By encouraging small business growth, research and development, investing in working families and building out our essential infrastructure, we will accelerate our recovery from the pandemic.

We are going to let the world know that Maine is a safe place to live and work, a place where you will have the benefit of a good education, a rewarding career, and good connectivity. A place of unrivaled physical beauty and natural resources, where you can raise a happy and healthy family, and live comfortably in a community that you love in the most beautiful state in the country.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills.

This week I was so pleased to announce the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan. It’s our administration’s proposal to invest the more than $1 billion allocated to the State under the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress and signed by President Biden.

This proposal by my administration includes $260 million for immediate economic recovery to address short-term needs and give our economy a shot in the arm. It includes $305 million for long-term economic growth, and $547 million to rebuild our essential physical, communications and human infrastructure.

Our first priority is to ensure the state’s continued economic recovery. We propose a new series of economic recovery grants as well as a measure to lower health care costs for small businesses, and investments in people who have recently started businesses to help them succeed in rough times.

We also propose to use this federal money to tackle long unaddressed needs: investing in research and development, jumpstarting innovation, incentivizing remote work to attract and retain workers here, and bolstering training programs at career and technical education schools and higher eds to expand our skilled workforce.

The strength of our economy also depends on support systems to allow people to live a healthy and productive life here in Maine. This proposal includes funds for infrastructure: to repair roads and bridges and upgrade water treatment systems so we can ensure clean drinking water; plus funds for housing and childcare to build human infrastructure; and, thanks especially to the hard work of Senator Angus King, we offer substantial funding for affordable high-speed internet for homes and businesses all across Maine. 

There is a lot in this proposal, and I sure look forward to traveling the state in the coming days and weeks to discuss these investments in much more detail.

These are truly exciting times.

With higher rates of vaccination — we just passed 50 percent of Mainers eligible who’ve gotten fully vaccinated — testing and treatment, we are pushing through this pandemic and we’re seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Keep up the good work Maine people. Get vaccinated, and make sure your friends know to get vaccinated too.

Now, with the partnership of the federal government, we are entering a new era. We are able to plan for the future. We are finally able to put our state on a solid footing. Now we can offer the people of Maine the promise of prosperity and offer the next generation greater goals, aspirations, and opportunities and something even greater than these: we offer them hope.

These are truly exciting times!

Let’s get it done!

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening. 

Some years ago there was a young woman who dated a man who was handsome, charming, and she was in love with him. The man was also an alcoholic, as it turns out, and one night in a drunken rage, he held a gun to that woman’s head. The gun did not go off, thankfully. She was alone in a strange city and had no place to go. She packed her bags and left that place and never turned back.

Sound familiar?

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

The rest of the story is that that young woman went to law school. She became a prosecutor, and later Attorney General and is now the Governor of the State of Maine.

I will never forget that night. And I will always know that I was one of the lucky ones. Many others have not been so lucky.

But I am sharing this story because I want others who are experiencing domestic violence to know that it can happen to anybody and it is ok to share your own story. There are people who are ready and able to help you stay safe.

This week I joined Attorney General Aaron Frey at an event to spread awareness about domestic violence and to honor domestic abuse homicide victims. Together we released the 13^th biennial report of the Maine Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel. 

For twenty years, the reports of this panel have helped lawmakers understand why domestic violence murders occur in Maine so we can act to prevent more such tragedies. That guidance has shaped a number of meaningful changes in public policy since I took office, but we have a lot more to do.

We all have a responsibility to support one another even as we stay apart during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Key relationships in a victim’s life can be a source of support and strength in situations of abuse, although all too often well-meaning friends and family just aren’t sure or aware of how to help.

One of the Homicide Review Panel’s recommendations is that community members who are in the lives of victims and perpetrators seek support from community-based organizations to know how to help in safe and effective ways. 

If you are worried about how your spouse, your partner, or someone you used to date is treating you; if you are concerned that a friend, a family member, a coworker, or someone else in your life is maybe being controlled or hurt by their partner; if you are struggling with the impacts of an abusive partner yourself and need some support, please call 1-866-834-4357, any time, 24 hours a day. 1-866-834-4357.

You know, no one, no person, of any age, of any gender, should feel alone or unable to get the help they need.

Last week was Crime Victims’ Rights Week in Maine. We called upon all Maine people to recommit to ensuring accessible and appropriate services for all victims of crime, especially those who have few avenues to justice.

Let’s all do our part to prevent domestic violence in our state and to keep our crime rate low as well and to improve our responses to all victims of crime so that they may find safety, justice, and peace of mind.

I feel so fortunate to be the Governor of this wonderful state, my home state. I feel fortunate to be alive. And I am grateful for the opportunity to carry on this work with so many legislators, advocates, and friends who are all determined to prevent another young person from falling under the spell of a dangerous person, and who are determined to make this state and this country a safer place for all.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.