Update as of Friday, April 10: Gov. Janet Mills has signed the budget into law. As more Mainers struggle to afford rent or find stable housing, state lawmakers are directing new funding toward programs aimed at keeping people in their homes and expanding shelter capacity. The supplemental budget passed in the House and Senate on…
Emily Barney was a single mother working full time when she fell behind on rent two years ago, a situation she said quickly became impossible to manage without help. “Sometimes, there just simply isn’t enough money to cover everything, and you have conflicting needs,” Barney said at a press conference on the Eviction Prevention Program…
A new report released Wednesday by Maine Equal Justice revealed that relatively small amounts of flexible financial support can make the difference between parents completing college programs or dropping out. The report findings are from the Build HOPE project, a four-year initiative that provided up to $2,000 per year to low-income parents enrolled in postsecondary…
After leaving her full-time job of nine years because of serious health issues, Chena Immel said she has spent the last three years struggling to find health insurance she can afford. During a Mainers for Tax Fairness press conference in Augusta on Thursday, Immel and other advocates called on lawmakers to increase taxes on Maine’s…
With Pres. Donald Trump’s newly-passed federal budget slashing funding for consumer protections, experts say state-level laws will be more important than ever to keep people safe from scams, crushing debt, and predatory lenders. Fortunately, Maine’s legislature passed several laws this session – on medical debt, housing, access to credit and health care – that will…
Maine lawmakers are considering legislation to provide financial relief to families with young children or dependent adults. The bipartisan bill would double the current Dependent Exemption Tax Credit, to provide $600 for each child under age six. Alison Weiss, the communications director for Maine Equal Justice, said the money would only go to families making less…
Within its first two weeks theTrump administration has widespread fear throughout immigrant communities in Maine and across the U.S.. Trump’s recent executive orders on immigration include major deportations, ending the Biden-era “sensitive areas” protections, ending birthright citizenship, and militarization of the US-Mexico Border. In Maine, there have been reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement sightings…
Maine’s new Democratic Party leaders say under their direction, the party will represent more Mainers in more parts of the state. In his remarks during voting, newly-elected Chair Charles Dingman, of Leeds, stressed the need to build a more equitable future by building collective power against the ultra wealthy who “are trying to have it…