WHEREAS, the United Nations, the World Federation of the Deaf, the National Association of the Deaf and 129 National Associations of the Deaf throughout the world simultaneously participate in the Deaf World Week Celebration; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine and its citizens observe the last full week of September as Deaf Culture Week in accordance with Sec. 1.1 MRSA §132; and

WHEREAS, the 130th Maine Legislature unanimously passed L.D. 1861, An Act to Establish the Safe Homes Program, and as Governor, I signed the bill into law on April 7, 2022; and

WHEREAS, this bipartisan law promotes responsible gun ownership and educates Maine people about gun safety while ensuring that gun owners are not prevented from taking steps to safely secure their firearms because of an issue of affordability or lack of knowledge and information about safe storage options; and

WHEREAS, Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the primary providers of community-based long-term support services for thousands of individuals with disabilities in Maine; and

WHEREAS, DSPs are valued for their work in building respectful and trusted relationships with individuals to assist them with their most intimate needs; and

WHEREAS, Maine has a rich and storied tradition of hunting and angling that dates back further than the state itself and carries forward to this day; and

WHEREAS, hunting and angling continue to be an integral component of the cultural fabric of communities throughout the state, and over recent years have offered a growing number of participants an opportunity to connect with nature on a personal level while simultaneously providing food security, a sense of self-sufficiency, and both mental and physical health benefits; and

WHEREAS, thousands of adults in Maine are in need of assistance in order to qualify for better-paying or more fulfilling jobs, to achieve a post-secondary education, or to improve their English language skills; and

WHEREAS, success in these endeavors leads to these adults becoming more effective family members, citizens, and workers; and

WHEREAS, regular screenings to detect both breast and lung cancer early when treatment can be most successful saves lives; and

WHEREAS, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in the U.S. and in the State of Maine; and

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

As you know, last December, heavy rains and powerful winds brought massive flooding that destroyed homes and businesses, roads and bridges, all across Maine. Four people lost their lives.

The Androscoggin River surged above its banks, submerged streets and forced local officials to evacuate at least 150 people. River Road in Lewiston was nearly impassable.

Well, I was pleased to announce that my administration is providing the funding that Lewiston needs to fortify River Road and make it less likely to flood in the future. We're also providing funding to other communities across Maine so they can rebuild from the severe storms of December and January and become more resilient to future catastrophic weather events.

In 2021, we created the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund to provide grants to municipalities, tribal governments, and others, to improve infrastructure that might be vulnerable to flooding or rising sea levels and other extreme weather events - the type of upgrades that will help communities better withstand the storms that we're seeing now.

Earlier this year, I proposed, and the Legislature approved, dedicating $60 million to the Infrastructure Adaptation Fund for storm relief, the largest investment in storm relief in state history. I recently announced that my administration is awarding $25.2 million in storm recovery grants through that fund to 39 different communities across Maine, including the city of Lewiston. Lewiston will use its $200,000 grant to replace two corrugated metal pipe culverts on River Road to accommodate heavy water flow and reduce the possibility of flooding.

The Plantation of Matinicus will use its $75,000 grant to adapt a section of Harbor Road and improve the resiliency of the island's working waterfront. That island's harbor was covered with debris and with damaged fishing gear after the storms in December and January.

The Rumford-Mexico Sewer District will use its $4 million grant to renovate its wastewater pumping station and to install a series of flood-proofing measures. Dozens of residents in Rumford and Mexico were displaced four days after the December storm flooded their homes. After the storm, Rumford's economic development manager, George O'Keefe, said "We respect nature and we respect that the river is going to do things we can't control. Climate poses some pretty serious challenges in inland Maine."

These new Infrastructure Adaptation grants will help communities like Rumford recover from last winter's storms and upgrade their infrastructure to better prepare those communities for the future impacts of climate change.

My Administration will continue to work closely with towns and cities across Maine to protect our people, our communities, our businesses, and our economy from the destructive impacts of climate change.

I thank the municipalities and citizens across Maine, as well as the Maine Legislature for their partnership in this important work.

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, Community Health Workers (CHWs) act as a bridge between providers and individuals to promote health, reduce disparities, and improve service delivery; and

WHEREAS, CHWs are universally recognized as a vital part of Maine's health care system, and key stakeholders, including Maine state government, support a statewide plan to develop and sustain the CHW workforce; and

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

You know, when I took office, Maine was one of the most heating oil dependent states in the country. We were sending billions of dollars a year out of our pockets and into the pockets of big oil and gas companies out of state.

I pledged to change that, in part by helping Maine people transition to heat pumps instead of costly, inefficient, and environmentally harmful heating oil. High-performance heat pumps are affordable, efficient, easy to use, and accessible. They do work well in cold climates, and they are much more efficient than window air conditioning in the summer when used for cooling.

In 2019, with the support of the legislature, I signed a bill that set a goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps by 2025. In 2023, we achieved that goal – two years early – and we became a nationwide leader in the installation of heat pumps.

Expanding the use of high-efficiency heat pumps also sparked a demand for heat pump installers and distributors and sellers – a step towards achieving my goal of more than doubling Maine's clean energy and energy efficiency jobs by 2030. We're doing that.

It was clear the transition to heat pumps was creating good paying jobs, curbing our reliance on expensive fossil fuels, and cutting costs for Maine families. So to build on our progress, I set an ambitious new target of installing another 175,000 heat pumps in Maine by 2027, bringing the number of heat pumps installed in Maine homes, businesses and public buildings during my time in office to 275,000.

On July 22nd, I was pleased to announce that Maine is expected to receive significant federal funding to help us reach that new goal. Five Northeast states – Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island – have been selected for a federal grant of a total of $450 million through the United States Environmental Protection Agency, funded through the Biden-Harris Administration's Inflation Reduction Act.

Of that $450 million, Maine is expected to receive between $45 million and $72 million, which will support the installation of highly efficient heat pumps for home heating and cooling and heat pump hot water heaters. These funds, which will be awarded to my Energy Office and administered by Efficiency Maine will continue our momentum and make sure that folks across Maine, particularly those in rural Maine, can stay comfortable and safe in their homes, and save money in the process.

This is in addition to $10 million we received earlier this year to install heat pumps in mobile homes across the state of Maine. We want to help people across the state to save money and become efficient.

Folks like Paul Nadeau of Van Buren, Maine. Paul used to pay as much as $4 a gallon to heat his 1,000 square foot home with 80 to 90 gallons of oil a month. When he switched to heat pumps, he used more electricity, but he said the switch still “more than balances out and saves me money.”

I want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration for this funding and for its support of our work to expand the use of heat pumps to lower energy costs, strengthen our economy, and protect our environment.

This is Governor Janet Mills. And thank you for listening.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

You know, anybody who wants to continue their education after high school ought to have the chance to do that right here in Maine.

To make sure that more people have a chance to do that, my administration has been working to make transitions from high school to community college to the University System and to a rewarding career as seamless as possible in our state.

Over the past five-and-a-half years, we've provided significant funding to upgrade equipment and facilities in our CTEs, getting high school students to explore careers before they graduate.

We've made community college free, and we've kept tuition low at the University of Maine System to encourage students to pursue those careers.

We've expanded scholarships and student debt relief programs so that finances shouldn't be a barrier or a burden when it comes to getting an education in Maine.

And the Maine Department of Education operates the most generous early college program in the nation, allowing more than 10,000 high school students to take courses for credit through the community college or the university at no cost to students and families.

Thanks to these investments, thousands of young people in our state are graduating from high school and getting a high-quality postsecondary education at little or no cost.

I want to see more students move seamlessly between our higher education systems because the more easily people are able to transfer, the more opportunities will be available to them. And the more opportunities available to them, the more likely they are to find one that works for them. One that leads to a good-paying job and a rewarding career. Isn't that what we all want for our students?

Recently, I saw a national survey of students that found 83% of community college students intended to transfer to a four-year institution after they graduate, but only 32% did. The report found that while colleges and universities have worked hard to improve the transferring process, it's still hard for many students to navigate.

While the Community College System is the largest source of transfer students to the University of Maine System, in the last academic year, only about 700 community college students transferred to the University of Maine campuses. Seven hundred transfers out of thousands of students enrolled in the Maine Community College System.

Well, that's going to change. A new partnership between the community colleges and the University of Maine system to guarantee admission, reducing paperwork and making seamless the transfer of credits, along with a transfer agreement the Community College System signed with six Maine private colleges recently, will strengthen the pipeline of graduates moving from two-year to four-year programs in Maine.

Now, Maine graduates from seven community colleges across our state will know that they can attend the University of Maine System without wondering if your credits are transferable, without wondering if your application will be accepted, without wondering if you filled out the correct forms. Without wondering if you can continue your education in Maine. You can and you should, because a four-year degree and a rewarding career are waiting for you right here at home.

I want to thank Chancellor Malloy and President Daigler for working with my administration to ensure that every person in Maine can access and afford a high-quality education.

I'm excited to see how this new partnership encourages people to study and stay here in Maine.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.