Maine budget committee votes to use relief funds on affordable housing, care services

Still, although there are important priorities included in the package, Sarah Austin, budget policy analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy, said the spending plan could have gone further.

“While it’s pleasing to see that the majority report includes key investments in the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations — including funding to focus on health disparities — and gives pay raises to long-term care workers and supports family caregivers, the proposal could have done more to directly empower people and communities most impacted,” Austin said.

Click here to read the full story, first published July 16, 2021 in Beacon.