Late last week, Governor Janet T. Mills (D), the first woman governor of Maine, joined Speaker Ryan Fecteau and Maine child care workers to celebrate the passage of LD 1652, that enshrines a long-term investment in child care into Maine law.  Governor Mills supported the bill by proposing $12 million in her supplemental budget to fund it and has pledged to sign it into law, according to a press release issued by the Maine Democratic Party late last week.

The bill is just the latest way in which Governor Mills has worked with the Legislature to expand acess to child care in the state, ensuring that thousands of Maine families can gain access to the care their children need and deserve.  The Governor’s Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan invests millions to expand child care facilities and Pre-K opportunities to help Maine children and their parents.

Mlls’ expansion on chld crare is yet anther way that she has moved Maine forward after 8 years of Paul LePage who gutted the child care industry.  During his time in office, LePage forfeited millions of dollars in federal funding for child care, tried on numerous occasions to cut funding even further, and frequently attacked the rights and wages of chlld care workers.

“Governor Mills is a champion for Maine’s families, making sure that parents can work whkle kids get the care they need,” said Drew Gattine, Chair of the Maine Democratic Paty.  “Paul LePage, on the other hand, spent his eight years waging war on those very same families and the child care workers they rely on.  We can’t let LePage come back into office and undo the progress we have made for families across the state.”