AUGUSTA, MAINE (AP) — The Maine Legislature is convening to consider an omnibus bill related to the coronavirus and a supplemental budget bill that includes spending to fight the virus.
Lawmakers plan to adjourn after wrapping up their work Tuesday while working under emergency rules that limit the Statehouse to lawmakers, staffers and the press. All others were banned from the building to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Legislature’s appropriations committee agreed to a $73 million supplemental budget, which is $52 million less than originally proposed by Gov. Janet Mills.
The package includes $15 million for health care priorities, including rate increases for direct health care providers for nursing homes and assisted living facilities. An additional $1 million would go to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to expand coronavirus testing at the state’s laboratory.
The proposal is in addition to a series of bipartisan emergency bills under consideration to support the state’s response to the virus. The Legislature will be adjourning indefinitely, but lawmakers hope to reconvene later in the year.
