AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Legislature approved $450 relief checks for residents struggling with high winter heating costs, the main component of a $474 million assistance package enacted on Wednesday.
Both chambers acted swiftly to approve the bill before decamping to the Augusta Civic Center for the inauguration of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who was sworn into office for a second term.
The heating assistance bill was an early test of bipartisanship, with Senate Republicans delaying passage to ensure a public hearing was held.
Leaders of both Democratically controlled chambers quickly assembled a temporary appropriations committee to hear public testimony two weeks ago before unanimously endorsing the bill.
Some Republicans continued to express opposition Wednesday.
Sen. Matt Pouliot of Augusta called the committee session a “dog-and-pony show," and Sen. Jim Libby of Cumberland called the bill “haphazard.” Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford said he worried about “spending our cupboards bare” and said the bill “could be and should be better.” Bennett ultimately voted in support of the bill.
The state expects to begin mailing out the first of the relief checks before the end of the month. All payments are expected to be mailed by the end of March.
The package called for nearly $400 million to be used to provide $450 payments to an estimated 880,000 residents. It provides an additional $40 million to bolster the federal heating assistance program that’s administered through community action partnerships.
It also includes $10 million for emergency fuel assistance and $21 million to bolster an emergency relief housing fund to help people experiencing homelessness.
The qualifications for these heating relief checks are the same as when Mills sent $850 inflation relief checks last summer. According to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, the qualifications are based on Maine 2021 income tax returns.
If you filed as an individual and made less than $100,000 that year, filed as a head of a household and made less than $150,000, or filed as a married couple and made less than $200,000, you qualify for these payments.
The DAFS is aware of more than 13,000 Mainers who did not receive the first round of relief checks. This new funding will cover the cost and send the $850 checks, in addition to the new relief funds, to those individuals.
A department spokesperson said the delay was caused by an unanticipated increase in Mainers filing their 2021 taxes after the relief program was announced.
The web portal for tracking the status of the heating assistance relief checks will be made available for public use soon, a spokesperson said.
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