Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart and Assistant Senate Minority Leader Matt Harrington talk as the upper chamber prepares to vote on the supplemental budget on March 11, 2025. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star)
This story will be updated.
The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee is expected to meet on Friday afternoon to vote on a budget plan that addresses the immediate Medicaid funding shortfall, in light of the failed supplemental budget, as well as continuing services for the next two fiscal years.
This move is reminiscent of how the Democratic majority approached the biennial budget last session, when it passed an initial continuing services budget to keep the lights on and then another spending package to incorporate policy changes.
As it did in 2023, this decision is likely to anger Republicans, who have already been expressing concern this session about Democrats passing another party-line budget. Passing a budget in this manner would undermine the minority party’s ability to threaten a government shutdown over budget negotiations.
In statements shared on Friday, the presiding officers said the continuing services budget will prioritize core government functions and not include new initiatives, cuts or tax increases. However, the full picture of what is or isn’t in this plan will not be known until the Appropriations Committee votes on what to include. It is scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. in Augusta.
“While we had hoped to pass a responsible supplemental budget to address urgent needs, political brinkmanship prevented that from happening,” Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Brunswick) said. “Now, we must focus on passing an initial budget to ensure critical services remain funded and our constituents are not the ones who suffer from partisan gridlock.”
The final blow to the supplemental budget came Thursday when Senate Republicans maintained their opposition to the plan that would have filled the $118 million shortfall for MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, and provided funding for to treat a growing outbreak of spruce budworm, a destructive insect that threatens Maine’s northern forests. The plan was also amended to include some Republican demands — limits to General Assistance and promised cost-of-living adjustments for certain essential support workers that are being withheld by Gov. Janet Mills’ administration.
Another addition had been a review of MaineCare for fraud, waste and abuse, but Senate Republicans said it had to include structural reform of the program in order to get their vote.
Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) said on Friday that the supplemental budget negotiations demonstrated that Democrats can’t count on Senate Republicans.
“We must urgently address the supplemental budget in combination with the biennial budget in order to put Maine people first and end the political posturing,” Fecteau said. “Democrats are not willing to risk a government shutdown or neglect our state’s health and well-being. It’s time to move forward.”
Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart of Aroostook and House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
The Democratic leaders said they are encouraging their colleagues across the aisle to support the continuing services plan that will be hashed out Friday. Daughtry, reminiscent of her comments to Maine Morning Star ahead of the final failed supplemental vote on Thursday, added that she believes the fiscal uncertainty being seen in Washington D.C. can be avoided in Maine.
In D.C. on Friday, Congress will decide the fate of a stop-gap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown on the federal level.
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