AUGUSTA - On Monday, the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety joined the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee for a public hearing regarding the corrections and public services portion of the proposed biennial budget for Fiscal Years 2022-2023.
During the public hearing, Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell, House chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, heard testimony calling for increased funding for housing, mental health supports, health care and treatment for substance use disorder. Warren regularly advocates for funding programs related to these policy areas.
"In the last decade, our state has spent $47 million on the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA), and within that time, over 3,000 Mainers have died of drug overdoses," said Warren. "This number is larger than the entire population of my city of Hallowell. Our state budget reflects our state's values, and it is time to shift our focus to programs that support recovery and decreased incarceration by strengthening funding for safe and affordable housing, comprehensive mental health services and substance use disorder treatment services. People are struggling and they are asking for help. This budget doesnt provide help. Instead, it doubles down on policing and incarceration. It is our collective responsibility to provide that help."
"As policymakers, we have a choice here," said Rep. Victoria Morales, D-South Portland, a member of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. "We can continue to spend $125,000 every year per adult in prison, or we can choose to invest a sliver of that amount in housing and support services to help ensure they never go back to prison. We can continue to spend $600,000 annually per child in prison or choose to invest in the stability of our families and children at a fraction of the cost of incarceration."
Warren is serving her fourth term in the Maine House of Representatives and represents Hallowell, Manchester and West Gardiner. Morales, serving her second term in the Maine House of Representatives, also serves on the House Ethics Committee.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Morales, Warren], c. 812-1111