Governor Mills Statement on Revenue Forecasting Committee Projections

Statement

Today, the Revenue Forecasting Committee (RFC) projected that State General Fund revenues will decrease by $524 million in Fiscal Year 2021, $434 million in Fiscal Year 2022, and $449 in Fiscal Year 2023 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Mills issued the following statement in response:

"These numbers are more than statistical projections. They represent funding for vital services on which Maine people rely, from health care, to schools, to economic development. We know that we will face difficult decisions in the future, but these projections make one thing clear: additional aid and flexibility from the federal government for the states is necessary in order to preserve basic services and ensure the strongest possible economic recovery. I have joined with my Republican and Democratic counterparts from across the country to advocate for this critical support through the National Governors Association for the good of our state and country. I hope Congress delivers."

Thanks to good, bipartisan fiscal management by the Governor and the Legislature, which included a revision of the supplemental budget and the Governor's instruction to all departments to apply an emergency-basis scrutiny to spending and hiring, state government did not confront a shortfall last Fiscal Year. As a result, the current projected balance of $106 million in unappropriated surplus for the current biennium will offset today's updated revenues, resulting in a projected reduction of $418 million over the biennium.

The Governor's instruction to all departments of state government to apply an emergency-basis scrutiny to spending and hiring remains in place, including freezing access to all unencumbered balances for Fiscal Year 2020. The Budget Stabilization Fund stands at $258 million, which is an increase of more than $50 million since the Governor took office.

The Administration has made no decision about another supplemental budget at this point. The Governor will review revenue reports, examine revenue forecasts, evaluate potential expenditure reduction options, monitor federal efforts to provide additional aid and flexibility to state governments and will confer with legislative leaders about next steps.

Governor Mills continues to urge Congress to provide additional direct support to states as well as flexibility with funding already authorized in order to continue to protect the public health and safety and to spearhead an economic recovery. Over the past several months, Governor Mill has joined other Governors through the National Governors Association in repeatedly calling on Congress to provide robust and flexible federal relief to offset expected revenue reductions that all states are seeing. Earlier today, Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Chair and Vice Chair of the NGA, respectively, issued the following statement regarding the need for federal aid to states:

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