Senate President Mattie Daughtry and Minority Leader Trey Stewart talk ahead of the vote on the supplemental budget on March 11, 2025. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star)
After a weeks-long stalemate, the Maine Legislature passed a budget change package on Tuesday to address the imminent funding shortfall for MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, the day before payments to providers were expected to be withheld.
An amendment from Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Brunswick) introduced Tuesday afternoon incorporated enough of Republicans’ demands to gain the support of the minority party, including limits to General Assistance that Democratic Gov. Janet Mills had initially proposed, cost-of-living adjustments for certain essential support workers withheld by the Mills administration, and a review of MaineCare for fraud, waste and abuse.
There are aspects of the amended supplemental budget that Daughtry said she would not have imagined supporting when she first entered the Legislature at 25 years old. But, quoting Larry David of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame, Daughtry said, “A good compromise is when both parties are dissatisfied.”
The Senate voted 31-2, with two members excused, and the House then voted 129-10.
While the main purpose of the supplemental budget is to shore up Medicaid funding, the package also addresses other pressing issues — such as funding to prevent spruce budworm from damaging forests. However, it didn’t go nearly as far as Mills initially hoped as leaders of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, which sets the budget, had tried to move any non-emergency measures to consider in the two-year budget.
The Democratic majority ultimately caved on some of those measures in order to secure the support of two-thirds of each chamber needed for the legislation to be enacted as an emergency measure, making the funding available immediately upon the governor’s signature.
Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) said that while she was not supportive of some aspects of the amendment, notably the limits to General Assistance, she knew her community would not be able to get by if Medicaid payments were withheld.
On Feb. 26, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services announced it would start withholding payments to some providers beginning on Wednesday as a means to ensure some level of funding remained available for the duration of the current fiscal year.
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While Republicans ultimately backed the amended plan, several made clear that they’re looking to make further changes outside the budget process.
Sen. Marianne Moore (R-Washington), who originally proposed an amendment to include modest cost-of-living adjustments for the current fiscal year, commended Daughtry’s amendment for doing so. However, she said the limits to General Assistance should be a starting point, noting other bills being considered this session that propose further changes.
Specifically, the supplemental budget as passed limits housing assistance under the program to a maximum of 12 months in a 36-month period, with an exemption for temporary housing and emergency shelters.
In the process of budget negotiations, Daughtry said she and others discovered that the people who administer this assistance in municipalities don’t have annual updates or training on the rules, requirements and compliance expectations. Therefore, Daughtry’s amendment also requires annual trainings.
Republicans had also wanted the supplemental budget to add work requirements for childless, able-bodied adults to be eligible for Medicaid benefits, which lawmakers did not incorporate into the plan that passed on Tuesday night.
Republicans and Democrats both expressed support for the cost-of-living adjustments and the review of MaineCare.
Daughtry said the review will “make sure that we are centering data at the center of these conversations, and not hearsay, not anecdotes.” The $250,000 appropriation for the report — which is to be conducted by a third-party, independent entity — draws down a $250,000 federal match, according to the amendment language.
“This is something I was very passionate about,” Daughtry said, “to claw back those funds if the report does not adhere to the specifications… ensuring that this work is done with extreme fiscal responsibility.”
The budget provides cost-of-living adjustments of 1.95% in the current fiscal year for certain essential support workers, however these adjustments are still up for debate in the budget for the next biennium.
Several lawmakers used floor speeches ahead of the vote to speak about the work that comes next, both the two-year budget and standalone legislation.
Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) expressed his disappointment about the budget negotiations showing a lack of trust among legislators, but added, “I see this amendment as a good faith and a heartfelt effort to restore that trust, and to begin conversations that are going to be needed for us to dig into lots of issues beyond the budget this important year.”
A late-night budget committee vote in early February had initially signaled bipartisan support for the supplemental, but that apparent harmony fell apart quickly after Rep. Kenneth Fredette (R-Newport) tried to cast a late vote in opposition but came up against a restriction in the joint rules that prevented him from doing so.
Earlier this month, the Legislature amended that rule, which prevented a lawmaker not present for voting from later filing a different report outside public view, to now allow for a late vote but only one against a proposal.
Sen. Jeff Timberlake (R-Androscoggin) directly asked the million-dollar question on the Senate floor: Will leadership say on the record that they will also commit to a two-thirds biennial budget?
“If leadership were to make such a statement,” Timberlake said, “they might find that there is more trust built within this arena.”
Timberlake did not receive a response.
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