The first new bill in the 2025 Maine legislative session is a bipartisan measure to provide grants to homeowners to reduce their risks and losses in future storms.

The bill from Governor Janet Mills is sponsored by House and Senate Democratic and Republican leadership – Senate President Matthea Daughtry, D – Cumberland and Senator Harold L. Stewart III, R – Aroostook, House Speaker Ryan D. Fecteau, D – Biddeford and Representative Billy Bob Faulkingham, R – Winter Harbor.

A statement from Mills said the bill, ” is directly responsive to the interim recommendations from the Maine Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission.

Mills established the commission last spring in response to a series of storms that caused about $90 million in damage to public infrastructure across the state.

The bill offers several key initiatives. Foremost is the establishment of a Home Resiliency Program that would provide $15 million in one-time funding to establish the Home Resiliency Program. It would provide grants of up to $15,000 for homeowners to help their homes withstand future storms. The money could be used for efforts to prevent roof damage and reduce the risk of basement flooding.

The program would be operated by Maine Bureau of Insurance (BOI) and would prioritize minimizing storm damage and insurance losses.

Other highlights include a $10 million investment in the State Disaster Recovery Fund to provide matching funds to secure federal funding for current open disasters.

The measure would also establish a new State Resilience Office within the Maine Office of Community Affairs (MOCA). The office would be funded through a five-year federal grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to support planning to reduce flood and storm damage as well as protect public and private infrastructure.