FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2015
CONTACT: Matthew Gagnon
mgagnon@mainepolicy.org
207.321.2550

PORTLAND – Today, The Maine Heritage Policy Center has released its long awaited report on the proposed biennial budget submitted by Governor Paul LePage.

Titled Cracking the Code: Analysis of the Governor’s 2016-2017 Biennial Budget, the53 page document seek to more deeply analyze the governor’s proposal than has previously been attempted.  As such, it spends significant time unpacking the actual contents of the budget, including levels of spending, adjustments to rates, changes in deductions and tax credits, as well as more structural changes, such as theelimination of revenue sharing.  Additionally, it evaluates what those changes mean for Maine people and businesses, and charts a set of recommended courses of action for lawmakers in Augusta to pursue as they debate the merits of the budget.

“We made a decision early on that we were more interested in substantive analysis than being the first or loudest voice discussing the budget,” said Maine Heritage Policy Center CEO Matthew Gagnon.  “Our budget report has something for everyone, including a detailed breakdown of the proposal, granular examinations ofthe real world impact of the governor’s budget on Maine people, and some recommendations for where we think the budget should go from here.”

“A proposal with the scope of the LePage Budget is not easily understood, and it our hope that Cracking the Code will help facilitate understanding, and ultimately push for the best possible budget.

The report can be read and downloaded at http://mainepolicy.org/budget/ or be read below: