AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s General Fund is projected to see nearly $265 million in additional revenue through 2025 and grow slightly beyond that year, a committee of state budget and economic experts said Tuesday.
The Revenue Forecasting Committee reviewed Tuesday a preliminary revenue forecast that looked at upcoming fiscal years through 2027, and the projection over the next two-year budget period included a net increase of roughly $264.6 million from initial estimates. Officials said the “unexpected resilience” in consumer spending has contributed to positive projections.
The General Fund will slightly grow by 2.1 percent in 2026 and 3.7 percent in 2027, according to the preliminary forecast, with growth plateauing compared with the rapid revenue gains seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the state’s Highway Fund is projected to grow about 40 percent between this year and next year to reach about $489.8 million, though the forecast indicated it will shrink slightly by 2026 and 2027.
In June, Gov. Janet Mills signed into law a transportation budget that dedicates roughly $200 million annually in ongoing funding to a system that had been reliant on borrowing and short-term fixes over the past decade. That came after Democrats and Republicans on the Transportation Committee reached a compromise this summer that responded to how receipts from the gas tax, long the dominant source of Highway Fund revenue, have decreased amid the rise of more fuel-efficient vehicles.
This summer, the state’s rainy day fund also reached its statutory maximum of $968.3 million thanks to more than $140 million in surplus money at the end of the previous fiscal year.
Department of Administrative and Financial Services Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa said Tuesday the Mills administration will work with lawmakers “to ensure the continued funding of programs previously approved by the Legislature and maintain the state of Maine’s fiscal stability over the long term.”
Left- and right-leaning groups had different takes on Tuesday’s forecast. The conservative Maine Policy Institute believes lawmakers should restructure the income tax code to offer relief to struggling residents, according to Jacob Posik, the group’s legislative affairs director.
While supporting the Mills administration’s move to bolster the rainy day fund, Posik said the “extra money” seen in Tuesday’s forecast “has more to do with federal government bailouts.”
On the left, Maine People’s Alliance Policy Advocate Adam Zuckerman said the projections show “wealthy corporations are continuing to thrive.”
“But right now, many Mainers are struggling, living paycheck to paycheck and barely able to afford housing, food and services like child care that we all depend on,” Zuckerman said.
The liberal Maine Center for Economic Policy said the Democratic-controlled Legislature should prioritize creating more affordable housing and boosting wages in education, child care and direct care fields when it returns in January for the new session.
“The state can use this surplus to remove barriers that currently hold people back from fully participating in and benefiting from our economy,” Sarah Austin, the center’s director of policy and research, said.
