Gov. Janet Mills signed into law Friday an $11.3 billion budget the Democratic-led Legislature passed over Republican opposition.
The governor also signed a proclamation to bring the Legislature back into session next week after Democratic leaders technically adjourned it early Friday so the budget can take effect before the current fiscal year ends in June.
The Legislature engaged in a contentious, prolonged set of debates Thursday into early Friday to finally pass the plan, with Democrats continuing their pattern in recent years of passing budgets without Republican votes and setting aside a past process of approving plans with bipartisan majorities.
House Republicans and Democrats had backed a supplemental budget earlier this month, but Senate Republicans refused to support it while seeking more General Assistance limits and MaineCare work requirements.
That set up the two-year budget Democrats passed Thursday to avoid a state government shutdown by this summer. It will also temporarily fill a MaineCare deficit and fight spruce budworm infestations in Maine forests.
Mills said in a statement Friday she “repeatedly encouraged Democratic and Republican leadership to work together so we could avoid this unfortunate outcome,” noting how the state has delayed and capped certain payments to hospitals and health care providers due to the MaineCare deficit caused by cost and enrollment overruns.
Lawmakers will now turn to passing other bills until the statutory adjournment date in June, though the Democratic budget leaves only about $127 million in projected unspent revenue across two years.
“They have many hard decisions ahead,” Mills said of lawmakers. “They cannot let tensions of the moment derail important long-term decisions for Maine people.”
