The state continues to see signs of economic improvement. I am slowly seeing more job announcements in the Portland Press Herald’s “On the Move” section, and state revenues are better, too. Compared to the first half of the fiscal year(July 1st, 2010 until December 31st, 2010), the state’s general fund is up $75.4 million from the same period a year ago. These better economic numbers are a combination of the US & World’s economic recovery as well as Governor Baldacci’s & the Democrats’ fiscal discipline for the last four years.

Community Event
On Sunday, January 23rd, local District 8 resident Ben Grant was elected to be the new chairman of the Maine Democratic Party. I drove up to the University of Maine at Augusta for the gathering and I can tell you that you could not find a seat. The classroom was filled with excitement and commitment from committee members statewide. Former Attorney General Janet Mills was also elected Vice-Chair, and many other state committee members were elected to various positions. I’d like to congratulate Ben and Janet and I look forward to working with them to continue making Maine a great place to live and work. Read more about the election here.

Update from Augusta
Supplemental Budget
On Monday, January 24th, I sat with my fellow Education & Cultural Affairs Committee members with the Appropriations Committee for the first time this year. We sat for over four hours listening to testimony on Governor LePage’s proposed supplemental budget.

The supplemental budget is the Governor’s proposal to fund the State of Maine’s remaining programs and activities until the end of our fiscal year on June 30, 2011. Most of the 2011 supplemental budget was put together by Governor Baldacci’s team. However, there are many items that the LePage administration pushed, too.

The two major educational pieces that the two committees spent the most time on were:

  • Finance Authority of Maine’s (FAME) financial aid program called Doctors for Maine’s Future. This program (which was cut by $125,000) assists any Maine student who enrolls in a qualifying Maine-based Medical School (Tufts/Maine Medical Hospital and University of New England). A student is eligible for $25,000 per year of medical school. This program was created to meet the dire shortage of medical doctors in rural Maine. Over sixteen Mainers testified in Augusta with their stories about how this program is the major reason they are in medical school today.
  • Child Development Services (CDS). The Department of Education decided to put forth two proposals that have been defeated twice by the legislature. One proposal looked to eliminated parental choice for families whose preschool child with disabilities reached age five early (between July 1st and October 1st). This proposal would force the child to enter into kindergarden even if the child was not prepared to do so. The other proposal eliminated the more expedient process of getting services more quickly for a child with disabilities. The DOE proposed using 45 school days instead of 60 calendar days, which could mean that a child diagnosed in May could go for five and half months before getting services.

Environmental Regulations
Early Monday morning, Governor LePage introduced his policy proposals for what’s holding back Maine businesses as far as environmental policy. Click here to read the full list.

My first instinct is that the Governor has taken many ideas that he has heard from the business community and is proposing quick actions that bypass many of the bipartisan, unanimous reports where these laws originated. I believe there are some good points in the Governor’s proposal, and I look forward to working with him on those. The full package, however, will threaten our environmental legacy and quality of place. I agree that we need to work on changing our business climate, but companies come to Maine or stay here because of quality workforce, educational investments and the state’s infrastructure. Year after year, top surveys of CEOs indicate that their companies locate where they want the best quality of life. I look forward to talking more about this soon.

Bills Submitted
This is the third in a series of describing two bills I have introduced this legislative session. This week, I’ll review two more, one relating to an educational bond and another involving food stamps and farmer’s markets.

“An Act To Encourage the Use of Electronic Benefit Transfer Funds at Farmer’s Markets”
This bill was submitted as a “concept draft,” which means only the title of the bill and a brief description of its goals are submitted. Eventually, the text of the bill will be replaced with legislative language and the bill will reach an actionable form. This bill will serve as a framework to streamline the approval process for farmer’s markets to accept EBT funds, better known as food stamps. I would also look for a way to alert those utilizing EBT funds of farmer’s markets allowing their use. Farmer’s markets have fresh, local produce, and facilitating the adoption of EBT funds at farmer’s markets will encourage health for those receiving funds and will also help support Maine farmers.

“An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue for Educational Opportunities for Under-served Communities”
This bill would create a $27,000,000 educational bond that will enhance the capacity of the University of Maine System and community college system to serve under-served regions of the state. As our state moves our economy forward, education will be critical to the jobs of the future. By investing in educational opportunities in rural areas with higher unemployment, we can build a solid foundation for future economic success.

Closing
Things are moving at a frenzied pace in Augusta. I hope these emails are giving you a taste of what I do everyday. What would you like to hear more about? Please send me your thoughts.

-Justin