AUGUSTA - The Maine Legislature approved funding Monday for the Maine Climate Corps and the Maine Service Fellows, two new programs included in legislation sponsored by Rep. Morgan Rielly, D-Westbrook.
LD 1974, which was removed from the Special Appropriations Table and voted on by the full Legislature, provides over $200,000 in funding to support the Maine Climate Corps, a service program that will generate jobs and build the leadership skills of Mainers interested in addressing the state's most pressing climate-related challenges. The corps will be tasked with tackling a wide range of climate-related issues, from energy and housing to public health and land and fresh water preservation.
Additionally, LD 1974 provides $30,000 in funding to the Maine Service Fellows, a program aimed at addressing gaps in service programming in rural and underserved Maine communities to address critical health, public safety, education and environmental needs. Legislation to establish the Maine Service Fellows was also sponsored by Rielly and signed into law last year.
"The Maine Climate Corps is inspired by the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) but is specifically designed for todays needs in addressing the climate crisis," Rielly said. "Just like the original CCC, the Maine Climate Corps will give a new generation of Mainers the chance to serve and build new job skills in various sectors from community solar to resilience planning. The corps will be deliberate in its actions addressing equity, justice and accessibility and will be rooted in good science. The passage of this bill and the establishment of the Maine Climate Corps is a major step forward in achieving our climate goals."
Concurrently, efforts are being led in Congress to establish and support the Civilian Climate Corps, a national climate-focused service program. If passed, more funding is expected to be made available to the Maine Climate Corps.
The bill now heads to the governors desk.
Rielly is serving his first term in the Maine House of Representatives as a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs. He represents a portion of Westbrook.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Rielly], c. 812-1111