The Mills Administration announced today that, effective immediately, travelers from Massachusetts are exempt from the requirement to get a negative COVID-19 test or quarantine for 14 days. The decision comes after the latest review of public health information by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which determined that Massachusetts now resembles exempt states like Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey in its COVID-19 prevalence and positivity rate. 

The administration of Gov. Janet Mills dedicated an additional $164 million in CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) to support school systems as they continue to implement health and safety protocols to protect students, staff, and their families amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These new funds build on an initial state investment of $165 million earlier this year. Details of the funding plan were worked out with school districts, superintendents and the state Department of Education.

Gov. Janet Mills announced today that her Administration will launch a second phase of the Maine Economic Recovery Grant Program beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 23.  Phase 2 will make available $95 million in remaining funds from Phase 1 and expand access to the program by increasing the number of eligible businesses and non-profits. The program is intended to help sustain the viability of Maine’s small businesses and nonprofits – not to replace lost profits – by providing short-term financial relief for businesses and non-profit organizations that incurred business disruptions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A group called the New Partnership on Infrastructure has published a guide aimed at better coordinating federal infrastructure needs – major highways, bridges, ports and airports – with local needs. The effort is backed by many municipal leaders from around the U.S. The 41-page “playbook” emphasizes the importance of local job creation and innovation in prioritizing and awarding federal infrastructure projects.

Maine Municipal Association’s Risk Management Services Department and Travelers Insurance will co-present a workshop on Oct. 28, highlighting what you need to know about the inspections of boiler and pressure vessels. The training will begin at 10 a.m. and is expected to last for one hour. It is recommended for people who are responsible for jurisdictional licensing and maintenance of this equipment.

Two programs – one administered by Efficiency Maine, the other by Central Maine Power – are open for grant applications for funding that will help install Level 2 EV charger plugs for electric-power vehicles. These are pilot programs approved by the Maine Legislature to inform future consideration regarding the “electrification of transportation.” The application review processes starts on Oct. 1, so September is the month to apply.

The Maine Department of Transportation released an updated and reduced  FY 2021 Local Road Assistance Program (LRAP) funding distribution projection, which is anticipated to be 6.64% lower than 2020 distributions. Projected amounts by community are available by clicking the link in the attachment below.  Annual Certification, forms previously due by Aug. 1 are now due by Nov. 1, and will be distributed shortly. If you have any questions please contact Pete Coughlan, Director of the Local Roads Center, at 624-3266 or via email at: peter.coughlan@maine.gov.

The Maine Municipal Association, our members and guest speakers responded to the COVID-19 public health emergency with a series of webinars designed to help municipal leaders and staff deal with the fallout from the coronavirus. Five training videos are now available on our website, including: Budgeting During Uncertain Times; Navigating Stress and Change; De-escalation Techniques; the state’s Keep ME Healthy program; and, a Q&A video explaining how the state is weighing economic development priorities at this time. Some videos require member passwords for access.

The Maine Department of Health & Human Services has issued new General Assistance (GA) “maximums” effective for the time period 10/1/20 – 9/30/21, which municipalities must use in the administration of local general assistance programs. All municipalities must annually adopt the most recent maximum assistance numbers issued by DHHS before October 1st. To update local maximum assistance limits, the municipal officers may, after notice and hearing, amend the municipality’s GA ordinance to replace existing appendices with updated versions. State law also requires that municipalities notify DHHS whenever local GA ordinances are updated.

MMA Legal Services has also updated MMA's Model General Assistance Ordinance to incorporate updated appendices. The ordinance and new DHHS maximums are available at the link below (login required).

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is administering $5 million in a single round of grant funding to assist municipalities with stream crossing upgrades and replacements. These monies fund competitive grants that match local funding for the upgrade of municipal culverts at stream crossings, which to date has resulted in financial assistance to over 100 projects statewide. The projects replace culverts that are failing and at risk of complete washouts, improve fish spawning habitat, eliminate undersized and other impassable culverts and reduce erosion impacts to streams, brooks and lakes. The grant RFP application is available starting Sept. 1, with proposals due by Nov. 16.