There is no hiding the fact that Maine has a lot of work to do in regards to increasing the availability of affordable housing. Whether you’re living in rural or urban Maine, homes are becoming less affordable and harder to find. For a number of reasons, including more people moving to Maine, a declining labor force, an aging population, low housing production and an older housing stock, we find ourselves in a difficult situation.
Joe Rafferty Courtesy photo
While we have some steep hills to climb, I look forward to playing an active role alongside my colleagues to deliver solutions to this great challenge.
Recently, the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development and Maine Housing released a comprehensive report that shows where our state is at, what challenges we face and what we need to get to looking down the road.
In my time as your state senator, the state of Maine has taken the lead on a strategy to build new homes and reinvest in existing homes statewide through the passage of LD 2003 and over $280 million in affordable housing production funding since 2019.
LD 2003 allows for a wider range of housing types and commits financial and technical assistance from the state for municipalities to support their local and regional housing goals. The law respects Maine’s strong history of local control, while using a data-informed approach to ensure statewide progress toward reaching our housing needs.
This law, in addition to the other legislation the Joint Select Committee on Housing has championed — much of it being bipartisan — will make a real difference in the lives of many working Mainers.
One of my proudest achievements this session is sponsoring a bill to fund a proven pilot program to prevent student homelessness. Students cannot learn, make friends and reach their full potential when they are worrying about where they’ll sleep that night. Having spent decades in the classroom and coaching student athletes, I know how vital this law will be to students and their families facing such heartbreaking circumstances.
That’s why, this session the Housing Committee focused on responding to the emergency needs of the chronically homeless – the unhoused and the unsheltered. Indeed, one of the biggest achievements this session was the creation of a statewide Housing First program. It was clear from the start that low-barrier apartment-style housing with 24/7 wrap-around services, such as behavioral health care and job counseling, were key to getting people back on their feet.
It is important to note that households with low and moderate incomes are more constrained in their choices and more likely to pay more than they can afford for a home. Because of that, policymakers have emphasized ways to increase affordable housing production, in addition to strategies to increase the availability of homes overall.
The historic bipartisan budget I voted for in July also invested $17 million to support short-term emergency housing and other services such as legal assistance and to continue the shelter operations that provide lifesaving resources on the ground every day.
The Housing Committee will tackle issues I mentioned above around housing stock, including helping first-time homebuyers so they can live, work, and raise a family here in Maine. We know Maine is home to an aging population, and it has faced an increase in retirements and folks leaving the workforce to live out their golden years. The pandemic only accelerated this trend, but the Legislature remains committed to exploring all possible options to alleviate the stress on our housing market, which will benefit us all.
As always, if you have any questions about the information here or if you would like to reach out with a comment, question, or concern, you can reach out to me any time.
Joseph Rafferty is a member of the Maine State Senate representing District 34, Berwick, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, North Berwick and Wells. He can be reached at Joe.Rafferty@legislature.maine.gov or 207-287-1515. Sign up an email newsletter at mainesenate.org.
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