AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s so-called “Rainy Day” fund reached a historic high on Tuesday after Gov. Janet Mills padded the fund with an additional $223.6 million. The fund now totals $491.9 million.
In a release Tuesday, the Mills administration touted that the governor has grown the fund over her two and a half years in office to more than double what it was.
“This sound fiscal management has positioned us well to continue our economic recovery and to send a strong message to bond rating agencies about our financial stability. I am proud of the progress my Administration and the Legislature have made together on this important front,” Mills said.
Tuesday’s deposit was made possible by the new $8.5 billion state budget, which Mills recently signed into law. The budget allows the majority of surplus revenues from Fiscal Year 2021 to be put into the rainy day fund for emergencies.
“That we were able to navigate the stormy waters of the pandemic, with pendulum-like revenue forecasts, while keeping intact Maine’s Budget Stabilization Fund is a testament to both the foresight and planning of the Governor,” said Kirsten Figueroa, the commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. “With the support of the Legislature, this Administration has not only preserved programs and services at a time when they were most needed but also deployed a strong pandemic response that has kept our state among the healthiest and most vaccinated in the nation. We will continue along this course, with prudent fiscal management and methodical deposits into the Budget Stabilization Fund to combat any unknown economic change.”
