ECONOMIC RESPONSE
Essential Service Designations:
- Governor Mills signed an executive order requiring all non-essential businesses to close physical locations until April 8. Under the executive order, essential businesses include those identified by the US Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response. (March 24)
- The order also added several other activities that Maine considers “essential,” including fishing and aquaculture, essential home repair, grocery, and household goods, and childcare providers. (March 24)
Labor & Workforce Guidance, Standards and Regulations:
- Maine released official reopening guidance for businesses based on sector. Details for each sector can be found here.
Economic Stimulus & Relief:
- The Mills administration approved an additional $4 million in COVID-19 prevention and protection awards. (August 11)
- Maine farmers were awarded aid totaling $16 billion under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program created through the CARES Act. (August 11)
- The Mills Administration announced that $1 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund will be allocated towards expanding services to reduce racial and ethnic disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic. (July 30)
- Governor Mills announced rent assistance will double from $500 to $1,000 through the COVID-19 Rental Relief Program. (July 30)
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation has granted an extra 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to those who have finished their normal weekly payments. (July 1)
- Governor Mills announced an extension to the state’s COVID-19 Rent Relief Program, which would assist renters for the months of April, May, and June. (June 4)
- Governor Mills signed an executive order forming an Economic Recovery Committee responsible for making “recommendations to mitigate the damage to Maine’s economy” as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (May 6)
- The Maine Department of Labor announced the formation of the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, which provides unemployment eligibility to workers not typically covered by unemployment insurance, including self-employed individuals. (April 30)
- Governor Mills signed an executive order adjusting certain time frames and deadline requirements of Maine’s Loan Guarantee Program, which is intended to assist Maine residents “who have experienced a reduction in income” due to COVID-19. (April 21)
Business Support & Resources:
- The City of Portland and the Greater Portland Council of Governments announced the launch of three new emergency business loan grant programs for companies impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. (May 5)
- Governor Mills encouraged small businesses to apply for assistance through the Federal Paycheck Protection Program, which can provide loans for payroll, rent, and other operational expenses. (April 6)
- Governor Mills announced the creation of a new online resource, that offers residents and businesses ways they can address “immediate needs”: financial support, health care and medical assistance, small business aid, and “connections with family, friends, and neighbors.” (March 27)
