Legislative Decisions That Impact Minimum Wage

Thanks to a new state law, Maine’s minimum wage will increase from $14.65 to $15.10 per hour, effective January 1, 2026. The minimum wage increase will raise wages for more than 100,000 workers in Maine, which is about 15 percent of the state’s workforce, according to an analysis by the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP).

Maine voters passed a law in 2016 that requires the state to make annual adjustments to the minimum wage, based on the cost-of-living index (the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W) for the Northeast Region. Between August 2024 and August 2025, the CPI-W increased by 3.1 percent.

Because of a law sponsored by Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland) in the last legislative session, and passed by the Maine House and Senate, farmworkers also will benefit from the increase. Previously, Maine farmworkers were not protected by state minimum wage laws and often were paid no more than the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 per hour since 2009.

The new minimum wage calculation is based on recent data by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

MECEP estimates that about 42,000 Maine workers currently earn less than $15.10 per hour, and will see their paychecks increase. Another 43,000 workers will likely see a wage increase because their earnings are no more than 15 percent more than the minimum wage. Roughly 17,000 additional tipped workers will see a small increase to their base wage, which is required to be at least half of the state minimum wage.

Municipal minimum wages in Portland and Rockland will increase from $15.50 to $16 per hour. The annual salary threshold for exempting workers from eligibility for overtime pay will rise from $43,950 to $45,300.

Child Tax Credit, hospital free care to increase

Low-income advocates spent much of their time in the last legislative session lobbying to protect social safety net programs that were slated for cuts in Gov. Janet Mills’s proposed budget.

However, while working to protect these programs, they also managed to help pass some modest reforms that will benefit low-income Mainers.

Two new laws will increase free care for uninsured patients who must be admitted to the hospital, and will raise the state Child Tax Credit.

Free care, also known as charity care, allows low-income and uninsured patients to access medical care that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. LD 1937, “An Act to Require Hospitals and Hospital-affiliated Providers to Provide Financial Assistance Programs for Medical Care,” sponsored by Talbot Ross, increases the income eligibility threshold to receive free care.

Currently, that threshold is $31,300 for an individual, $42,300 for a two-person household, $53,300 for a three-person household, and $64,300 for a four-person household – or 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). In addition to increasing the income eligibility threshold, the new law caps monthly payment plans for those earning below 400% FPL – or $62,600 for an individual and $128,600 for a family of four.

At a hearing in Augusta in May, Hibo Omer, Executive Director of New Mainers Public Health Initiative, a nonprofit serving immigrant and refugee communities, testified that many clients struggle with medical debt due to difficulty in accessing free care.

“Individuals with medical debt frequently struggle to satisfy basic needs, such as affording heat, groceries, gas, and childcare, resulting in negative consequences on overall health,” said Omer.

A separate new law – LD 558, “An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protections by Prohibiting the Report of Medical Debt on Consumer Reports,” sponsored by Sen. Donna Bailey (D-York, Dist. 31), prohibits medical debt from being included on a consumer’s consumer report.

The advocacy group Maine Equal Justice (MEJ) noted in its recent newsletter that “medical debt not only presents a barrier to accessing health care – medical debt on your credit report can also hurt your chances for employment, housing, and future economic mobility.” MEJ referred to passage of LD 558 as a “victory for consumers.”

In a bill passed last legislative session, Mills and the legislature also approved a boost in Maine’s refundable Child Tax Credit. The new law provides an additional $315 credit for children under age 6, in addition to the current $315 credit. The new credit is limited to families making less than $165,500 a year.

Eviction prevention program lapses

Maine Equal Justice also noted in its newsletter that while it lobbied to maintain funding for the state’s Eviction Prevention Program, that effort was not successful. The funding will expire for the program that protected tenants facing eviction due to their inability to pay rent.

“We’re heartbroken that because of this loss in funding, more than 1,000 Maine households who face eviction because of rapidly rising rents may lose their homes, their economic stability, or both,” MEJ stated. “In the meantime, the successful pilot program has stopped accepting applications for rent relief, and a national housing group will look at the pilot’s results, which we believe will help make a strong case for renewing.”

In the next legislative session, which begins in January, the group plans to work toward passage of LD 1522, “An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program,” sponsored by Rep. Ambureen Rana (D-Bangor, Dist. 21). Passage would extend funding for the program for another two years.

Law enforcement and immigration

Civil liberties groups plan to make another push to persuade the governor to sign LD 1971, “An Act to Protect Workers in This State by Clarifying the Relationship of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies with Federal Immigration Authorities,” a bill that would prohibit law enforcement from stopping, investigating, interrogating, arresting, or detaining someone solely for the purpose of immigration control.

Other bills on the agenda for the next session include proposals to certify foreign-trained physicians to practice medicine in Maine (LD 105), expand intensive English language learner programs at the University of Maine (LD 471), and grant federally recognized tribes more sovereignty over their affairs (LD 785).