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LD 209

An Act To Make Supplemental Appropriations And Allocations From The General Fund And Other Funds For The Expenditures Of State Government And To Change Certain Provisions Of The Law Necessary To The Proper Operations Of State Government For The Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2025

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Drew Gattine

A supplemental FY 2024-25 appropriation bill funds MaineCare, caps general-assistance housing, and adds a 1.95% COLA for essential workers, creating a large one-time General Fund cost.

Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · LD 209

Summary — LD 209 (132nd Maine Legislature)

Title: An Act To Make Supplemental Appropriations And Allocations From The General Fund And Other Funds For The Expenditures Of State Government And To Change Certain Provisions Of The Law Necessary To The Proper Operations Of State Government For The Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2025

Status: Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD) — introduced Jan 14, 2025; final action March 13, 2025.

Purpose and intent

LD 209 was a supplemental appropriation and policy bill for FY 2024‑25 (fiscal year ending June 30, 2025). It combined one‑time and ongoing adjustments to state appropriations and several statutory changes intended to support state programs (notably MaineCare), constrain certain municipal general assistance housing payments, and implement provider reimbursement changes required by statute.

Key provisions

  • Supplemental appropriations and allocations across multiple funds (General Fund, Federal Expenditures Fund, Other Special Revenue Funds). The Committee Amendment produced large FY 2024‑25 net General Fund costs and line‑items (see fiscal section below).
  • Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of MaineCare Services:
    • One‑time General Fund appropriation to contract with an independent third party to review the MaineCare program for fraud, waste and abuse (fiscal note shows a $250,000 one‑time GF appropriation in one amendment, with federal match).
    • Requirement that DHHS seek federal approval to implement a 1.95% cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) for reimbursement rates for essential support workers (Title 22, §7402). Fiscal note states no additional net impact because earlier appropriations (Public Law 2023, ch.17) already included funding for a 1.95% COLA effective Jan 1, 2025.
  • General assistance housing limits:
    • Different amendment versions proposed different caps. One fiscal note describes a cap of 12 months of housing assistance in a 36‑month period (excluding temporary housing and emergency shelters); another amendment proposed a stricter cap of 3 months in a 12‑month period. Fiscal impact is indeterminate because municipal data on recipients, months of assistance, types and amounts are not centrally available.
  • Other technical and programmatic adjustments across multiple parts/sections (detailed line items in the committee amendment).

Fiscal impact (highlights from fiscal notes)

  • Committee Amendment (LR2408(02)) FY 2024‑25 net General Fund cost: approximately $130.65 million (one‑time, reflecting many large line items). FY 2025‑26 and later years show much smaller projected net costs (hundreds of thousands declining across years).
  • Appropriations/allocations (FY 2024‑25, per fiscal note): General Fund ≈ $120.67 million; Other Special Revenue Funds ≈ $13.50 million; Federal Expenditures Fund ≈ $290,560.
  • Revenue effects: General Fund and other special revenue funds show modest reductions in some years (e.g., GF revenue reduction ≈ $2.724 million in FY 2024‑25).
  • One amendment (LR2408(29)) added a one‑time $250,000 GF appropriation in FY 2025‑26 for a MaineCare fraud/waste/abuse review (with associated federal match).
  • Many amounts are tied to specified “PART” sections in the bill; some impacts are uncertain because municipal data are required to estimate effects of general assistance changes.

Who is affected

  • State agencies (DHHS/MaineCare primarily) — program and administrative changes, COLA implementation, oversight review.
  • Municipalities — potential reductions in general assistance housing obligations depending on enacted limits.
  • Providers / essential support workers — COLA provisions affect reimbursement rates (but funding for the 1.95% COLA was already addressed in prior law per fiscal note).
  • State budget/fund balances — large one‑time FY 2024‑25 adjustments.

Legislative and procedural history (condensed)

  • Introduced Jan 14, 2025; referred to Appropriations & Financial Affairs.
  • Committee recommended OTP‑AM (Feb 5). Multiple House amendments considered; Committee Amendment A (H‑1) was adopted in the House with additional House amendments; passed House as amended.
  • Senate considered, adopted some Senate amendments and sought concurrence. The House and Senate could not agree on final language; motions to “recède and concur” and “insist” were repeatedly attempted and failed in the Senate.
  • Because the bill included emergency provisions, two‑thirds votes were required for some actions. After failed attempts to reach concurrence, the measure was placed in the legislative files (dead) on March 13, 2025.

Notes and uncertainties

  • Several competing amendment versions changed specific caps on municipal housing assistance and added/shifted appropriations; fiscal estimates therefore vary by version.
  • Fiscal notes repeatedly emphasize uncertainty for municipal impacts because detailed recipient‑level data are held at the municipal level and vary over time.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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