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| 📷 Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address on, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta. (AP photo by Robert F. Bukaty) |
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What I'm hearing
Responsibly sourced gossip from the halls of power.
🚬 The tobacco tax is part of the buzz around a tight budget incoming.
◉ Gov. Janet Mills will release her two-year budget proposal on Friday. She has begun to tease parts of it, including a bipartisan storm resiliency package and elevating her energy office to a Cabinet-level department.
◉ Those items pale in importance to the somewhat financial situation that the state is in. There is an immediate Medicaid shortfall that lawmakers have to close. Kirsten Figueroa, Mills' budget commissioner, also told lawmakers in a Tuesday memo that "targeted" tax increases and spending reductions will be needed to close a $450 million shortfall in the state budget.
◉ The Mills administration has not said more about its plans on taxes. But Rep. Jack Ducharme, R-Madison, an appropriations committee member, was among the State House denizens on Thursday that had heard that the tobacco tax could be the one on the table in the budget.
◉ It makes sense on a few levels. It is not broad-based, which satisfies the governor's stated requirements in the memo. It also the biggest state tax besides income and sales, bringing in more than $150 million per year. Mills raised taxes overall in this area as part of a 2019 equalization bill.
◉ This move has some political drawbacks. For one, a small group of rural Democrats are the reason why Maine has no flavored tobacco ban. They are going to be lobbied into a pressure-packed vote by grocers and convenience stores on a tax increase that would fall hardest on low-income people.
◉ "A cigarette tax is only going to hurt those people who are the most vulnerable," Ducharme said, previewing his party's line on taxes.
◉ Public health advocates have already begun pushing an increase to fund programs aimed at fighting cancer, noting that Maine's cigarette tax of $2 per carton is the second-lowest in New England despite a higher-than-average cancer rate among states.
◉ "It's a long-overdue step, and we applaud it if it ends up happening," Matt Wellington, the associate director of the Maine Public Health Association, said.
What are you hearing? Send tips to mshepherd@bangordailynews.com. |
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News and notes 📍 Maine's congressman shows no signs of calibrating for a primary.
◉ We're in a new Congress, and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine's 2nd District is still looking like the guy who voted most of the time against President Joe Biden in 2023. That's notable because he's also a potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2026.
◉ Golden kicked off the year on Tuesday by being one of 48 Democrats to vote for the Laken Riley Act, which would require the federal government to detain unauthorized immigrants accused of theft-related crimes. The Republican bill is gaining support among Democrats, but it's unclear if it will pass the Senate.
◉ The Maine congressman is also the only Democrat co-sponsoring a concealed-carry permit reciprocity bill from the head of the House Republican campaign committee. Golden was also on the bill last year but later angered gun-rights groups when he backed an assault weapons ban on the heels of the Lewiston mass shooting.
◉ Golden is being the guy he has been, but timing means a lot here. Running in a statewide Democratic primary is much different than representing a district that votes for Donald Trump. It'll be a challenge if he decides to jump. |
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The State & Capitol calendar
Big and small events around the State House, plus birthdays and celebratory notes.
🏛️ It's the national day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter, who died last month at 100. Gov. Janet Mills will be in the nation's capital at the Washington National Cathedral for his funeral at 10 a.m.
👛 The Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce's "Eggs & Issues" series continues today with Ken Entenmann, the chief economist with NBT Wealth Management, giving an economic outlook. It's at the Hannaford Hall at the University of Southern Maine from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
📜 The Legislature's Rules Committee is in at 2 p.m. It is aiming to finalize significant changes to the way business is done, including limits on vague "concept drafts" that Republicans would like to ban outright. Listen here.
Send birthdays or other notable events to mshepherd@bangordailynews.com. |
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| 📝 The first bills are in at the State House. We are helping you keep watch with the Maine Politics Insider bill tracker. See the proposals that we find notable, along with the sponsors, analysis and similar bills from the past. |
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On the move
Job postings and employment updates in government, policy and media.
🎤 Sen. Susan Collins has a new press secretary: Blake Kernen, who most recently worked for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's unsuccessful Senate campaign. She replaces Annie Clark, who signed off Wednesday after 10 years in the role and is taking a consulting job.
📰 In other press secretary news, Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, is hiring one as the legislative session gets under way.
🌲 The New Hampshire-based Northern Forest Center is hiring a donor relations officer hoping to tap into deep pockets in the Portland area and south.
Check the job boards run by the state, the Maine Municipal Association and the Maine Association of Nonprofits for more postings. If you apply for a job, let them know you found it here. |
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| 🕵 We can't do this without you. We always need more sources to tell us what's going on in Augusta. Send intel and feedback on Maine Politics Insider to me at mshepherd@bangordailynews.com. |
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