State coffers grow by another $411M of projected revenue

Less than a month after floating ways to divvy up a projected $822 million state budget surplus, Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday announced Maine will have an extra $411.6 million to use.

And as she proposed in her Feb. 10 State of the State address, Mills wants to return at least half of the amount to Maine taxpayers.

The state’s Revenue Forecasting Committee had earlier predicted a surplus of $822 million during the current budget cycle, which ends in June 2023. With the 50% increase in the projected amount, bringing it to over $1.2 billion, Maine would return at least $616.8 million to 800,000 eligible taxpayers.

The new plan would send $750 checks to those Mainers as soon as July, if Mills’ proposal is approved by the state Legislature. Maine’s Constitution requires a balanced budget, which means legislators must consider the plan before it can be enacted.

Mills’ proposal already includes a range of other uses for the surplus, including expanding high-speed internet access statewide by 2024 and providing residents two years of free community college.

The budget would also set aside additional money in the Budget Stabilization Fund and provide $100 million to the Maine Department of Transportation to fix roads and bridges, preventing the need for a transportation bond for the first time in years, Mills said.

The governor hasn’t yet specified how the latest forecast increase would be channeled among the funding priorities.

In addition, she expressed caution about the state’s financial future.

“The state of Maine continues to be in the black as a result of strong federal support and the good fiscal management of my administration and the Legislature. However, economists are also warning us that revenues, particularly those in later years, are volatile and should not be counted on,” she said.