Janet Mills in 2023 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Corporations:
Direct economic relief to nearly 1000 small businesses
We have delivered direct economic relief to nearly 1,000 small businesses and supported more than 100 infrastructure projects to create jobs and revitalize communities. We have invested $300 million to support our workforce, in everything from job
training, to business supports, to housing, to child care. These investments are helping tens of thousands of people acquire skills and find good paying careers in health care, in the trades, in teaching, and in paid apprenticeships.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 14, 2023
On Drugs:
Expert in substance abuse for every child welfare district
The drug epidemic is jeopardizing the safety, security and welfare of our youngest children as well as our adults. Substance use disorder is identified as a risk factor in 53% of cases when a child is removed from the home. I am directing the Department
of Health and Human Services to embed a clinical expert in substance use disorder in every child welfare district in Maine to better recognize the influence of substance use, to navigate the risks to children, and to steer parents into treatment.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 14, 2023
On Education:
Free community college is working; let's keep it up
Last year, we worked together to make two years of Community College free for recent high school graduates. We believed that it would not only help students pursue higher education debt-free but that it would
make ready a trained workforce in much needed sectors of our economy.Maine's Community Colleges experienced record enrollment last year. Free community college is working. Let's keep it up for another two years!
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 14, 2023
On Energy & Oil:
100% of our electricity to come from clean energy by 2040
Just two days before Christmas, a winter storm battered our coast, with heavy rains and high winds that caused extensive flooding and power outages. We have to make our communities more resilient to the impacts of storms like these. So our Community
Resilience Partnership is providing grants and assistance to more than 130 communities across Maine to reduce their carbon emissions, transition them to clean energy, and protect them from rising seas and extreme weather events.
To bring down the cost of electricity for Maine people we have to loosen the stranglehold fossil fuel has on our state. In 2019, I signed into law a bipartisan bill requiring our state to achieve 80% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Today, 48% of our electricity comes from renewable sources. The time has come to be bolder: I am announcing tonight that I am directing my Energy Office to draft legislation requiring that 100% of our electricity come from clean energy by 2040.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 14, 2023
On Environment:
Strengthen our ability to detect and mitigate PFAS
We have dedicated more than $100 million over the past two years to address PFAS--funding environmental testing and remediation, creating a Trust Fund to assist farmers, installing more than 300 drinking water treatment systems, and establishing
temporary standards to protect drinking water. I am asking you to approve an additional $6 million in State and Federal funds to strengthen our ability to detect and mitigate PFAS, including sampling and continued testing of wells, soils and wildlife.
Explanation from federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of chemicals used to make fluoropolymer coatings and products. PFAS persist in the environment and exposure
in people can occur by consuming PFAS-contaminated water or food. Since 1999, CDC scientists have measured PFAS in blood serum, and found PFAS in the serum of nearly all of the people tested. This indicates widespread exposure in the U.S. population.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 14, 2023
On Health Care:
Independent of Medicaid we're also providing dental care
Over 100,000 more Maine people receive treatment for accidents and illnesses, prescriptions and procedures, and--now--dental care just through the Medicaid expansion. And now, independent of Medicaid, we're also providing dental care to
hundreds of Maine veterans who could not otherwise afford to see a dentist through a partnership between my administration and Northeast Delta Dental, supported by members of Maine Masonic Lodges and others.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 14, 2023
On Welfare & Poverty:
Housing First legislation addresses chronic homelessness
Housing First has proven to be a very successful and cost effective approach to addressing the needs of people experiencing chronic homelessness, many of whom are struggling for stability while suffering from acute mental illness and/or substance use
disorder. Under this legislation, Maine would provide permanent supportive housing, providing communities across Maine with a desperately needed resource to address chronic homelessness and reduce health care and public safety costs.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 14, 2023
Page last updated: Apr 02, 2023