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Maine lawmakers and advocates proposed a wide range of reforms to the state’s emergency assistance program Monday as state officials warned that General Assistance spending remains at an unsustainable level. Some proposals called for tighter eligibility rules and limits on the amount of state reimbursement a single municipality can get — a proposal aimed specifically at curtailing program funds for the city of Portland. Others would increase state reimbursements to municipalities for program costs and make internet access and meals in emergency shelters eligible for coverage under the program.
The bills come as the Department of Health and Human Services has said that reform is necessary in light of ballooning program costs and after Gov. Janet Mills proposed limiting housing assistance under the program as part of a supplemental budget bill that failed earlier this year. “The department has been warning since 2023 that the growth in the GA program is not sustainable and reform is needed to return it to its core mission,” said Ian Yaffe, director of the Office of Family Independence in Maine DHHS.
But the department testified against nine of the 10 bills presented Monday, citing opposition to cost increases for some of the bills and in other cases arguing that reforms unfairly target service center cities or restrict access in a way that would pose legal liabilities. General Assistance is a state program administered by municipalities, who are reimbursed for 70% of eligible costs. The program allows people to apply for help covering the costs of housing, food, electricity and other basic necessities on a temporary basis when they aren’t eligible for other programs or other programs are insufficient to meet their needs.
Costs for the program have risen steeply over the last few years, increasing from $13 million in 2019 to $43 million in 2023. The state’s baseline budget for the program is currently $10.4 million, though the state spent $25.
2 million on the program last year. The cost increases have been driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and higher housing costs as well as policy changes, Yaffe told the Health and Human Services Committee during public hearings on the bills. “The department’s opposition to many of these bills is based on today’s financial reality and the inability of the program’s General Fund budget to support current costs, much less any expansion of eligibility, benefits or reimbursement rates,” he said.
EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR INTERNET, SHELTER MEALS Advocates for the homeless and municipal officials from Portland spoke out in favor of bills from Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland. One, LD 1017 , would allow food costs at emergency shelters to be reimbursed under General Assistance and another, LD 1029 , would increase the state reimbursement to municipalities to 90%.
“It only makes sense that where emergency shelters can provide meals within the shelter, in a system that promotes efficiency, access and potential cost savings, and probably more nutritional value, that those should be reimbursable,” she said. Another bill, LD 657 , from Rep. Abden Simmons, R-Waldoboro, would make internet service eligible for coverage under General Assistance.
Simmons said the bill is intended to address the needs of people who can’t get to doctor’s appointments. “Affordable, high-speed internet is a resource that encompasses more than the ability to access social media and streaming services,” the Maine Broadband Coalition said in written testimony in support of the bill. “Telehealth appointments mean that elderly Mainers or those living in rural areas can skip the sometimes daylong trips to see their doctor.
” The coalition also said that internet is essential for educational opportunities and remote work. “We believe that access to the internet — with its ability to deliver essential services — is a necessity in the modern world,” the coalition said. REPUBLICANS SEEK NEW LIMITS Other Republican proposals before the committee Monday included LD 1046 , which would require people to have 180 days of state residency before they are eligible for General Assistance, and LD 1274 , which would prohibit the state from reimbursing a single municipality in an amount totaling more than 50% of total yearly General Assistance reimbursements.
LD 1066 , from Sen. Sue Bernard, R-Caribou, includes a three-month limit on GA housing assistance in a 12-month period — a provision similar to what Mills, a Democrat, proposed but that was not included in the budget that passed last month. DHHS said the proposal could help ensure the longevity of the GA program by cutting costs, but opposed measures included in the bill to require GA recipients who are capable of working to participate in a municipal work program, something that is currently permitted but not required under the law.
House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, the sponsor of LD 1274, said it is aimed at ensuring the rest of the state is not unfairly burdened with paying for costs accrued in Portland. The city received about 64% of the state’s GA reimbursements in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Cullen Ryan, executive director of Community Housing of Maine, a Portland nonprofit that works to address issues around homelessness and the need for affordable housing, told the committee that Portland is spending more on General Assistance because more people come to the city to access resources that don’t exist elsewhere.
“Trying to restrict a municipality for trying to solve the needs of the state in lieu of this shortcoming seems like the opposite approach (of what we would want),” Ryan said. We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way.
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