Governor Mills Signs Historic Supplemental Budget Making Her Free Community College Program Permanent

Governor signs budget at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor surrounded by students benefiting from her nationally acclaimed program

Bangor, MAINE - Governor Janet Mills today signed the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 supplemental budget at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, making permanent her landmark Free Community College program.

In 2022, Governor Mills proposed - and the Legislature approved - making two years of community college free for recent high school graduates. Since its launch, more than 23,000 Maine high school graduates have enrolled tuition-free at Maine's community colleges, allowing them to pursue training in good-paying, in-demand careers in Maine debt-free.

The biennial budget signed by the Governor today - in an automotive technology center - adds the program to the State's baseline budget, making the program permanent for future high school graduates.

"This biennial budget should send a clear message to every young person in Maine: if you are willing to work hard and build your future here, Maine is ready to invest in your success," said Governor Mills. "I thank the Legislature for their partnership on the supplemental budget, which prioritizes affordability and economic relief to Maine people, and ensures that student debt will never be a barrier to a good-paying job here in Maine."

"This is a once-in-a generation transformation of Maine's higher education landscape," said David Daigler, President of the Maine Community College System. "Future high school graduates now have the means and opportunity to pursue a path they may have felt was financially out of reach. Knowing it's available on an ongoing basis means a generation of young people can move with confidence and intention toward a brighter future for themselves and for Maine."

"Free College represents a commitment to creating opportunities for students and families at Eastern Maine Community College and across Maine," said Julius Edwards, President of Eastern Maine Community College. "It reflects a shared understanding that talent exists everywhere, and that it is our responsibility to close that gap. By expanding access to education, we are not only supporting individual students. We are strengthening Maine's economy through education. We are building a workforce that is skilled, adaptable, and ready to meet the challenges ahead."

"The future of our workforce depends on exactly the type of training offered at Maine's community colleges," said House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford). "It's not just an opportunity for students to learn - it's an opportunity for our economy to thrive."

"Free community college reduces barriers and helps more Maine people build their future right here at home," said Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Brunswick). "It's one of the most direct ways we can strengthen our workforce and make sure young people can stay, work, and put down roots in Maine."

"Governor Mills' commitment of making two years of community college permanently free for Maine students is a vital investment in our workforce and our economy. It's a clear sign that Maine will be able to provide the workers of the future," saidMike Duguay, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. "Whether gaining hands-on skills in the trades or taking the first step toward a four-year degree, this opportunity helps more Maine people access the training and education they need to succeed and helps Maine employers find the talent they need to grow."

The supplemental budget enacted by the Legislature this week also includes the Governor's proposals to provide direct financial relief to more than 500,000 Maine people, deliver enhanced property tax relief for Maine households, and build on her administration's record investments in housing.

The budget also preserves funding for the State's 55 percent share of education costs, maintains access to health care, conforms with new Federal tax laws, and makes important investments in education, public safety, and economic development.These initiatives build on nearly $1.1 billion in direct tax relief for Maine people and businesses that are included in the 2026-2027 State budget, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit, the Student Loan Tax Credit, and the Property Tax Fairness Credit. A full list of tax relief programs is available here (PDF).

Details of the supplemental budget include:

• Direct Financial Relief for Maine People: The supplemental budget will deliver $300 relief checks to approximately 514,000 Maine people to deal with high costs.
• Enhanced Property Tax Relief: The supplemental budget includes an expansion of the State's Property Tax Fairness Credit from $1,000 to $1,500 for eligible residents under age 65.
• Higher Minimum Teacher Pay: The supplemental budget includes a phased-in approach to raise minimum teacher salaries, starting with an increase to $45,000 in fall 2027, then to $47,500 in fall 2028, and to $50,000 in fall 2029. This effort builds on the Governor and Legislature's work to increase the minimum teacher salary to its current level of $40,000 in 2019.
• A Cell Phone Ban in Schools: The supplemental budget includes $350,000 for the Maine Department of Education to support schools with transitioning to implement the cell phone ban proposal announced by Governor Mills in her State of the State address.
• Improved School Bus Safety: The supplemental budget includes $5.9 million in one-time funding from the record-high Budget Stabilization Fund to install safety enhancements - anti-pinch door sensors and/or crossing arms - on Maine school buses following the tragic deaths of two Maine children last year.
• Funding for the Extreme Risk Protection Order Law: The supplemental budget includes $1.1 million from the General Fund to implement the red flag law approved by voters in November 2025.
• Funding to Track Sexual Assault Kits: The supplemental budget includes $267,000 annually for the Department of Public Safety to establish, operate, and maintain a tracking system for all completed forensic sexual assault examination kits, including an inventory of all kits and an annual report on the tracking system.
• Supporting Reproductive Health Care: The supplemental budget includes $7.25 million to support Maine-based reproductive health care providers to offset impact of Federal funding cuts by the Trump Administration.
• Supporting Victims Services: The supplemental budget includes making permanent $6 million over the biennium to address Federal funding shortfalls from the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). Examples of services supported by this funding are community-based domestic violence and sexual assault services, civil legal representation for victims, government-based victim witness advocates, and housing and supportive services for elder abuse victims. In addition to the ongoing funding, the budget includes $2 million in one-time support for services for victims of domestic violence and $1 million in one-time support for services for victims of sexual assault.
• Supporting Maine's Veterans' Homes: The supplemental budget includes $3.1 million from the General Fund for investments in the six Maine Veterans' Homes located across the state.
• Improving the Homestead Exemption for Veterans: The supplemental budget reorganizes the property tax exemption for veterans within the Homestead Exemption to simplify service period and age/disability requirements and provide new levels of additional exemptions.

Under the leadership of Governor Mills and the Legislature, the Budget Stabilization Fund increased to a near record high amount and statutory maximum of $1.03 billion, an increase of more than $820 million since taking office in 2019. Under the supplemental budget enacted by the Legislature, the Budget Stabilization Fund balance will stand at more than $738 million, a robust and healthy amount to help the State of Maine withstand any potential economic downturn.

About the Free Community College Program

The Governor's Free College program functions as the Maine Free College Scholarship, which covers tuition and mandatory fees for eligible recent high school graduates pursuing associate degrees or workforce credentials at Maine's seven community colleges.

Since its launch in fall 2022, the program has helped thousands of students reduce debt, gain skills, and enter critical fields such as healthcare, manufacturing, construction, and information technology.

Governor Mills' efforts to make Community College Free have been celebrated nationally. In 2023, First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Southern Maine Community College in South Portland to spotlight the program.

In a recent Bangor Daily News op/ed, former bipartisan Maine Governors John Baldacci and Jock McKernan - champions of Maine's Community College System - called the Governor's efforts to make the program permanent a "sound and profound decision."

In recent months, Governor Mills has promoted the success of the program during visits to Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle and York County Community College in Wells.

In addition to making community college free, in 2022, Governor Mills overhauled Maine's student loan repayment tax credit program to provide relief to Maine people with student debt.

Under the program, Maine residents can be reimbursed through their state tax return for up to $2,500 of the student loan payments made during the previous year. In its first three years, the nation-leading program has provided $140 million in student debt relief to Maine people.