AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) The Maine Legislature is ready to start its first session of the year on Wednesday, which will be held with the same safety protocols as last year as COVID-19 continues to spread in the state.
The session will look much the same as last year, with committee work being done remotely and lawmakers convening for votes.
Lawmakers are going to be considering more than 200 bills that were carried over along with more than 150 new bills.
There are no worries about money in the short term.
The Revenue Forecasting Committee recently projected that the state will take in $822 million more during the 2022 and 2023 budget years than originally projected.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said she’ll be submitting a supplemental budget that would return some of the money to the Maine people.
“I think we should give money back to people. That’s why, in the new year, I’ll be proposing a supplemental budget to the Legislature that gives money back to you,” she said in her end-of-year radio address.
Sen. Jeffrey Timberlake, the Republican leader in the Senate, said his party also wants to return some of the money to the Maine people.
