Staff Report

AUGUSTA – The revelation last week that the commissioner of Maine’s Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) informed Gov. Janet Mills in May that he will cut about $400 million in road and bridge projects over the next three years sent shock waves through the state’s construction industry. For Republican lawmakers, who in April had already learned the news of looming cuts when a letter from Transportation Commissioner Dale Doughty sent to MaineDOT industry partners was shared with the Legislature, it was just the latest sign of the pervasive gross mismanagement of the state’s finances.

The letter sent by Doughty on April 16 – a day after the Legislature’s statutory adjournment date – outlined a series of measures his department was taking in response to a $130 million structural gap in funding that he said was not solved through the supplemental budget. His proposal was to cut $65 million in state spending, which with federal funding would equate to about “$182 million in lost transportation investment,” according to his letter.

By the time he sent his memo to Gov. Mills on May 18, however, that figure rose to $400 million. Despite the known gap, the most recent majority budget provided only $13 million in additional funding to DOT from the Budget Stabilization Fund, with $155 million going toward “affordability checks” to certain Mainers as part of a nearly $300 million raid of that fund.  

Passage of this budget demonstrates what we already know: Democrats continue to fail to prioritize the needs of regular Mainers.

It’s not the first time

Upon the passage of LD 259 in June 2023, legislative Republicans were able to push through a dedicated funding source for the Highway Fund. The idea, originally proposed by Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Somerset, the Senate Republican Lead on the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, would shift the Highway Fund’s reliance away from the gas tax and one-time gap funding to instead use 40% of the sales and use tax generated from vehicle sales. Funds would also be transferred from the State’s liquor fund when available. In all, it represented $150-$200 million in permanent funding going forward.

That funding was threatened less than a year later when Democrats on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee (AFA) infamously tried to hijack the Highway Fund during a late night AFA Committee meeting in April 2024. Democrats on the Committee voted to shift nearly $60 million from the Highway Fund to the General Fund, a move criticized by then-DOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note:  “I was surprised and disheartened that the Appropriations Committee majority, without notice, decided to assume control of the Highway Fund and divert nearly $60 million away from transportation resources starting next year.”

Sen. Farrin introduced legislation during the 132nd Legislature that would have provided $180 million in highway funding and codified the Transportation Committee’s jurisdiction over the highway fund. Senator Farrin’s bill, LD 1804, was shot down by legislative Democrats in party-line votes.

It’s a spending problem

Despite the shenanigans the Highway Fund has been subjected to over the years, its dedicated funding source has remained relatively stable. With record receipts, Maine has experienced years of excess unbudgeted revenue that is allocated automatically by statute to the Budget Stabilization Fund and then the Highway Fund in a process known colloquially as the “cascade.”

However, Democrats in recent years have carved up the cascade to now fund other priorities, including $3 million in funding for Planned Parenthood from last year’s excess revenue. Also, last June, Democrats diverted $30.5 million to MaineCare, the State’s Medicaid program, which would otherwise have gone to the Highway Fund.

“Transportation infrastructure is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of state government and impacts every Mainer,” said Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart, R-Aroostook. “Instead of focusing on roads, bridges and core services, Democrats have spent years prioritizing programs like welfare for non-citizens, lining the pockets of special interest groups who support their campaigns and borrowing away our state’s future.”

“Mainers have every right to ask how we arrived at a transportation funding crisis after years of unprecedented spending and tax increases,” said House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor. “Families were told they needed to pay more. Seniors were told they needed to sacrifice more. Working people were asked to shoulder higher costs. Yet now we’re being told the state cannot afford to maintain critical roads and bridges.”

“Mainers are paying more while getting less,” said Assistant Senate Republican Leader Matthew Harrington, R- York. “Legislative Democrats claimed their higher taxes were supposed to solve funding problems. Instead, we’re seeing delayed road projects, growing program shortfalls and increasing demands on taxpayers.”

“Just months ago, Mainers were assured the state’s finances were strong,” said Assistant House Republican Leader Katrina Smith, R-Palermo. “Now we are learning that major infrastructure projects are being delayed because the money isn’t there. That’s not just a funding problem. It’s a planning problem.”

“In April, the Highway Fund had a $13 million deficit we were able to address in the supplemental budget. If the administration really cares about addressing this shortfall, the solution is simple. Instead of sending out $300 election-year checks to certain eligible residents, that money should be used to provide the critical support needed for our state’s transportation infrastructure,” said Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Somerset, the Senate Republican Lead on the Legislature’s Transportation Committee. “This shortfall doesn’t just put our state’s infrastructure at risk. It means thousands of jobs could be lost and contractors’ investments in materials could be wasted.”