This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

You know, the devastating storms we endured in December 2023, and January '24, and the spring of '24, demonstrated just how vulnerable our people, businesses, and communities are to serious flooding, storm surge, heavy winds, and lashing rains.

Recovering from that historic damage takes time, which is why this week, I announced the final measures of storm relief to support businesses and nonprofits as they rebuild still from those storms.

Last year I proposed, and the legislature approved, $60 million in state funds for storm relief. That's the largest single investment in storm recovery by any administration in Maine history. So far, we've used that funding to rebuild nearly 70 working waterfronts, and repair infrastructure in about 40 communities, and provide financial relief to 170 businesses and nonprofits.

This week, I announced that we're distributing the final $2 million of those funds to 40 businesses and nonprofits, the second and final round of our Business Recovery and Resilience Fund. This will allow them to rebuild and to be ready for the storms we know are coming.

Luke's Boatyard in East Boothbay has been providing repair services to boaters for more than 80 years. They said that this grant is helping them “literally rebuild our future.”

Our entire state has to prepare for the extreme weather events of the future which we can expect. That's why last year I created the Maine Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission. I asked the experts who are on that commission to help develop a long-term preparedness plan for our state. And after talking directly with municipal leaders, and county emergency management folks, and engineers, and members of the public at large, the Commission released its Interim Report in November.

Based on those interim recommendations, I introduced major bipartisan legislation in January. That bill will strengthen the ability of Maine communities, homeowners, businesses, and emergency responders to be prepared for severe storms. And that bill does not use any General Fund dollars. We're not raising taxes. LD 1, An Act to Increase Storm Preparedness for Maine's Communities, Homes, and Infrastructure, is sponsored by Senate President Mattie Daughtry, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart, and House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham. I thank them for their support, and I urge the full legislature to advance and enact LD 1 as soon as possible so that I may sign it into law.

Look, we can't really predict the future. But as our businesses, nonprofits, and communities recover from past storms, we can make sure that they're ready for all the storms ahead.

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

WHEREAS, damage to underground facilities, such as pipes, mains, cables or conduits, can result in dangerous or costly leaks, fires, explosions and injuries, environmental mishaps, and the disruption of vital utility services, even though this damage and its consequences are often preventable; and

WHEREAS, all individuals, entities, corporations, and government bodies planning to dig, blast, or demolish need to first determine the location of underground utilities; and

WHEREAS, Maine law states that an employer may not discriminate between employees in the same establishment on the basis of sex by paying wages to any employee in any occupation in this State at a rate less than the rate at which the employer pays any employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs that have comparable requirements relating to skill, effort and responsibility; and

WHEREAS, wage inequality remains an ongoing issue though requirements regarding equal pay have been part of Maine law since 1949; and

WHEREAS, in calendar year 2024, there were 3,055 cases of substantiated child maltreatment in Maine; and

WHEREAS, child abuse and neglect is a serious problem affecting every segment of our community, and finding solutions requires input and action from everyone; and

WHEREAS, our children are our most valuable resources and will shape the future of Maine; and

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

Well, this week on March 15th, Maine will celebrate Statehood Day. This year marks 205 years since Maine formally became an independent state separated from Massachusetts.

Of course, it's important to recognize our collective history actually began long before statehood when the Wabanaki people first hunted, farmed, fished, and occupied much of the land that we call our home.

Maine has a proud and storied history and Statehood Day offers us the opportunity to honor it and to recommit ourselves to the values that shape us as a state and as a people. Our little state, jutting out of the northeast corner of the country with a population of only 1.4 million, with four fulsome seasons of the year, with its secret waterfalls, its forests, hills, and table lands, its fields, shores, and mighty rivers. This unique place we call home offers so much to so many.

I mean, hey, what other state can boast of unusual place names and natural phenomena like Thunder Hole or Nonesuch River, the Useless Road, Pollywog Gorge, or Misery Gore, the Cataracts, Angel Falls, Swift River, Big Niagara Falls, Gulf Hagas, the Beehive, Merrymeeting Bay, the Whalesback, magnificent Moosehead Lake, Old Speck, Tumbledown, and Quoddy Head?

But Maine is not just places, it's also its people.

For more than 205 years, Maine people with courage in their souls and kindness in their hearts, steely grit, iron resolve and an unshakable independent spirit, have built this state and have led the nation.

There are so many in this state who are "the unsung" folks, as poet Wes McNair has called them. Those are the firefighters and teachers, the techies and hotel workers, farmers and fishermen, the servers, the loggers, the barbers, and the millworkers of our towns. They are our friends and our neighbors. They are immigrants, laborers, veterans, people with disabilities, people from away, people we rely on every day, and many who rely on us.

Our state was born out of a compromise that allowed slavery to endure during the darkest days of our nation in another state. But when it came to crafting our own constitution, Maine refused to bow to the demands of others. We chose to enshrine, originally, voting rights for all men at the time, regardless of race, and provided for absolute freedom of religion and suffrage in the guiding principles of our state.

As we gather to celebrate our 205th Statehood Day, and to reflect on the history of Maine, let us remember the values our state was founded on. Let us always commit to a future where every Maine person can live and work in the state they love with boundless opportunity for themselves and for their family.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, whoever you are with, tell them what a great place you come from. Tell them of the strength and spirit of the people who live and make their living here on the rocky coast, the rolling hills, the wide farms, and the clean rivers. Tell them about the fresh foods and the coolest of lagers, and the jobs, the excitement, and the friendships here in this state.

Wherever you roam, if roam you will, upon your return, as upon your first arrival, and even if you never leave, we will greet you with a hearty hug and a loud “Welcome home.”

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening. Happy Statehood Day, Maine.

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

You know, just across from the Maine State House in Augusta is the Blaine House. The Blaine House has been home to every governor of Maine since Governor Carl Milliken and his family moved in there back in January 1920.

The Blaine House grounds have also long been home to a big old maple tree in the front yard. It's a tree that Maine governors have tapped each spring for sap to be boiled into delicious maple syrup.

Well, this year, I'm dedicating the annual tapping of the Blaine House Maple Tree to the memory of Lyle Merrifield of Gorham, a beloved leader in Maine's maple industry. Lyle Merrifield's passion for sugaring, his dedication to Maine's agricultural community, and his warm spirit left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him. As we welcome another maple season, we honor his legacy and the tradition that he championed.

The tradition of sugaring in Maine is carried on by more than 450 maple syrup farmers who produce more than 575,000 gallons of syrup every year. That makes our state the third-largest of maple syrup in the country. Somerset County alone actually produces more maple syrup than any other county in the United States.

Western Maine is also where the Passamaquoddy Tribe runs about 14,000 taps and maintains a very vigorous and robust maple syrup industry.

Producing and selling maple syrup generates more than $55 million in economic activity and provides more than 800 full-time and part-time jobs every year statewide. If you've ever been to a sap house, you know how hard and fast those people have to work.

One of my favorite Maine traditions, the annual Maine Maple Sunday Weekend, honors these folks and the maple syrup products they create.

During the 42nd Annual Maine Maple Sunday Weekend, held this year on March 22nd and 23rd, sugar shacks across the state will open their doors for boiling demonstrations, for sugar woods tours, for live music, horse-drawn hayrides, pancake breakfasts, maple donuts, maple ice cream, maple salsa, maple whoopie pies, and plenty of maple products to sample and share.

You might also share your own maple syrup recipes with your local sugar shack to be published in the Maine Maple Producers Association's cookbook.

Whether you prefer dark and rich or pale gold or other delicious flavors, there's a maple syrup for everyone's taste. I hope you'll join me in visiting one of our extraordinary sugar houses during Maine Maple Sunday Weekend.

A full list of participating sugar houses can be found online at mainemapleproducers.com. That's mainemapleproducers.com.

When you go to the grocery store, be sure to ask for Maine-produced Maine maple syrup.

Since 2015, maple syrup has been Maine's official state sweetener. Whether you use your own Maine maple syrup on pancakes or waffles or carrots or Brussels sprouts, barbecue sauce, or on traditional maple snow candy, Maine maple syrup always makes life a little bit sweeter.

I look forward to seeing you at a sugar house this Maine Maple Sunday.

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

WHEREAS, Maine’s agricultural community is a cornerstone of our great state and provides numerous benefits to Maine’s residents and visitors; and

WHEREAS, Maine’s agricultural sector fuels the state’s economy, contributing more than $3.6 billion and employing tens of thousands of people, with over 1 million acres in agricultural use; and

WHEREAS, Senior Games are an integral part of communities throughout Maine and the United States that offer Olympic-style multi-sport competitions for adults aged 45 and up and engage over 100,000 people nationally each year; and

WHEREAS, the Maine Senior Games were first established in 1986, and today, the organization offers 20 competitive sports to both men and women with events throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, March 29th, 2025 marks the 52nd anniversary of when the last United States Military unit left Vietnam and the final group of American prisoners of war were freed; and

WHEREAS, 48,000 men and women from the State of Maine served in Vietnam, while an additional 16,000 Mainers were serving worldwide during the Vietnam War era; and

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

On February 1, the president signed executive orders to impose a new 25% tariff on most imports from Canada. At the time of this recording, the president has indicated those tariffs will take effect on March 4.

Well, his reasons for punishing Canada are pretty unclear to me, and his reasons for punishing consumers even more unclear. You know, we share a 600-mile boundary with Canada. Canada is our largest trading partner. They come here on vacation, spend money in our resorts. Our economies and populations are deeply intertwined.

Last year alone, we traded more than $6 billion worth of goods and materials with Canada – most of that coming from Canada into Maine. That trade supports many small businesses across Maine, many of whom produce things like potatoes, blueberries, lobsters, forest products, aircraft parts, housing, machinery. Businesses like Wyman's, Twin Rivers, Eimskip, Luke's Lobster, for example, are all deeply connected to Canada.

Maine businesses and Maine people rely on Canada as well for a major source of energy – heating fuel, gasoline, natural gas, electricity. More than 80% of Maine's heating fuel and gasoline is imported from Canada, and 50% of our homes rely on oil for home heat. And of course, we don't have fossil fuel reserves of our own. Irving Oil from New Brunswick warned customers across New England that if the president's tariffs on Canada are enacted, they will have to increase prices, and that means higher prices at the pump, higher prices to heat our homes.

Although our economy is deeply entwined with Canada's, we also will be significantly impacted by tariffs on China and Mexico as well. Maine trades more than $315 million worth of goods and materials with China and more than $165 million worth of goods and materials with Mexico every year. We don't think about this too often, but it's true. The president has claimed that these other countries will somehow pay the tariffs and that's it, but the reality is the increased costs will clearly be passed on to us.

When Maine businesses have to pay higher tariffs to import materials they need, building supplies or other things, or pay to export their finished products, they will be forced to pass those costs along to Maine consumers at a time when we can least afford it. These tariffs clearly will result in higher prices on everything from fruits and vegetables, flat screen TVs, and auto parts and building supplies. This will cost more than $1,200 annually in purchase power for the typical United States household. I would estimate more for Maine households given our interrelationship with Canada.

I can't be clear enough: the president's broad tariffs on Canada as well as China and Mexico will increase costs on Maine families and Maine businesses who can ill afford them, and they will cause great harm to our state's economy.

Remember the president campaign on a commitment to lower the price of eggs, bread, heat, housing, cars, all the everyday goods that we all rely on?

Well, the president is now doing the opposite and Maine people, businesses, and communities will pay the price.

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