Maine’s rainy day fund has reached an all-time high after the state ended the 2023 fiscal year with more than $140 million in surplus funds.
The state now has $141 million in surplus funds, according to Maine Public. In total, the state is ending the fiscal year with nearly $970 million in stabilization funds.
In 2021, the state’s stabilization funds reached a high of $492 million as Maine bounced back from the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current stabilization funds are nearly double what was available two years ago, and quadruple the amount reached in Gov. Janet Mills’ first year in office.
maine’s two-year budget
“Maine is better prepared today to withstand an economic downturn than at any other time in state history because of smart, deliberate financial choices by my Administration,” Mills said in a Thursday statement.
The surplus will be used to help boost funding to various housing initiatives, including an effort to mitigate the affordable housing crisis that the Legislature approved in July.
The excess funds will also go to infrastructure projects, including road and bridge maintenance, Maine Public reported.