Appropriations Committee Passes 2017 Supplemental Budget
AUGUSTA – The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee today voted in support of an amended version of the proposed 2017 Supplemental Budget, unanimously. The amended supplemental budget, which largely remained the same, includes:
- $4.8 million ($3 million from the General Fund and $1.807 in federal money) to support opioid addiction treatment for uninsured and MaineCare patients through the Opioid Health Homes program
- $155,000 for the Secretary of State’s office to cover a gap in funding for the June election
- $5,050,000 for the University of Maine System to continue the tuition freeze
- $2 million for the early college program
- $35 million for the Budget Stabilization Fund (Rainy Day Fund)
- $13.99 million as a one-time payment to the Maine Public Employee Retirement System (MPERS)
- $7 million for Maine Military Authority Restructuring
- $2.98 million for the Grand Lake Stream Fish Hatchery
- $2.5 million for the Casco Fish Hatchery
- $524,151 for Maine Emergency Management Agency to go towards disaster assistance programs
- $375,000 for Veterans service grants
- $150,000 for the Attorney General to improve opioid detection in autopsies
“It was encouraging to see everyone come together to agree on measures of great importance to our state such as combating the opioid crisis and keeping the cost of higher education affordable for students who chose to attend a public college in Maine,” said Senator James Hamper (R-Oxford), Senate Chair of the AFA Committee. “I am hopeful that we will continue to build on this momentum during our work on the governor’s biennial budget proposal.”
The 2017 Supplemental Budget will now go to the Senate for consideration