Mills' budget would increase cigarette tax, continue free community college

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

58% : The governor's proposal also includes $3 million in one-time funding to support affordable housing by helping mobile home residents purchase the parks they live in, and $41 million to support a 4% increase for higher education, including the University of Maine System, Maine Community College System and Maine Maritime Academy.
54% : "With this proposal, we have taken a balanced approach -- one that includes investments to maintain core programs, like education funding and healthcare; that raises revenues in a targeted way to benefit public health; and that makes difficult programmatic changes to save money," she said.
50% : The group suggested the state look at additional ways to increase revenues, such as ending tax breaks for big businesses, and noted that Maine's budget stabilization or "rainy day" fund has more than $900 million in it.
49% : The budget for the next two years would raise the excise tax on cigarettes from $2 per pack to $3 and make similar adjustments to the tax on other tobacco products, resulting in about $80 million in new revenue over the biennium.
49% : Republicans on Friday also took aim at other tax increases, including a proposal to raise the sales tax on recreational marijuana from 10% to 14%, the revenues from which are expected to be partially offset by a decrease in excise taxes paid by marijuana growers.
47% : A spokesperson for the governor's office said only a portion of those positions will be paid for through the general fund, which comes from state tax revenues, while other positions will be paid for with other revenues such as fees or federal funds.
42% : Mills described the budget Friday as a difficult one to put together in light of state revenues leveling off, in part due to a decline in increased federal funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a projected $450 million gap heading into the next two years.

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