Gov. Janet Mills will propose a mostly flat state budget avoiding tax increases on Friday when she unveils a spending plan through mid-2023 that must account for the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on the economy, a top state official said.
The budget proposal from the Democratic governor will frame much of the next two years in Maine politics. Estimates of how the pandemic would affect revenue are not as grim as they were in the spring, but legislators still have to finagle a massive $650 million revenue shortfall that has been projected by the state over the next three years.
Federal funding, cost-cutting measures and improved revenue projections will help the state prevent major budget reductions this year and through the next two years, said Kirsten Figueroa, the governor’s budget commissioner, in a Thursday interview. An immediate spending proposal and a two-year budget will be presented as one package, she said.
