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news from the Cabinet on Aging:
Now that the Legislature has adjourned, I am including a few session highlights. Housing needs continued to be a key focus area. While unprecedented amounts of funding have been directed towards housing over the last few years, there has never been a dedicated revenue stream to support housing development until this last session. LD 201 created the Maine Housing Production Fund, a dedicated source of funding to support rental and homeownership development. It is financed through incremental revenue raised by increasing the tax rate on the portion of real estate sales over $1 million. There were also several laws passed focused on new zoning and land use reforms and several other housing issues. A summary of housing related initiatives can be found here.
On transportation, LD 1451 as amended and passed establishes the Maine Coordinating Working Group on Access and Mobility. The intent of the bill is to establish a mobility management approach among state agencies to increase efficiency, accessibility, and sustainability of transportation across the state. The working group will examine the
creation of mobility management hubs and improving transportation for populations experiencing transportation insecurity. MaineDOT will appoint members to the working group and report to the Transportation Committee no later than February 1, 2026, so more to come there. Also, for those who have not seen the April 2025 report from Moving Maine Forward, a statewide advocacy collaborative focused on transportation needs, their report can be viewed here.
LD 1 (An Act to Increase Storm Preparedness for Maine's Communities, Homes & Infrastructure) is intended to enhance emergency planning at all levels of government, prepare communities and infrastructure for severe weather, and reduce long-term storm-related risks and costs for Maine homeowners and businesses. It has several components, including $15 million to launch the Home Resiliency Grant Program at the Bureau of Insurance to help homeowners to strengthen roofs or floodproof basements in their primary residence to protect against severe weather damage and reduce insurance losses. The program is tiered to provide more support to lower-income homeowners. A press release by the Governor with more information can be read here.
Also, LD 814 provides $3,000,000 in additional one-time funding to be distributed among Maine’s five Area Agencies on Aging to support coordinated community programming such as case management, navigation, and on-going services. LD 709 permanently establishes the Respite for ME program, adopting the pilot’s successful features and aligning the program with the federally funded National Family Caregiver Support Program to simplify administration. LD 815 provided $200,000 in the biennial budget for the program (in addition to existing respite funding).
REMINDER: you are all likely aware that August 1st marked the launch of the application period for LIHEAP, available through scheduled appointments at Community Action Agencies or via Maine State Housing’s online portal. Maine State Housing has released video tutorials and application resources, which you can access here: Home Energy Assistance Program Online Application Resources. These resources include a list of required documents and sectioned video tutorials to help applicants navigate specific parts of the application.
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