AUGUSTA — Gov. Janet Mills unveiled several policy proposals and funding priorities in her State of the State address Tuesday night, choosing to focus on affordability and countering federal cuts.

Mills, a two-term Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate, is expected to release her supplemental budget package in the coming days and used the speech to tease what’s in it.

Here’s a closer look at the plans Mills announced Tuesday:

$300 relief checks for Maine taxpayers

Mills’ budget proposal will include $300 “affordability checks” for approximately 725,000 Maine people to help offset rising costs.

The checks will be funded with $218.5 million from Maine’s Budget Stabilization Fund, commonly known as the “rainy day fund,” which is currently at its statutory maximum of $1 billion.

Those eligible for a check include full-year Maine residents filing a 2025 Maine tax return, making up to $75,000 for a single filer or those married and filing separately; $112,500 for head of a household; and $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

Statewide ban on cellphones in schools

Mills is proposing a statewide ban on cellphones in schools, something that some Maine districts already have in place, including Bath-based Regional School Unit 1 and Portland Public Schools, the state’s largest school district.

Nationwide, at least 33 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools, according to Education Week.

Mills said she knows some students may be against the change, but believes that it is worth it.

“When cellphones are removed from classrooms, research shows that student performance
improves, test scores improve, behavior improves, attendance improves and social dynamics
improve,” she said Tuesday night.

$2.25 million for reproductive health groups

Mills’ supplemental budget will include $2.25 million to support Maine-based reproductive health care providers that have been impacted by federal funding cuts in the Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill, which last year eliminated Medicaid funding for nonabortion services offered by abortion providers.

The funding will help Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning, both of which were impacted by the cuts, continue to provide primary care services that include cancer screenings, birth control and testing, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

Make free community college permanent

The governor’s budget proposal will include $2.5 million for the free community college program, adding to funding approved last year to ensure that it covers students who graduated high school in 2025.

Mills is also proposing making the program permanent, as opposed to funding it on a one-time budget-by-budget basis as has been the case since the program started in 2022.

The governor also proposed making the program permanent last year, but that proposal didn’t make it into the final budget approved by lawmakers.

$70M for housing construction and costs

Mills is proposing a one-time $70 million investment in housing by using money from the rainy day fund. That includes $55 million for new housing production via a mix of new and existing programs.

A new pilot program at MaineHousing will receive $10 million to create 100 new homes to be owned or rented by middle-income people, and $7.5 million will go to a new pilot program to create 429 affordable homes by helping existing mobile home parks finance expansion and infill.

Another $15 million will support existing housing programs, largely focused on programs that help the elderly age in place and provide housing for those at risk of homelessness.

The housing investments are expected to generate at least $15 million in matching federal funds and result in a total of 825 new units of housing.