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

As every household knows, emergencies can occur anytime, anyplace.

Part of being Governor is being prepared and planning ahead for unexpected events like economic downturns.

Well, I want you to know that Maine is better prepared today to withstand any economic downturn than at any other time in state history because of smart, deliberate financial choices by this Administration.

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

This week I was pleased to announce that Maine’s Budget Stabilization Fund, commonly known as the “Rainy Day” Fund, has reached a record high of more than $968 million — that’s the maximum allowed under state law.

That fund, set aside for emergencies, is not used for operating expenses of state government.

That’s an increase of more than $750 million since I have taken office in the Rainy Day Fund.

Well, how did we get here?

The State closed the 2023 Fiscal Year at the end of June with a $141 million surplus – we’re in the black again.

State law then requires that surplus funding be distributed to certain accounts, including the Rainy Day Fund, as determined by formula.

So, we got to deposit $52.3 million into the Rainy Day Fund, bringing it to an all-time high and, actually, to the maximum allowed under law. 

That’s pretty good news.

As authorized by the Legislature, we will then use some of the remaining one-time surplus to build affordable rental units in rural Maine and build low-income housing through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

Since I took office, we have quadrupled the Rainy Day Fund and we have produced balanced budgets in partnership with the Legislature, all while making historic investments in Maine people to improve their lives and livelihoods.

For example, our most recent balanced budget strengthens education, housing, child care, and workforce, and delivers tax relief for seniors, expanding the more than $200 million in tax relief we are already providing every year. The budget also lays the groundwork for a new, flexible paid family and medical leave program.

We are building on the previous investments we’ve made in infrastructure that Maine people need like housing, transportation, child care, and education, while living within our means.

As a result, our economy is strong. In fact, our state has experienced more economic growth over the last four years than it ever did in the preceding fifteen years. And our Gross Domestic Product is gaining.

Despite the current strength of our economy, depositing a record high amount into our state’s Rainy Day Fund will ensure that we are better prepared than ever to withstand any future economic downturn or unexpected emergencies.

Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings, companies that analyze and issue reports of states’ credit worthiness, cited our preparedness as a reason for reaffirming Maine’s strong credit ratings earlier this year. 

In its statement, Moody’s wrote that “the state's finances will remain in solid shape thanks to strong fiscal governance.” Moody’s and S&P have reaffirmed Maine’s good credit ratings every year since I took office.

My Administration will continue to work hard to deliver the resources and support that Maine people need to succeed, while still saving for a Rainy Day. 

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Recently, I was privileged to welcome President Biden to Auburn Manufacturing in Auburn, Maine to talk about how the innovation of Maine people is building a stronger, more prosperous state.

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

You know, Maine has a long and proud history of making high-quality products used by people around the world. For example, generations of hardworking Maine people have harvested timber from our forests and harnessed the power of our rivers to create high-quality paper products and textiles.

I grew up in the shadow of the paper mills in Western Maine. My classmates built their lives around those good paying jobs, and they lost more than a paycheck when our mills began to close some years ago.

As one former mill worker put it, "Losing the mill was losing a job, but it was also losing the status of the job. It's a job people look up to. Losing that pride, along with the relationships with everyone you work with, that was one of the toughest things."

Well, when I took office, I knew that to bring back that pride, to create good paying jobs, and to grow our economy, we had to invest in our greatest asset: Maine people.

Thanks to President Biden's investments in our state, and the hard work of Maine people and help from Congress, we are creating good-paying jobs, and our economy is growing stronger every day.

Maine's unemployment rate is at a record low, we have a near record high number of jobs, and our GDP has grown at one of the best rates in the nation.

New businesses are coming to Maine and existing businesses are expanding. More than 1,800 manufacturing companies now employ more than 56,000 people in Maine, exporting everything from aircraft parts, semiconductors, seafood, advanced forest products, textiles made at Auburn Manufacturing.

Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan has helped Auburn Manufacturing and companies like them expand their production. Now Auburn Manufacturing's high-quality, extreme heat protection textiles and fabrics, crafted by 50 skilled Maine workers, are used every day across North America and in more than 30 other countries. We are incredibly proud of Auburn Manufacturing's CEO Kathie Leonard and her entire team in Auburn.

Thanks to innovative Maine companies like Kathie Leonard's, and with historic federal funding, we are creating good manufacturing jobs once again. Jobs that Maine people can look up to. Jobs that Maine people are proud of. Jobs that provide for the families of Maine people.

I am so proud of the work we have done to bring back manufacturing jobs to Maine and build a stronger, more prosperous state.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, human milk feeding is a proven primary prevention strategy that builds a foundation for lifelong health and wellness; and

WHEREAS, the American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding for about the first six months of life, with continued breastfeeding while introducing complementary foods for two years or as long as mutually desired by the mother and child; and

WHEREAS, the family is the cornerstone of our society, providing us connections to the past and visions of our future; and

WHEREAS, families come in all shapes and sizes, playing a vital role in creating strong, diverse, and inclusive communities; and

WHEREAS, family reunions bring multiple generations together, linking past, present, and future, and provide an opportunity to sustain and strengthen the bond of those present; and

Our state has the opportunity to unlock the power of offshore wind to generate clean, homegrown energy, reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, to stabilize energy prices, to create good-paying jobs in a growing industry, and to protect our environment for future generations.

After a lot of discussions and negotiations with a lot of interested parties, I was pleased to sign into law a bill that will responsibly advance offshore wind energy in Maine 

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

This new law does a few things to responsibly advance the development of offshore wind in Maine.

• First, the law authorizes my Energy Office to develop energy procurements of up to 3,000 megawatts – or three gigawatts—of  electricity from offshore wind projects. That’s necessary to meet our goal of moving to 100 percent clean energy in Maine in the future.
• Secondly, the law allows all bidders – all companies who want to bid on this – equal opportunity for construction contracts in accordance with job-quality standards, maximizing the opportunity for Maine workers and Maine employers in the offshore wind industry.
• Thirdly, the law enacts new standards for all developers that they must follow to construct an offshore wind port in the future. Now, no site has been chosen yet, but the Maine Department of Transportation is expected to identify a preferred location in the coming months.
• Fourthly, the new law protects prime lobstering ground by giving preference to offshore wind projects that are outside of critical fishing locations for our lobstermen. Now, these are federal fishing waters – but we know that we must protect Lobster Management Area 1, for instance, and that’s what this bill does.

I thank the legislators and stakeholders who, through collaboration and compromise, have positioned Maine to pursue the benefits of offshore wind in a reasonable way. This new law puts all Maine workers and businesses on a level playing field, it allows for the development of critical port infrastructure—good jobs—and it allows for offshore wind projects, and importantly, it respects those who rely on the ocean for their livelihoods.

I am pleased with the final outcome of this legislation, and I am proud to have signed it into law.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, Maine is a welcoming and inclusive state that recognizes the value of people of diverse backgrounds to enhance the vibrancy of Maine’s communities, the strength of our workforce, and the growth of our economy;

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

Earlier this week, I was proud to declare August 5th through 6th the third annual Wild Blueberry Weekend in Maine, to celebrate our wild blueberries and to honor the hardworking people who grow and bring them to markets near and far.

Wild blueberries, you know, were first managed and harvested by the Wabanaki — in fact, The Passamaquoddy Wild Blueberry Company, headquartered in Columbia Falls, has been managing and harvesting wild blueberries on 2,000 acres of barrens since 1981.

Statewide, blueberries are now grown by 485 Maine farms on 42,000 acres, all within Franklin, Hancock, Lincoln, Kennebec, Knox, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Waldo and Washington counties.

Last year alone, Maine farmers harvested 77.5 million pounds of wild blueberries. And we know that these wild blueberries are healthy, they have more antioxidants than cultivated blueberries, and they are tastier than any other kind of blueberry in the world.

So, to honor our wild blueberry growers and businesses and their significant contributions to the Maine economy, I declared our first ever wild blueberry weekend ever in 2021.

At that time, wild blueberry growers opened their doors for free for the first time and made available fresh wild blueberries, jams, and pies, and other products available for guests to purchase.

The Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine reports that, during the first and second annual Wild Blueberry Weekends, there were thousands of dollars in direct farm sales and thousands of visitors who enjoyed touring the places where wild blueberries grow, maybe picking a few of their own. I know that we will build on those numbers this year.

This year, Wild Blueberry Weekend will feature farm tours and other family-friendly activities at 15 different wild blueberry farms in Franklin, Lincoln, Kennebec, Knox, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Waldo, and Washington Counties, as well as the Wild Blueberry Heritage Center and Museum in Columbia Falls, right on Route One.

And the wild blueberry-themed menu items and products will be available throughout the weekend at more than 40 restaurants, ice cream shops, breweries, wineries, and distilleries across the state. To see the full list of participants, visit www.wildblueberryweekend.com – that’s www.wildblueberryweekend.com and the state’s official agriculture website, www.realmaine.com, www.realmaine.com, for year-round ideas on ways you can support Maine’s agricultural community.

I encourage everyone to visit one of the participating wild blueberry farms or to sample Maine-grown wild blueberry products at the many places selling them during Wild Blueberry Weekend, August 5 and 6!

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, Maine's agriculture sector fuels our economy, contributing more than $3.6 billion in economic impact, employing over 27,000 people, and supporting approximately 1.3 million acres of farmland; and

WHEREAS, Maine's agricultural workers, including farmers and farm workers, are the foundation for a vibrant food system that ensures the availability of high-quality farm products year-round; and

WHEREAS, all those who make their living in the agricultural sector deserve fair wages for their labor; and

WHEREAS, born on July 25, 1750, Henry Knox participated in many of the most significant battles of the Revolutionary War and rose through the ranks to become one of General George Washington’s most trusted friends and reliable soldiers; and

WHEREAS, Knox served as Chief Artillery Officer in the Continental Army, as General in the United States Army, and as the first Secretary of War in President George Washington’s cabinet; and