ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a debilitating disease that may rob people of their physical abilities, but it does not rob them of their heart, their love, or their spirit.

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

Last weekend, I joined the Bangor Walk to Defeat ALS in solidarity with families and in honor of all those living with ALS and in memory of those we have lost to this disease.

Like many people across Maine, I have lost friends to ALS, friends like George Smith. George Smith was an avid sportsman, a prolific writer, and a good-natured friend to all. He was the very embodiment of the character of Maine: strong but kind, independent, compassionate, wise but humble.

George’s decades-long advocacy contributed to the preservation and protection of hundreds of acres of forests, lands, lakes, and streams across our state that now will be enjoyed by untold generations to come.

George Smith’s love and respect for our great state is only surpassed by the love its people, including this Governor and other governors, had for him. His lived his life to the fullest, even as he fought ALS with his characteristic grit, fortitude, and courage to the very end. 

I also lost another individual to ALS. Joe Mayo was the clerk of the Maine House of Representatives, very well-known individual, and a former state representative, very popular, well-liked, and someone who successfully fought for legislation to ease the suffering of people with ALS at the end of their lives.

Well this past legislative session, I was pleased to sign a new bill in honor of George Smith and Joe Mayo and others, and at the request of Karin Tilberg, who also lost her husband, Chris Smith, to ALS recently. This bill, LD 2007 creates a mandatory statewide registry for ALS so we can all better understand the prevalence of the disease in Maine and maybe reach a cure or some way of preventing the disease from taking hold in the first place. 

Now we can learn more about the potential causes of the disease. Now we can better support patients living with the disease and their families. And, with the rate of Maine veterans with ALS being at least twice the national average, greater awareness can also help us ensure that veterans get the benefits that they might be owed.

I want to thank Senator Ned Claxton of Auburn and Representative Laurie Osher of Orono for sponsoring this legislation and for securing unanimous support for the bill in the Legislature. I was proud and pleased to sign it into law.

It is my fervent hope that this law will improve our understanding of this terrible disease until we can defeat ALS, once and for all, in the memory of baseball great Lou Gehrig and many hometown heroes as well.  

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, wild blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium) emerged on the rocky, acidic soils of the Barrens of Maine following the retreat of the glaciers more than 10,000 years ago; and

WHEREAS, wild blueberries, which are not planted but grow naturally, were first managed and harvested by the Wabanaki and are now grown by 485 Maine farms on 40,000 acres, primarily within Washington, Hancock, Knox, and Waldo counties; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in and visiting our state; and

WHEREAS, a sufficient blood supply is a public health issue both locally and nationally, and our hospitals and medical centers need a readily available supply for residents and visitors; and

WHEREAS, one blood donation can help save more than one life, and although most of the United States population is eligible to donate blood, only about 3 percent actually do; and

WHEREAS, Maine has more than 7,000 farms that have secured our state as the largest producer of wild blueberries globally, as well as ranking second in New England in dairy and livestock production, second in brown eggs, third for maple syrup, and tenth in the country in potatoes; and

WHEREAS, Maine farmers and agricultural organizations are a cornerstone of our great state, working tirelessly to create vibrant local food systems and make farm products available and accessible year-round; and

WHEREAS, since 1985, the United States has celebrated Parks and Recreation Month to promote building strong, healthy and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation, and to recognize the more than 160,000 full-time parks and recreation professionals and the hundreds of thousands of part-time and seasonal workers and volunteers who maintain our country's parks; 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, started in 2001 and recognized annually on August 31, International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event to remember those who have lost their lives to drug overdoses, to raise awareness of overdoses, to reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths, and to acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends; and

WHEREAS, in 2021, over 107,000 individuals died in the United States from drug overdoses, including 631 individuals here in Maine; and

WHEREAS, the One Hundred and Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Maine, in the First Special Session, by Constitutional Resolution 1, with two thirds of each branch of the Legislature concurring, proposed to the electors of the State of Maine the following amendment to the Constitution, to wit:

Article I, Section 25, is enacted to read:

After years of neglect and years of cuts, I am proud to say that my Administration and the Maine Legislature have fully restored revenue sharing to our towns and cities, as the voters demanded a long time ago.

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

Maine law has long required that state government send revenue back to the municipalities in order to help finance important services — like police, fire, emergency medical services, public education, parks, libraries, safe roads, and clean water supplies. Without that state revenue, a town would have to rely solely on the property taxes to provide those important services.

Well for more than a decade, state government simply failed to meet its responsibility to send 5 percent of our revenues back to the cities and towns across Maine. Under the previous administration, revenue sharing was reduced and it was held flat at a meager 2 percent.

So when I took office, I worked with the Legislature to increase revenue sharing every year — from 3 percent in Fiscal Year 2020, to 3.75 percent the next year, to 4.5 percent in Fiscal Year 2022, and now to the full 5 percent required by law in Fiscal Year 2023.

If we had kept revenue sharing at 2 percent this year, municipalities would have gotten $140 million less in revenue. That would force them to drive up your property taxes to pay for services you rely on.

Following the law and restoring revenue sharing is more than just good governance. It’s an important step to protect Maine people who can least afford an increase in their property taxes, including many of our seniors.

To keep taxes low, my Administration has also worked with the Legislature to deliver direct tax relief to thousands of Maine families in many other ways.

• We created a property tax deferral program for eligible people over 65 who can’t afford to pay those taxes on their own.
• We expanded the Homestead Exemption to allow eligible people to take $25,000 off the value of their home and only pay property taxes on the remaining amount.
• We increased tax relief for retirees from $10,000 to $35,000 by the year 2024.
• We improved the Property Tax Fairness Credit to allow 100,000 property owners and renters to get a refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 and a $1,500 credit for seniors.
• We increased Maine’s Earned Income Tax Credit by an average of $400 per family to keep people from falling into poverty.
• And, we provided $2,500 a year in student loan debt relief through the Education Opportunity Tax Credit — one of the most generous tax credit programs in the country for student debt relief. This also helps employers draw people from all walks of life to work and live in the State of Maine.

My Administration will continue to work with the Maine Legislature in a bipartisan manner to strengthen municipal services and deliver tax relief to Maine people while keeping them safe and fully funding police, fire, and emergency services and the like. 

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

My grandfather was a potato farmer in The County who worked in the woods in the winter. It was a hard existence, and the family barely survived the Depression. Lifelong residents of the town of Ashland, farming was in my grandparents’ blood. Their lives epitomized the work ethic of all families who toil the soil, the woods, and the sea in Maine.

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

Maine’s farmers and food processors have had to work harder than they ever have before because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, a number of Maine’s approximately 7,600 farms were struggling with inadequate and aging infrastructure: a lack of refrigeration, freezers, and processing facilities. All of that added up. 

And the pandemic only made things worse. With many restaurants, schools, and other institutions closing, our farmers and food processors suddenly lost some of their biggest wholesale buyers.

Despite these hardships, Maine’s farmers and food processors have responded in creative ways – with Maine ingenuity – to feed people during this unprecedented pandemic. 

We knew that they needed a little extra help too – so to support the success of our farms and farm families, to increase the supply of Maine-grown food, and to strengthen our economy, my Administration awarded $18 million in federal CARES act coronavirus relief funds last year to more than 600 farms, and food processors, and food banks and pantries all across Maine.

Last week, I was proud to announce that we are making another historic investment in our farmers and food processors by awarding nearly $20 million in American Rescue Plan funds through my Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan to help them address infrastructure needs and improvements.

These grants — which average more than $300,000 a piece — were awarded to farmers and food processors in every county in Maine. Those businesses produce and process everything from dairy to grain and vegetables to fruit to meat and poultry.

Our farmers and food processors have told us they can deliver Maine-grown food to a lot more people if they can make upgrades and strategic investments in their businesses. With these grants we are delivering that help so that they in turn can deliver to all of Maine and to the world all over healthy food, creating good jobs and strengthening our economy.

Investments in farming infrastructure will have a substantial impact on our economy. According to a study done by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the University of Maine School of Economics, investments in additional processing could support an estimated 1,400 Maine jobs, $321 million in annual statewide sales revenues, and $62 million in labor income per year.

That is just further proof that when we grow and raise our own healthy food and process it here in Maine and sell it through our own shops, stands, and stores to our neighbors and friends — well, that’s a recipe for independent and sustainable farms, and for a healthy people and a healthy economy.

Farming is at the heart of my own family history – and it’s at the heart of our state. Federal funds from the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan as approved by the Legislature are our chance to ensure that our farms can grow food that is processed and distributed here in Maine to supply local businesses and feed families, all of which is critical to our economy.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.