An Act To Increase Access To Child Care For Maine Families

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Marshall Archer and 9 co-sponsors

LD 1428 expands Maine families' access to child care through administrative/regulatory updates, a one-time $30,000 Baxter system upgrade, and minor ongoing DHHS costs.

Signed by Governor

#childcare #childrenandfamilies #facilities

Purpose / Intent

LD 1428 is intended to increase access to child care for Maine families. The legislative record and fiscal notes indicate the bill makes administrative and regulatory changes that support child care availability and interacts with state child care information systems and certain housing-related rulemaking. The enrolled bill (as amended) was approved and enacted in June 2025.

Key provisions (from available record)

The public documents provided do not include the full bill text. Items explicitly documented in the fiscal notes and legislative history include:

One-time updates to the Baxter Child Care Management System (Department of Health and Human Services) to implement changes required by the bill. An initial preliminary fiscal note estimated a one-time General Fund appropriation of $30,000 in FY 2025‑26 for those updates.

Provision(s) that require or trigger rulemaking activity by the Maine State Housing Authority; the authority’s additional rulemaking costs were noted as absorbable within existing budgets.

The bill was amended in committee (Committee Amendment "A" — H‑508) before final passage. Fiscal notes for the engrossed/amended bill indicate any ongoing costs to the Department of Health and Human Services would be minor and manageable within current resources.

Because the legislative documents provided here are limited, the specific statutory text changes (for example, changes to licensing, subsidy eligibility, facility standards, funding streams, or other programmatic details) are not included in this summary.

Who is affected

Maine families seeking child care (potentially increased access or reduced administrative barriers)

Child care providers and facilities (may be affected by administrative or regulatory changes)

Department of Health and Human Services (implementation and system updates)

Maine State Housing Authority (related rulemaking)

State General Fund (minor, mainly one‑time appropriation)

Fiscal impact and timing

Preliminary fiscal note (approved 04/28/2025): one-time General Fund appropriation of $30,000 in FY 2025‑26 for Baxter system updates; $0 projected ongoing costs in FY 2026‑27 and beyond.

Subsequent fiscal notes for the amended/engrossed bill (approved 06/01/2025 and 06/06/2025): minor General Fund cost increase; any additional costs expected to be absorbable within existing DHHS budgeted resources.

Key dates: referred to committee 04/03/2025; committee amendment adopted 06/05/2025; passed to be enacted 06/09/2025; signed by Governor 06/12/2025.

Procedural notes

Committee Amendment "A" (H‑508) was adopted prior to enactment. The engrossed/amended bill passed both chambers in concurrence.

For precise operative provisions, stakeholders should consult the final enrolled bill text (LD 1428, as enacted) and any implementing rules published by DHHS and the Maine State Housing Authority.

If you would like, I can locate and summarize the enrolled bill text or the specific committee amendment language to identify exact statutory changes.

Bill