AUGUSTA — Former Senate President Troy Jackson is proposing to provide free childcare to working Maine families, a proposal that represents the largest investment in childcare in state history.
Jackson, a Democrat running for governor, made the announcement Thursday at the State House during the AFL-CIO lobby day.
“You’ve got parents in this state paying more for childcare than they pay in rent,” Jackson said. “And the people that are taking care of our kids can’t even afford to take care of their families on what they’re getting paid.”
The proposal would provide free childcare to families earning up to 125% of the state median income, which is about $145,000 for a family of four, according to the Jackson campaign.
The initiative would cost about $350 million in new state spending. Jackson said Thursday that 18,000 people in Maine are not currently in the labor force because of a lack of childcare, which costs the state more than $400 million in lost earnings and revenue.
Jackson’s proposal and a bill currently pending before the Legislature aim to address one of the most challenging costs for families in Maine. Estimates show fulltime care for one child can cost $15,000 a year and more than 1,000 children are currently on a wait list for the Child Care Affordability Program.
Sen. Mattie Daughtry (D-Brunswick) is sponsoring a bill to add $15 million to the program to eliminate the wait list.
For parents, the challenge of finding affordable care is a constant struggle.
Meg Sinclair, a nurse with two sons, said some of her colleagues have cut back on the hours they work because they can’t find adequate care.
“No one who desires to have or grow a family should be limited from doing so because the inaccessibility and unaffordability of childcare,” she said. “But the reality is that working class families are doing exactly that.”
The unions are also supporting the “millionaires’ tax” which proposes to add a 2% tax on income over $1 million to help fund K-12 education.
Another bill garnering AFL-CIO support is a measure to require prior notification of labor and delivery department closures.
“Maine has lost 33% of rural hospital labor and delivery units since 2020, and people in rural towns drive an average of 45 minutes to the nearest birthing hospital,” according to the union.
Jackson is one of the Democrats seeking his party’s nomination in June. On Wednesday, former FBI agent Jason Cherry dropped out of the race, saying he will run for the state Legislature instead. Kenneth Pinet of South Portland has also ended his campaign, according to the Ethics Commission.
That leaves a total of five on the Democratic side: Jackson, former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Nirav Shah, former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree, businessman Angus King III and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.
The Republicans too have a full field with former Naval Intelligence Officer Bobby Charles, former Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, former PlanetFitness CEO Ben Midgley, developer David Jones, healthcare tech executive Jonathan Bush, state Sen. Jim Libby and Robert Wessels of South Paris all in the running.
The primary is June 9.