WHEREAS, since its inception in 1976, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program has helped to lower energy costs for more than 7 million low-income households, including thousands in Maine; and

WHEREAS, Community Concepts, Inc., headquartered in Lewiston, was credited for having the first ever weatherization program in the nation by the U.S. Department of Energy; and

WHEREAS, since 1990, the Maine State Housing Authority has administered Maine’s Weatherization Program, distributing federal resources to our nine community action agencies for weatherization services, as well as keeping weatherization standards current that could produce greater efficiencies in Maine’s aging housing stock; and

WHEREAS, conservation of energy made possible by weatherization can help Maine reduce its consumption of carbon-emitting greenhouse gases, helping Maine reach its ambitious climate goals; and

WHEREAS, these weatherization investments produce permanent, ongoing savings for homeowners and tenants, while also creating steady and sustained employment for hundreds of skilled workers and new small business opportunities for entrepreneurs across Maine; and

WHEREAS, Maine people are encouraged to contact their local community action agency, as well as Efficiency Maine, to learn more about the available assistance and incentives to weatherize their homes ahead of winter;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the great State of Maine, do hereby proclaim October 30, 2023 as

Maine Weatherization Day

and I urge all citizens to recognize this observance by acknowledging the many benefits of weatherization to our housing stock, our environment, and our residents.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this eighteenth day of October Two Thousand Twenty Three