Maine lawmakers have plenty of work ahead of them in 2025 to tackle a projected transportation funding shortfall, with a $100 million bond and other tax changes potentially on the table.
How to increase sustained funding for Maine’s roads and bridges has resulted in debates and disagreements for years. Gov. Janet Mills and a bipartisan group of lawmakers reached a deal in 2023 to send $200 million annually to the Highway Fund, but Democrats on the budget committee suddenly moved this past spring to shift $60 million annually to the separate state budget before reversing that move following bipartisan pushback.
The Democratic governor is preparing to unveil a two-year budget proposal in January. Based on the latest revenue forecasts, the state faces a transportation funding shortfall of roughly $280 million through fiscal year 2027, a Maine Department of Transportation spokesperson said.
Policymakers are starting to put forward solutions, while Mills has warned that the Democratic-controlled Legislature will need to exercise restraint with flattening revenue expected in the future. Maine ended the 2024 fiscal year with a $93.5 million state budget surplus and an almost maxed-out rainy day fund of more than $900 million.
Democratic members who lead the Transportation Committee either declined to comment on potential next steps or did not respond to requests for comment. Sen. Brad Farrin of Norridgewock, the lead Republican on the panel, said he has several proposals.
They include a $100 million transportation bond, increasing the share of sales taxes on vehicles that go to road funding and dedicating new liquor sales revenue to the General Fund. Farrin argued sales taxes are the fairest way to move in more money for roads and bridges, especially with the gas tax becoming less efficient due to a rising share of hybrid and electric vehicles.
“Ultimately, the vehicles on the road are the users,” Farrin said.
The ongoing quandary over funding comes after a blue ribbon commission released a report in 2020 that in part called for a combination of General Fund and new revenue to best maintain Maine’s transportation system.
That report said 50 to 80 percent of road money should come from the General Fund and 20 to 60 percent from new revenue, with “long-term, sustainable funding solutions” needed for Maine. But Republicans chafed at raising the gas tax, and Democrats never pursued it.
Farrin’s ideas will likely not win over Democrats but could get the ball rolling on compromises the transportation panel may seek in 2025. Maria Fuentes, executive director of the Maine Better Transportation Association, noted Democrats still have majorities in each chamber even after Republicans made gains in the November election.
She alluded to the spring budget fight by mentioning that members of the majority party previously “didn’t want to spend as much on transportation.”
“It just costs so much more if you don’t,” Fuentes said.
Damian Veilleux, a Maine Department of Transportation spokesperson, said via email the department “does not take a position on bonds.” Otherwise, he said the department has consulted with the Mills administration “to prioritize transportation needs, and provided ideas to maximize funding available to the transportation infrastructure.”
