Supplemental Budget Changes
March 11, 2010 -
As I mentioned earlier, due to an increase in expected revenue for two consecutive months and an increase in federal Medicaid funding, the supplemental budget cuts have been reduced by $78.7 million.
The changes to the supplemental restores $37 million to health and human services. This includes increased support for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, disability services, mental health crisis intervention and home-based services. It also proposes alternative reductions of $13 million and new initiatives of $5.3 million.
Other restoration measures in the change package include: $6 million for municipal revenue sharing, $3.5 million for retiree health, $1.75 million to fully fund the State’s obligation for disaster assistance, and $2.6 million to pay for a $79 million job creation bond package. There is also $8.1 million to eliminate a payroll delay.
$20 million of the total reduction will go to K-12 education, while $8 million will go to higher education in Maine. These amounts are nowhere near where they need to be, but it is a huge relief to parents, students, and school districts across the state.
The good news doesn't end here! The Congressional $15 billion job bill will send more targeted money back to Maine. I will write more about this next week.
