6 min read

Assistant Senate Minority Leader Sen. Matthew Harrington, left, Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Harold “Trey” Stewart, R-Presque Isle, confer during recess in a Senate session on June 16, 2025. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer)

Maine lawmakers have concluded the bulk of their work for the legislative session. In the last five and a half months, they passed an $11.3 billion two-year budget, plus an additional $320 million in spending and taxes, and have enacted hundreds of new laws.

They also spent time debating controversial proposals — including bills to prohibit transgender athletes in girls sports and to roll back Maine’s new paid family and medical leave program — that could have had big implications but didn’t end up passing.

And while most of this year’s work is done, dozens of bills still await action from Gov. Janet Mills. Lawmakers are also expected to return to Augusta this week to consider funding for nearly 300 bills that haven’t been finally passed yet.

Here’s a rundown of the action from the legislative session, including which bills have passed and what’s still left.

HUNDREDS OF NEW LAWS ENACTED

Nearly 400 bills passed by lawmakers this session already have become law, and they include both big and small changes. The new laws will not take effect until 90 days after lawmakers have finally adjourned, unless they were passed as emergencies or the bill text notes otherwise, which means that most won’t be official until late September.

Advertisement

Mills has already signed a bill to increase state penalties for improper use of pesticides. A measure to raise the minimum age for marriage in Maine from 17 to 18 has become law without her signature.

There are also new laws requiring agricultural workers to be paid at least the state minimum wage and allowing prescribers of abortion medication to keep their names off prescription labels, something advocates have said will help protect providers who may be targeted for harassment.

And lawmakers in April passed an emergency spending bill to address the need for more public defenders with new hires and by allowing judges to pay private lawyers, even if they haven’t met all training and eligibility requirements set by the state’s public defense commission.

Mills allowed that bill to become law without her signature, saying at the time she was disappointed it did not also require the public defense commission to make bigger changes to its eligibility rules.

For the first time, Maine also has an official state amphibian, the spring peeper; an official state reptile, the wood turtle; and an official state dog, the Seppala Siberian sleddog.

OTHER BILLS AWAIT FUNDING OR MILLS’ ACTION

Hundreds of other bills are still awaiting funding or action from the governor, who has 10 days from when a bill is finally passed by lawmakers to sign it, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature.

Advertisement

Nearly 300 bills totaling more than $2.5 billion over the next two years were still awaiting funding as of Wednesday. A large part of that cost is for a $1.6 billion bill increasing cost of living adjustments for state employee pensions that is unlikely to secure final passage.

Lawmakers have about $5 million left to spend in the state’s General Fund and are expected to return this week to allocate that money.

Some of the bills up for consideration include LD 698, which would increase state funding for homeless shelters; LD 1522, to continue an eviction prevention program the state established as a pilot last year; and LD 396, which would establish a grant program for schools to develop plans for later high school start times.

Two bills to establish a statewide tracking system for sexual assault forensic examination kits and a bill requiring the state police to maintain a statewide list of missing persons are also up for funding, as is a bill to ban untraceable firearms. The latter bill, LD 1126, has a $1.9 million cost attached for new police positions.

It’s also uncertain whether Mills will sign LD 1971, a bill to limit local law enforcement’s ability to work with federal immigration authorities, or LD 1666, which would expand Maine’s use of ranked choice voting to races for governor and state legislative offices.

Mills also has not yet acted on a bill that would prevent minors from being the targets of online harassment.

Advertisement
Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, listens to debate on a budget proposal during the morning session on June 18, 2025, at the Maine State House in Augusta. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer)

WHAT DIDN’T PASS

Some of the items before lawmakers that could have had the biggest impacts on Mainers’ lives didn’t end up passing. A debate over the rights of transgender people, especially transgender athletes, heated up after the state was targeted by the Trump administration for its policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports.

Lawmakers ultimately defeated three bills aimed at preventing transgender athletes from competing in girls sports, though one of them, LD 233, got approval from the House of Representatives. Another group of bills, all sponsored by Republicans and aimed at broader rollbacks of transgender rights, were defeated as well.

And lawmakers rejected Republican-sponsored bills to repeal Maine’s new paid family and medical leave program, to make it voluntary for businesses and to exclude certain workers from coverage. Mills has signed into law LD 894, a Democrat-sponsored bill making technical updates to the law.

A proposal to ban bump stocks and other rapid fire devices that increase the rate of fire of semi-automatic weapons was also rejected, even after lawmakers passed a similar law last year that was vetoed by Mills. This year’s bill, LD 677, was defeated 75-67 in the House and 19-16 in the Senate.

Lawmakers also failed to pass a repeal of Maine’s participation in a multi-state agreement to move toward a system of electing presidents by national popular vote, a ban on small plastic bottles for shampoo and other toiletries at hotels and the decriminalization of psychedelic mushrooms.

And some other things, like a proposed repeal of Maine’s 72-hour waiting period on firearms purchases and a bill to ban law enforcement agencies from entering into contracts to partner with federal immigration authorities, are being carried over to next year.

Advertisement
Rep. Ken Fredette, R-Newport, speaks against a budget proposal during the morning session on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at the Maine State House in Augusta. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer)

WHAT’S IN THE BUDGET? 

As of Friday, Mills had not yet signed the $320 million spending plan that was approved by lawmakers last week, but she is expected to do so. The package adds to the $11.3 billion two-year budget that was approved in March to continue baseline services and was cited by Democratic leaders Friday as their biggest accomplishment of the session.

“This budget delivers real wins for working families — it lowers costs, invests in child care, doubles Maine’s version of the child tax credit, expands access to housing, and strengthens support for nursing homes and older Mainers,” said Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, in a statement.

Republican leaders did not respond Friday to phone messages and emails asking about their takeaways from the legislative session but have criticized the latest budget package for its inclusion of new taxes and fees.

The budget add-on subjects streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu and Spotify, to the state’s 5.5% sales tax, increases cannabis sales taxes from 10% to 14% and increases the cigarette tax from $2 a pack to $3.50.

It also includes investments for child care, including a continuation of monthly stipends for workers; increases funding for nursing homes and includes a proposal from House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, to raise taxes on home sales of over $1 million, with proceeds going to a fund for affordable housing. And the budget continues free school meals for all K-12 students and doubles Maine’s child tax credit to $600 for families earning under $150,000.

“We’ve seen economic issues in the national fiscal environment which of course have spilled over into the state,” Fecteau said. “And the federal (COVID-19) funds that stimulated a lot of programs over the last few years are resources that are no longer available to us. Despite these things and the odds seemingly stacked against us, we were able to make some pretty profound investments in Maine’s working families.”

Rachel covers state government and politics for the Portland Press Herald. It’s her third beat at the paper after stints covering City Hall and education. Prior to her arrival at the Press Herald in...

Join the Conversation

Please sign into your CentralMaine.com account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.