers cannot charge more for or deny coverage to those with cancer, asthma, diabetes, or other chronic ailments.
  

• In 2020, Maine leaders passed the Made for Maine Health Coverage Act. This law simplifies access to health insurance for individuals and small businesses while also reducing or eliminating costs for common health visits.
  

• In 2021, Maine established a statewide health insurance marketplace. CoverME.gov allows people to compare and choose from plans uniquely designed for Mainers and further expands healthcare coverage. Open enrollment through CoverME is available through January 15.

Mainers for Working Families commends our leaders in the Maine Legislature and Governor Mills for their efforts to make healthcare more accessible and affordable. Every Mainer deserves quality healthcare they can afford.