2025 Maine Legislative Preview

By: Jonathan Asen & Melanie Gordon

As the 132^nd Maine State Legislature convenes, there are several key themes that will drive legislative activity:

• With no new major programmatic spending expected because of the State of Maine’s budget shortfall, fiscal notes on bills will be especially important as legislators consider how to close the budget and spend any additional funds.
• Governor Mills has shared her proposed biennial budget (found here), which acts as a starting point for legislators to consider when reviewing and working on bills.
• President Trump has been clear about what he intends to do at the outset of his presidency, so there will likely be corresponding legislative activity on the state level in Maine and in other states.
• There is a small Democratic majority in both the House and Senate, so it is unlikely that majorly contentious bills will pass in both chambers.
• Governor Mills will reach her term limit in 2026, and we expect candidates will begin joining the race to succeed her in the coming months. Governor Mills is rumored to be considering a run against United States Senator, Senator Collins.

Against this backdrop, although it is still early in the legislative session, there are several key issues that our team is watching closely, which we expect to take center stage in the months ahead.

Paid Family and Medical Leave

In 2023, Governor Mills signed a budget that included the creation of the state’s first paid family and medical leave program. The program officially began on January 1, 2025, with employers and employees splitting the 1% payroll tax levied to pay for the program. Since that time, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and Bath Iron Works have filed a lawsuit challenging the program, specifically the requirement that companies who plan to opt out of the program must pay the 1% payroll tax until April 1. We will be monitoring this litigation and any related legislation carefully.

Housing and Workforce Development

As many critical industries in the State of Maine face a labor shortage, housing has become a hot topic with legislators. Both Senate President, Mattie Daughtry, and Speaker of the House, Ryan Fecteau, have traditionally been active in housing and workforce issues, which means we will likely see a significant amount of housing-related legislation. Relatedly, Speaker Fecteau recently announced an initiative on health care workforce issues, part of which will focus on increasing wages and the availability of affordable housing for health care workers in Maine.

Storm Preparedness and Resiliency

As the State of Maine continues to face severe weather events and related damage, Governor Mills and a group of bipartisan leaders in the Senate and House introduced LD 1: An Act to Increase Storm Preparedness and Resilience For Maine’s Communities, Homes & Infrastructure. This legislation is modeled on recommendations from a November 2024 report put together by the State of Maine Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission.

Our Government & Public Affairs team will continue to keep our clients apprised of all relevant legislation and issue updates as they become available. For more information about our work, please visit our website or reach out to one of our professionals.