Gov. Janet Mills attends a news conference in Portland, Maine, Monday, Jan. 27, 2020.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills this week rolled out her proposal to spend $1.3 billion in federal relief money, a plan that could bolster her reelection chances if it works and if she can convince the Legislature to go along with it.
Lawmakers were uncharacteristically quiet after the governor released her plan, a three-part strategy that pumps federal funds into immediate COVID relief programs, longer-term economic investments and infrastructure spending. Overall, the proposal dovetails with the governor’s 10-year economic plan that she released three months before the pandemic began last year, but largely viewed as aspirational because of a lack of funding.