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

Well, this past week we celebrated Earth Day, and that was good reason to think back and remember the devastating storms that we've endured in recent years. Storms that demonstrated just how vulnerable we are – our people, businesses, and communities – when it comes to serious flooding and storm surges, heavy winds, and lashing rains.

In response to those storms, my administration and the Maine Legislature made the largest investment in storm relief in Maine history, awarding $60 million to help rebuild working waterfronts and repair infrastructure and support the recovery of businesses across our state. That funding was clearly significant, but we all knew it was only a down payment on the more critical work we have to do to prepare for storms ahead. Storms that will be more intense and more frequent. We needed a long-term plan. So, I established the Maine Infrastructure Rebuilding, and Resilience Commission.

That commission talked directly with many, many municipal leaders, county emergency management people, and engineers and members of the public, and then released their first round of recommendations last November. Based on those recommendations, I introduced LD1, An Act to Increase Storm Preparedness with the bipartisan support of all the House and Senate leaders. It was enacted this week by the legislature and so I was proud to sign LD 1 into law on Earth Day earlier this week.

Earth Day reminds us that while environmental challenges can seem insurmountable at times, more frequent, more powerful storms, higher temperatures that threaten the livelihoods of farmers, fishermen, and foresters, rising sea levels that endanger our coastal communities. But still, each of us can play a meaningful role in making sure we have a cleaner, healthier future for our planet, for our people.

As U.S. Senator George Mitchell said, "Government action alone is not sufficient to protect the environment. Each individual must do his or her part to prevent pollution, and these individual actions can have a major impact."

So Earth Day, I thought, was a fitting time to sign LD 1 into law and give Maine communities, homeowners, businesses, and emergency responders more tools and more funding to prepare for the extreme weather events of the future. Using some federal funds, and funds through the Bureau of Insurance – that is no tax dollars, no appropriations – LD1 creates a grant program for homeowners to make improvements to their homes in order to better prepare them to withstand storms. Things like fixing your roof, or basement flooding prevention.

This new law also strengthens the Maine Emergency Management Agency or MEMA. At a time when MEMA is managing more federally declared disasters than at any other time in our state's history, the bill increases state disaster relief and preparedness funds and it invests in improved emergency communication systems, and some staff for county and local governments.

The new law also establishes a state resilience office and a Flood-Ready Maine program to improve flood and storm response and preparedness, and to protect infrastructure and provide public safety with better data mapping and planning.

Well, this new law is a great tool to prepare us for severe weather, but we have to also protect our planet from the pollution that is making these storms worse, and that's where you come in. It can often feel overwhelming and impossible for one person to make a difference about our environment and our changing climate, but as Senator Mitchell said, each of us can act to help protect this precious place we call home.

Every day, not just Earth Day, let's all do our part to reduce pollution, preserve our planet, and protect our beautiful natural resources.

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

WHEREAS, National Work Zone Awareness Week is an annual spring campaign held at the start of construction season to encourage safe driving through road and highway work zones; and

WHEREAS, the week encourages motorists to slow to posted speed limits, eliminate distractions while driving and be watchful for roadway workers, their equipment and vehicles on the side of the road in work zones; and

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

Well, I don't have to tell you that recent years have brought historic challenges to the tourism industry here in Maine, and when the global pandemic closed international borders and made consumers wary of where they ate, and how they traveled, and which hotel they stayed in, we all worked very hard to protect and to elevate Maine's reputation as a safe destination.

As a result, people flocked to Maine. They stayed safe. They fell in love with everything that makes our state so special. From the mountains where you can hike to see the sunrise, to our lakes and streams, all great for fishing, to our iconic rocky coastline with views unlike anywhere else in the world, and our sandy beaches and our islands waiting to be explored.

So people felt safe coming here, and Maine families themselves had "staycations," enjoying everything that our state has to offer. And all of that contributed millions to our economy and to our state's robust recovery from the pandemic.

Well, our tourism industry is still a major contributor to our continued economic growth. Last year, nearly fifteen million people visited our state, and they spent more than $9 billion here. All that spending supported businesses that employ nearly 116,000 people here. Put another way, every 128 tourists support one job in Maine. Nearly 800,000, or 5%, of our visitors last year were from Canada, and those Canadian visitors spent nearly $500 million.

Well, on the eve of another summer tourism season, we are again facing some economic uncertainty. That uncertainty is not being driven by a pandemic this time, but by harmful rhetoric and painful tariffs that our Canadian neighbors say make them feel unwelcome in the United States. They don't want to come here and they're uncertain about visiting the state of Maine. It's estimated we could lose 225,000 visitors from Canada this year. That means hundreds of thousands of fewer people staying in our hotels, eating at our restaurants, shopping at our businesses.

I've heard it said that we could make up the difference by attracting visitors from other states, but remember that other states will be competing for those visitors too. While some may say having fewer tourists from Canada may allow Maine people to have "staycations" themselves, let's remember the survival of many small businesses in our hospitality sector depends on overnight visitors -- those who stay longer and spend time and money in our hotels, restaurants, shops, and attractions.

Small businesses in Old Orchard Beach are already feeling the effects of the President's tariffs. The owner of Point of View Inn says as much as 90% of his family-run hotel's bookings for the summer season are being paused or canceled. The owner of the Paradise Park Resort Campground said they've had more than 100 cancellations. That's a 250% increase in cancellations from normal. The owner of the Beach Hotel told a news outlet, "It's sad when the people at the top affect the people at the bottom because we really are powerless."

Well, I've been speaking to some of my Atlantic Province Canadian counterparts, and I want to reassure them every day that Maine will continue to welcome Canadian residents to enjoy world-class experiences here in Maine. And that in turn, we'll continue to visit their provinces as well. I'm committed to working with Canadian leaders to preserve cross-border travel, encourage tourism, and promote each other's advantages and amenities.

I've also been inspired to think about making my own visit to Canada this summer through the provinces and I encourage Maine people to do the same with their families.

Each of us can be a good ambassador for our state. We are all the people who make our state "Vacationland," and we want to do everything we can to support the tourism industry here in Maine.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

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

You know, for the last few months, I've been urging lawmakers – Democrat, Republican, and Independent alike—to approach our state budget conversations in good faith, with good ideas, with clarity and civility, and with an open mind to the views of others, and ultimately with the commitment and the courage to make some hard choices.

I've warned Democratic and Republican lawmakers that our hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare providers needed them to pass an emergency funding bill to ensure that they were paid for services under MaineCare, of course, which offers health insurance to roughly 400,000 people, children and older adults of all sorts across our state.

Unfortunately, a few lawmakers in the Senate turned away from a bipartisan agreement and prevented the budget from getting the votes it needed to take effect immediately so that we can pay our bills. That then forced the Maine Department of Health and Human Services into the extraordinary position of having to temporarily cap payments that are owed to these healthcare providers, even though the money is there. These providers said loudly and clearly this budget stalemate was endangering their finances and would impact health care for vulnerable people all over our state.

To break the stalemate, the legislature then advanced a budget with a majority vote – and that's an unfortunate outcome, something I wanted to avoid by pushing for bipartisan agreement, as has so often happened in the past. Still, I signed that majority budget into law because Maine hospitals, nursing homes, and others have to be paid, and our forests have to be protected from spruce budworm, and Maine people should have the confidence of knowing that their essential government services will be funded for the next two years through a baseline budget.

Well, given that the legislature did not pass it as an emergency, that budget will not take effect until June 20th. That includes the money for the hospitals and the money for spraying for spruce budworm.

Now there's a petition to place a people's veto of the budget on the November ballot. It's important, I think, for you to know the facts about this matter before you're asked to sign a petition. To be clear, if the proposed people's veto gets enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, the state budget would be completely suspended starting July 1st.

Now, some people may be upset that this budget was not passed with bipartisan support, and like I said, that's not the outcome I wanted either. But I cannot stress enough how devastating a suspension of this baseline state budget would be. We're still evaluating all the implications, but broadly speaking, if there's no budget, then there's no funding for our schools, public safety, mental health, transportation, municipal revenue sharing, and so many other services that Maine people, schools, communities, and businesses rely on.

Those already-capped payments to our health care providers would be cut off, as would emergency funding to protect Maine forests from the spruce budworm. There's no telling what impact this would have on hospitals, nursing homes, and healthcare providers across our state. They're having a hard enough time now, but this would make it worse.

State government would be completely shut down for months at a time, including those summer tourist season months, and it would cause serious damage to our economy. The only opportunity to end this unnecessary shutdown, should it occur, would be if voters rejected the people's veto at the polls in November. All that time, there would be no budget.

With all this uncertainty nationwide right now, the push and pull that's coming from Washington, we have to keep delivering essential programs, services, money for the towns and communities that people rely on. Money that supports our economy and businesses and that protects the health and safety of Maine families.

So, I'm urging Maine people to not sign this petition for the initiative. It's a measure that could cause a complete standstill in our economy, a standstill of the state budget, and it's a dangerous one. I'm ready to work with our Legislature at the same time on budget matters and other matters, work with them in good faith and reach a bipartisan agreement that will work well for Maine people. I strongly urge those proposing this people's veto do so as well.

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

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

This week, I joined organ donors and their loved ones at the State House. We proclaimed April as "Organ Donation Month" in Maine.

The number of Maine people who received organ transplants has nearly doubled from 66 to 124, just in the last five years. I read recently about one of those transplant recipients, an eight-year-old girl named Emily from Sanford. While they were waiting for Emily's lung transplant, her mother said she remembered thinking "I may not have a daughter on Mother's Day. We were planning for her funeral."

Well, no family should ever have to experience that kind of fear, not when each of us can give the gift of life to someone in need just by signing up to be an organ donor.

When Emily's mom got the call that a matching donor had been found for her daughter, she said, "In that moment, the only feeling was one of hope."

Last year, 648 donors saved more than 1,500 lives in New England. I am proud that about 700,000 Maine people, including myself, are signed up to be organ donors. That's half of Maine's population. But there are still thousands of people who are praying this very minute for a matching donor and for the chance to live a long and healthy life. You could be the answer to those prayers.

Just one organ donor can save up to eight lives and can improve the quality of life of many other people through tissue donation. I've heard many donor families say that in the aftermath of the loss of their loved one, it brings them some solace to know that their loved one's legacy lives on through the lives they touched, and healed, and helped.

Sign up to be an organ donor simply by checking that box whenever you renew your license at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. And/or sign up on the National Donate Life Registry at www.RegisterMe.org. It's a very simple form to fill out.

There are people waiting now for a kidney donation or tissue donation that you can give now. That's www.RegisterMe.org to see if you are a match for someone else in need.

Celebrate National Donate Life Month by becoming an organ donor today. Give the gift of hope, and the gift of life, and health to families across Maine and across this country.

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