Responding to Resilience Commission's Interim Recommendations, Governor Mills and Legislative Leadership Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Community Preparedness[...]

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January 7, 2025
Office of Governor

Governor's bipartisan legislation, sponsored by House and Senate Democratic and Republican leadership, is the first bill of the new legislative session

Governor Janet Mills and Senate and House Democratic and Republican leadership today introduced major legislation to strengthen the ability of Maine communities, homeowners, businesses, and emergency response personnel to prepare for and withstand future severe storms.

The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Senate President Mattie Daughtry, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart and House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, is directly responsive to the interim recommendations from the Maine Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission, which the Governor established last spring in response to a series of devastating storms that caused an estimated $90 million in damage to public infrastructure across the state.

LD 1, An Act to Increase Storm Preparedness and Resilience For Maine's Communities, Homes & Infrastructure, would launch new initiatives designed to enhance emergency planning at all levels of government, prepare communities and infrastructure for severe weather, and reduce long-term storm-related risks and costs for Maine homeowners and businesses. It uses federal funding and existing fee-based funding through the Bureau of Insurance and does not rely on General Funds during a tight budget cycle.

"Last year, my Administration and the Legislature made the largest investment in storm recovery and resilience in Maine history. That funding was significant, but it's clear that it was only a down payment on the critical recovery and resilience work Maine must do to prepare our people and communities for the storms we know will become more frequent and intense in the years ahead," said Governor Janet Mills. "This legislation, based on interim recommendations from the Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission, will improve the ability of Maine communities, homeowners, businesses, and emergency response leaders to plan for the extreme weather of the future -- making Maine a safer and more prepared place to live."

"In my family, we always say 'hope for the best, prepare for the worst.' To quickly respond to increasingly intense and unpredictable climate-related disasters, we need a response plan in place before the devastation even occurs. Our bipartisan Storm Preparedness bill (LD1) would create a permanent fund to ensure Maine people--especially those in our vital heritage industries--have the resources they need when disaster strikes," said Senate President Mattie Daughtry. "I'm proud to support this proactive approach. Our fishermen, farmers and other hardworking Mainers face enough challenges--whether they can recover after devastating storms should not be one of them."

"Extreme weather is a real and present challenge for Maine people and increasing the resilience of our infrastructure will be critical in the months and years ahead," said Speaker Ryan Fecteau. "This proposal will help homeowners prepare their properties and guard against damage. Our homes are often the largest investments we make in our lifetimes, and this bill will help protect them."

"Insurance companies pay money to Maine every year to operate in the state. This is a way to leverage those funds along with federal grant resources to invest in the resilience of our communities and bring our emergency communications infrastructure into the 21st century and in compliance with FCC rules," said Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart. "While there are some aspects of the bill that will need a little more work, helping homeowners bring down skyrocketing insurance costs through weatherization and resiliency projects is a good investment of funds that would otherwise remain idle."

"A year ago, severe storms ravaged wharves and properties in my district and throughout the state," said House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham. "I am co-sponsoring this legislation because it will allow the people of my community and all of Maine to prepare their properties to withstand future storm damage and reduce their insurance premiums without drawing from the general fund by using funds from an existing agency program."

"This legislation directly responds to some of the most pressing recommendations issued by the Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission in our interim report," said Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission Co-Chairs Linda Nelson and Dan Tishman. "The bold action it proposes would improve emergency planning and communications and help homeowners, municipalities, and their local businesses to better withstand future extreme storms. As the Commission works toward delivering the state's first long-term infrastructure resilience plan in May, we urge the Legislature to support thisinitial bill to help Maine communities meet the urgent challenges they face."

"As we saw from the storms of December 2023 and January 2024 -- whether inland or coastal, urban or rural -- no community in Maine is immune from the impact of severe storms," said Hannah Pingree, Director of the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. "This legislation positions Maine people, businesses, and communities to better prepare for future storm surges, rising sea levels, inland flooding, and other impacts of extreme weather."

The Governor's legislation would create three key initiatives:

1. Home Resiliency Program: Provides $15 million in one-time funding to establish the Home Resiliency Program, modeled after successful programs in other states but tailored to Maine, to provide grants of up to $15,000 to homeowners to make investments that will help their homes to withstand future storms, thereby reducing their risks and potential losses. The program, operated by Maine's Bureau of Insurance (BOI), will focus on reducing roof damage, basement flooding, and other targeted interventions to minimize storm damage and insurance losses.
2. Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Resources and Statewide Communications: The staff of the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) are managing more federal disasters than at any time in the state's history and with reduced federal support. MEMA lacks the capacity to apply for competitive federal hazard mitigation funds, improve much-needed state-wide emergency systems, and provide required matching funds needed for federal FEMA disaster and hazard mitigation funds. This initiative uses one-time Other Special Revenue (OSR) funding from BOI to:
   • invest $10 million in the State Disaster Recovery Fund to provide matching funds to secure federal funding for current open disasters;
   • establish a new state fund to match the federal FEMA 'Safeguarding Tomorrow through On-going Risk Mitigation Revolving Loan Fund' (STORM) and seed the fund with $750,000 matching funds to better leverage this competitive federal grant which requires 10 percent match;
   • dedicate $800,000 to support improved emergency communications systems, system training, and a two-year education project to support state-wide implementation in all Maine counties
   • invest in two new staff members at MEMA to administer the "Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund" and implement the communication system upgrades and serve as the State's Integrated Public Alert and Warning Coordinator
3. State Resilience Office and Flood-Ready Maine Program: Establishes a new State Resilience Office within the Maine Office of Community Affairs (MOCA), funded through a five-year federal grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to support planning that reduces flood and storm damage, protects public and private infrastructure, and supports public safety.

The legislation also launches the Flood-Ready Maine Program, an initiative of the State Resilience Office. The program will partner with BOI, MEMA, the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT), and state and local officials to modernize data on flood risk in Maine and make it easily accessible to municipal leaders and Maine people through an online resource. The program will work to improve communication to communities, businesses, and residents about flood risk, and work to increase the number of flood insurance policies in use in Maine. According to the BOI, only 1.3 percent of all homes and buildings in Maine are covered under the National Flood Insurance Program, well below the national average of 3.3 percent. The new initiatives will be funded through nearly $9.7 million allocated to the Maine Office of Community Affairs.

"The establishment of the Home Resiliency Program will be an important piece of the larger plan to help Maine people prepare for the storms to come," said Bob Carey, Superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Insurance. "Modeled after a highly successful program in Alabama -- but tailored to address the specific perils that Maine homeowners face -- the program would help to reduce the impact of more severe and more frequent storms caused by climate change. The Bureau of Insurance welcomes the opportunity to put these funds into the hands of Maine consumers to help them better protect their homes from extreme weather."

"The increasing frequency and intensity of storms in recent years highlights the growing impact of climate change on Maine," said MEMA Director Pete Rogers. "The Governor's bill would strengthen MEMA's capacity to respond to these storms and support Maine communities in better preparing for future extreme weather events."

"Maine communities continue to grapple with the damage from the devastating storms of last winter," said Samantha Horn, Director of the Maine Office of Community Affairs. "The Governor's proposal responds to their need for better information and effective strategies to help take charge of their futures in the face of extreme weather. By bolstering and better coordinating Maine's resilience efforts, including tackling head on the serious risks and costs posed by flooding, this bill would make a tremendous difference in communities across Maine."

"Maine Department of Transportation team members often find themselves working with our state and local partners to respond and rebuild following storm events, so we are supportive of these efforts to improve preparedness and resilience," said MaineDOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note. "This new support will improve disaster response and communication. Our team remains committed to increasing the resiliency of Maine infrastructure and improving how we work with communities to plan for and respond to storm events."

"The Town of Jay knows all too well the devastation that extreme weather can cause in Maine communities," said Shiloh LaFreniere, Jay Town Manager and member of the Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission."The Governor's bill recognizes that preparing for and withstanding increasingly damaging storms -- from flood risk management to disaster response and homeowner assistance -- requires collaboration at all levels and new ideas to better protect our people and infrastructure."

The Governor's legislation is modeled on recommendations from the Interim Report of the Maine Infrastructure (PDF) Rebuilding and Resilience Commission, released in November 2024. The initial, foundational recommendations reflect direct input from municipal leaders, county emergency management directors, engineers, and the public at listening sessions in Machias, Old Orchard Beach, Rumford and Mexico, Jay, Caribou, and Rockland about the challenges of responding to and preparing for extreme weather events. The Commission will build on the recommendations to deliver the state's first long-term infrastructure resilience plan in May.

Last year, following several severe storms, Governor Mills proposed, and the Legislature approved, $60 million to help Maine communities and businesses recover from severe storms. The investment represents the single largest investment in storm recovery by any Administration in Maine history. The Governor also dedicated another $5 million to the Community Resilience Partnership to help communities plan for storm-related events.

In total, the Mills Administration has awarded $21.2 million in resilience grants to help rebuild 68 working waterfronts, $25.2 million in grants for 39 communities to help them recover and build more resilient infrastructure, and $8 million to help businesses make storm-related repairs and strengthen infrastructure. Businesses may apply for approximately $2 million in remaining grant funding through January 14, 2024.

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