Janet Mills silent on paid depart invoice drawing huge assist from Maine Democrats
AUGUSTA, Maine — Practically all Democrats within the Maine Legislature assist a brand new paid household and medical depart proposal, however Gov. Janet Mills stays silent because the drive to push the thought by way of the State Home kicks off.
The Democratic governor would be the central determine within the paid depart effort. Progressive teams plan to take the difficulty to referendum in 2024 if lawmakers don’t tackle the subject themselves, however enterprise teams that Mills has met with in latest weeks present no indicators of embracing the laws.
The 2 champions of the invoice, Assistant Senate Majority Chief Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, and Assistant Home Majority Chief Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, informed reporters on Monday that Mills has been among the many greater than 500 individuals and companies they’ve met with over a number of months for suggestions on the laws.
Cloutier added she thinks Mills “is in favor of paid household medical depart broadly” however “the satan is within the particulars.”
“We all know that she’s reviewing it and it, and we’ve been grateful for the conversations we’ve going from there,” Daughtry stated.
The governor’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for touch upon paid depart after the 2 lawmakers held a information convention forward of a Thursday public listening to on the measure, which might put Maine amongst 13 states that provide variations of paid depart.
Most are funded by payroll taxes just like the one proposed to fund Maine’s program. The utmost payroll tax to assist pay for this system could be 1 p.c, break up evenly between employers and workers besides at corporations with fewer than 15 workers. These employers could be exempt from paying their half of the taxes.
Staff at corporations above the 15-person threshold would have job protections below the Daughtry-Cloutier plan, whereas these at smaller corporations wouldn’t. Progressive teams together with the Maine Girls’s Foyer have criticized that change, which breaks from the suggestions of a state fee and the referendum model.
It might enable employees at private and non-private corporations to take as much as 12 weeks of paid depart, with weekly advantages capped at 120 p.c of the state’s common weekly wage. Half-time and full-time employees should contribute over $6,200, or six instances the state weekly common wage to turn out to be eligible for paid depart below the amended plan.
The proposal follows the fee’s broad definition of “household” to incorporate kids, dad and mom, grandchildren, grandparents, siblings or “de facto” variations of these relationships, together with spouses and all others sharing “a major private bond” with the Mainer taking depart.
Payroll taxes to fund the paid depart program would begin in January 2025, whereas advantages would start in Could 2026. The paid depart proposals eyed by the fee would price a minimal of $266 million of their first 12 months. There is no such thing as a fiscal estimate out there, however Cloutier and Daughtry stated their invoice has reined in the price of this system.
Peter Gore, a lobbyist for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, has stated he and others had a sequence of conferences with the Democratic governor earlier than the paid depart invoice was launched, citing issues that embody absenteeism at small corporations and whether or not this system could have strong monetary footing below the exemptions. He stated Mills shared some enterprise issues.
Democrats have discovered sufficient votes to get the plan to Mills’ desk, in line with the record of cosponsors. Within the 151-member Home, 77 of their members have signed onto the invoice together with 23 members of the Senate, together with Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, the one member of his occasion to publicly again the thought.
The one three Democratic legislators who haven’t signed on as cosponsors to the invoice are Reps. Scott Landry of Farmington, Jim Dill of Outdated City and Tavis Hasenfus of Readfield. Hasenfus didn’t reply to a request for remark, whereas Dill and Landry every stated they’re ready to see what comes out of the committee.
“It’ll be an costly mission,” Landry added. “I’m simply nervous about small enterprise individuals.”
Citing the referendum push and polling that has proven sturdy assist in Maine for paid depart, Daughtry stated it’s an concept that’s going to occur, though questions stay about how the deal might be made in Augusta.
“I’m probably the most optimistic I’ve ever been with this coverage,” she stated. “We’ve checked out it seven methods to Sunday.”
