Essential Justice: 2024 Legislative session in review

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Legislative Updates

Housing

Rent relief passed

In late April, the legislature passed a supplemental budget bill that included $18 million for a rent relief pilot program, a move that was celebrated by Maine renters and housing justice advocates! When it passed, Rina Rengouwa, a member of the Maine Equal Justice Housing Leadership Team and President of the Gabonese Community in Maine said:

“There are big things left to do but this is a great start! We are grateful for [legislators’] continued support to keep rent relief a priority in the legislature.”

The rent relief pilot program will be run by Maine Housing and will provide up to $800 a month for each family who qualifies. It will support Maine families with low incomes (below 60% AMI, which is $49,852 for a family of three) who are not already being helped by other programs like federal housing choice vouchers, also known as Section 8. The program is intended to support people with low income, many of whom are single parents and caregivers, Mainers with disabilities, older Mainers on fixed incomes, people who work essential but low-paying jobs, and students. It’s funded for two years, with the potential to be extended.

While we’ve made significant gains this session in housing, we know it’s not enough. We celebrate these incredible achievements together, while also holding space for the collective work still to be done to ensure housing security for all Mainers.

Income Solutions

Parents lead effort to pass increase in income for families through TANF program

LD 1877 is now law – it will increase Maine’s maximum TANF grant amount by 20% (meaning a single-parent family of three could now receive $868 per month) and provide a little more breathing room for families who are pursuing their goals. TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, provides cash assistance to families with low income. TANF can help provide relief when families fall on hard times by making funds (cash) available to help pay the bills and for necessities.

Getting families enough resources to get beyond survival and thrive is one reason why our TANF Leadership Team (made up of parents who have participated in TANF themselves) worked with Rep. Michele Meyer (D-Eliot) to introduce LD 1877.

LD 1877 is not enough on its own to ensure all Maine’s families with low income have the resources to get “beyond survival.” But after a unanimous bipartisan vote in the Health and Human Services committee, we’re celebrating the important shift this moment represents.

Maine has taken some important steps to support families in meeting their goals, and if we work together, there’s so much potential we can unlock in our communities. Read more about LD 1877.

Health Care

Two important changes to MaineCare now in effect

• Income limits for MaineCare for Kids increased to up to 300% of the FPL (a monthly income of $6,563 for a family of three)
• Postpartum coverage is now included for all MaineCare-covered pregnancies regardless of immigration status

These build on the past successes of the All Means All coalition that won coverage for kids and pregnant people who would be eligible for MaineCare but for their immigration status.

The campaign continues to broaden our base of support and engage impacted community members and leaders to work toward a more equitable future where we can all access the health care we need and deserve.

This session we also supported multiple bills to reduce medical debt and protect consumers from punitive debt collection practices. LD 1955 would have strengthened hospital free care programs and required more equitable payment plans for patients with lower incomes. Despite collaboration and strong support in the legislature, the bill was among those caught in the end-of-session dynamics which ultimately blocked LD 1955 from becoming law.

We also joined our partners in celebrating historic changes to the Medicare Savings Program (MSP) and fending off possible roll backs to progress. The asset test for MSP eligibility has already been removed, and new income eligibility levels are in effect as of July 1, 2024! This will help more older adults with lower incomes afford their Medicare premiums.

General Assistance

Trauma-informed care now required

GA helps people meet their basic needs when they are experiencing an emergency and have no other options. As the housing crisis has intensified in our state, people facing homelessness have turned to GA to stay housed. But people accessing GA still face barriers to get help and LD 1732 ensures that staff training and services are appropriate and inclusive of all Mainers.

Now law, LD 1732 includes trauma-informed, culturally and linguistically appropriate services administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, DHHS will provide reporting to the Health and Human Services Committee, which will help advocates understand how many individuals and families benefit from GA across the state and how we can make the program more accessible to all communities. We are hopeful that 1732 will create more uniformity within the program and make it easier for those who rely on its services.

Immigrant Access

Maine joins a national movement to create the Office of New Americans (ONA)

We’re glad to see Maine join a national movement to create the Office of New Americans, an innovative way to provide state level support for Maine’s immigrant population. Maine’s ONA will operate within the Office of Policy and Innovation and the Future and strives to better integrate immigrant and refugee communities into Maine’s workforce and the economy. The Office of New Americans is an opportunity for state agencies to operate as a liaison with various organizations to improve services, identify and remove barriers, including exclusion in MaineCare, SNAP, TANF, General Assistance, Unemployment Insurance, child care subsidies, and other state-funded programs that support the well-being of Maine immigrants and their families.

Racial Equity

Authority of Tribal Courts restored, giving Wababanki Nations criminal jurisdiction over certain criminal offenses on their land, and gives the Penobscot Nation the authority to regulate their drinking water

After many attempts to correct the historical exclusion of Wabanaki people in Maine, LD 2007 is a step in the right direction and a huge win for all Mainers. The amended bill reviews the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and implements the criminal justice elements from the recommendations reached by a bipartisan task force in 2020.

We are thrilled to witness this milestone and are filled with joy to see the Wabanaki Nations reclaim what’s rightfully theirs.

Farmworker rights bill passed then vetoed

Farmworkers in Maine are the backbone of our economy, working hard at dangerous jobs to put food on the table for residents of our state and beyond. It’s only just and right that farmworkers receive equitable pay and safe work environments. Session after session, farmworkers and coalitions stand in front of the Legislature seeking equity for their labor. LD 2273 is the result of long conversations and presented a mutual settlement that farmworkers have been fighting for: just and equitable pay.

We were heartened to see the legislature pass this bill and sorely disappointed at the Governor’s veto which came as a shock, since the Governor requested and convened the group that proposed LD 2273. One former Department of Labor employee and farmworker advocate wrote about his frustration and disappointment with this outcome in this op-ed). Our efforts to secure a fair wage with farmworkers will continue - stay tuned!

Consumer Rights

Medical debt lawsuits against people with low-income is now prohibited

Before Legal Services for low-income people came to Maine in 1966, consumers who couldn’t pay their debts, including medical debts, often wound up being jailed in what were essentially debtor’s prisons. We have come a long way since then: debtor’s prison no longer exists, judgment creditors can’t take income and assets needed to provide basic necessities, debt collectors must meet strict standards in order to collect a debt, and this year the legislature passed and the governor signed LD 2115 which prohibits debt collectors from bringing a lawsuit to collect a medical debt against people whose income is below 300% of poverty, ($45,180 for a single person).

Tenant “junk fees” and application fees limited

Landlords often charge “junk fees” on top of rent that makes apartments unaffordable and require application fees that low-income Mainer’s can’t afford to pay. This year the legislature passed LD 1490 which limits the fees a landlord can charge and extends the prohibition on application fees to include mobile home parks.

Equity restored to homeowners

Until last year homeowners who lost their home to a municipality for failure to pay their property taxes also lost any equity they may have had in the home to the town. This year the legislature passed and the governor signed LD 2262 which requires towns to return any equity in the property to the former homeowner.