Now that the Second Regular Session of the 128th Legislature has adjourned and we have entered the Second Special Session, I would like to take this opportunity to say it has been a tremendous honor to continue to serve you in Augusta.
During my time as a member of the Maine Senate, I have been encouraged to see the significant progress that has occurred under Republican leadership. The State of Maine closed the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2018 with a budget surplus of more than $175 million and financial reserves totaling more than $316 million. Our healthy rainy day fund allows our state to have a better borrowing capacity and long term financial stability. Following years of budget shortfalls and high spending, the significance of these economic achievements cannot be overstated.
Maine’s unemployment is at an all-time low, and the state’s jobless rate has been below four percent for a record 31 consecutive months.
I am a firm believer in working across the aisle. In doing so, we were able to overturn the three percent surtax that would have been devastating to Maine’s small businesses. At the same time, we made the largest one-time investment in education in the state’s history, putting the state’s share of funding for local public schools at 55 percent, a threshold that had eluded lawmakers for decades.
This year, I worked across party lines as Chair of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee to begin restoring confidence in public utility billing by revising the law regarding audits of investor-owned public utilities and which party should pay for those audits. This law allows the Public Utilities Commission to allocate the costs to shareholders of an investor-owned public utility when an audit finds the utility is at fault. The Legislature determined that ratepayers should not be on the hook for the cost of an audit when a utility provider is responsible for the issues.
These reforms that have been put into place under Republican leadership are working, putting Maine into a better position to succeed going forward. However, significant challenges remain. Some of my top priorities are addressing the cost of energy, soaring health care costs and reducing tax rates in order to encourage businesses to stay or relocate to Maine.
Better job opportunities at higher wages and sensible energy policies are imperative to strengthen our economy.
I am also a strong supporter of vocational schooling and home economics being encouraged in our local schools and am incredibly proud that this Legislature expanded career and technical education programs to serve students at a younger age in grades 6 to 8. Trade schools need to be a part of the discussion for our students.
In the next legislative session, I believe we need to make these issues a top priority in our ongoing effort to make Maine a better place to live and work.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your state senator.
Senator David Woodsome is currently serving his second term in the Maine State Senate. He represents the people of Senate District 33 which consists of the towns of Cornish, Limerick, Newfield, Parsonsfield, Sanford, Shapleigh and Waterboro.
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