Maine’s idea: ‘Relief’ has arrived, now we can get down to work

A month after it was put on the docket, the Legislature quickly passed and Governor Janet Mills signed the “Winter Energy Assistance” bill on its regular opening day, Jan. 4.

The $474 million proposal LD ​​3 was a curious product, more on that in a moment.

He was also curious to know how it was the law. On Ordinance Day, Dec. 7, newly sworn-in lawmakers voted to spend more money than any other bill except the biennial budget.

Things were going smoothly until the new Senate Republican leader, Trey Stewart, led the opposition caucus and blew things up. Even with 13 members, the caucus is enough to block emergency legislation, which must be passed by a two-thirds majority.

Stewart negotiated more generous income limits for the $450 checks that were the centerpiece of the bill — up to $200,000 per household — but insisted there needs to be more “process.”

So it was – a five-hour interim hearing before the Interim Administration Committee that completely changed the bill. Stewart and a handful of other GOP senators voted enough to pass the measure, declaring it a success.

Apart from the shadow-boxing that always takes place between parties, it is hard to agree on the assessment, or whether the delay was justified.

Why this governor’s bill did it, however, is still puzzling. It was a misdirection for the plan aimed at “energy relief” – more than 80% of the money went to $450 checks, compared to the $850 checks that distributed most of the state’s profits last year.

And in the midst of an unseasonably warm January, it’s hard to find a predicted emergency, though of course we may still have cold weeks ahead. In the background, oil prices would have risen to $5 or $6 a gallon for heating, which we will not see now.

In October, the average price was $ 4.38 – high, but not a record in real terms – then rose and fell and is currently $ 4.48.

Heating oil, like all petroleum products, is subject to price fluctuations. In the year In 2004, the price of October was $1.76 and rose to $3.71 in 2012, then dropped again, to $1.92 in 2016.

One of the reasons why the price of this fall seems so high is that as soon as 2020, the price of heating oil is only $1.83.

The winter price of the same amount is reflected at the fuel pump. The national average last January, before Russia invaded Ukraine, was $3.41. Now it is 3.36 US dollars.

Mayner wasn’t too likely to freeze on the streets. There are more resources than state government so we help each other in any real emergency.

So what was this law about?

A big hint was made by Finance Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa during the bill’s hearing that she called “one-time money.” From the administration’s point of view, this was basically leftover federal money, meaning that the $450 checks were worth the same as the $850 checks.

To get legislative approval quickly, however, it had to be packaged as something else — “winter power relief,” and it worked. Every Democrat voted for the bill, even though many said they personally disliked its content.

The remaining question is whether spending more up front can pay us back if the economy goes into recession. The default answer seems to be no.

Wall Street is begging for a recession because post-pandemic wage hikes have done the once-unthinkable — shifted the financial balance away from capital and toward labor, something we haven’t seen since the 1970s.

In the year 2022 was a bad year for stocks, and 2023 may not be much better, but for those working in service sector jobs, it should be good news.

Even economists who predicted a recession as the Federal Reserve fights inflation put it at the end of the year. And without a recession, we can achieve a “soft landing” by keeping inflation under control and giving up wage growth and higher employment.

Now that the inaugural drama is over, lawmakers can get a fresh start on what they came to Augusta to do.

Expectations are higher this year than at some point in the legislature. One biennium was wiped out by the first epidemic, and the next was cut short.

Besides meeting in person, there are finally other reasons why valuable accounts are passed on. We’ll take a closer look at those prospects next week.

Douglas Rooks, a Maine editor, columnist and reporter since 1984, is the author of three books and is currently researching the life and work of the U.S. Chief Justice. Feedback is welcome [email protected]

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