In the month since the legislative session ended, I have had a little more time to enjoy summer activities with grandchildren, a lot more time to meet with people around the district, and some time to reflect on our accomplishments since the session started in January. While there were definitely some disappointments, there is a lot we accomplished, and we made progress addressing the legislative priorities we identified in January: addressing the skills gap, strengthening our education system, and reducing healthcare and energy costs.

We all understand the critical role of education in strengthening our economy and preparing our children, and I’m very proud of the work we did to support our public education system. We restored the cuts to education funding, provided an additional $32 million for education, and brought the state closer to meeting its commitment to fully fund 55 percent of education.  

Creating jobs and strengthening our economy is a high priority for all of us, which is why legislative leaders created a special workforce committee solely to address these issues. The Workforce Committee unanimously recommended a comprehensive workforce bill to address the skills gap by providing Mainers with the skills and training they need for the good-paying jobs of the new economy.  And the legislature passed it with overwhelming support.

Another new law will advance education and job training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These are the jobs of the future, and coupled with the Workforce Committee's bill, will ensure more Maine people have the skills and knowledge necessary for good paying jobs in developing industries.

We also passed a bipartisan, comprehensive energy bill to reduce energy costs and expand Maine’s use of renewable energy. The new law fully funds Efficiency Maine, helping more Maine families and businesses improve their energy efficiency, and adopts improvements to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to decrease Maine’s contributions to global climate change.

While we had many successes, there were also disappointments, most notably the vetoes of bills to accept federal dollars to expand access to affordable healthcare for almost 70,000 Mainers.  We could have ensured more Mainers receive appropriate health care, created more than 3,000 jobs throughout the state, including 124 right here in Lincoln County, and saved Maine approximately $690 million over the next ten years.  

In America it is not acceptable that people don't have and can't afford health care.  Every family should have a family doctor, and here in Maine we still have an opportunity to accept the federal government’s deal and provide 70,000 people with needed access to healthcare. Accepting this deal will be one of our top legislative priorities next year.

These are just some of our major accomplishments this session. Other bills I know matter to many of us, including increasing access to healthy food and protecting our marine industries, will be the subject of future columns.

I always appreciate your ideas for how to make Maine better. You can reach me at chris@dirigo.net, by calling 207-287-1515, or by stopping by my monthly office hours in Damariscotta, Waldoboro, or Wiscasset.

Sen. Christopher Johnson lives in Somerville, and represents Maine Senate District 20.