AARP Maine Announces Legislative Agenda for 2024

AARP MAINE: OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR 2024

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. Here in Maine, with the 2024 legislative session on the horizon, you'll find AARP staff and volunteers hard at work on behalf of Mainers 50+ and their families. Our legislative agenda includes a focus on family caregiver supports and services, fair utility rates across the state, affordable housing, voter access, lower prescription drug costs and more.


IT'S TIME TO SUPPORT FAMILY CAREGIVERS

Overview: Every day, family caregivers assist their older parents, spouses, siblings, grandparents, and other loved ones so they can live independently in their homes—where they want to be. But caregivers don’t get nearly the recognition or support they deserve from lawmakers. Family caregivers need commonsense solutions that will save them time and money and provide them with more support. Family caregivers are single-handedly holding up America’s long-term care system. AARP Maine is fighting for solutions that will save caregivers time, money—and provide more support.

Fast Facts:

· Maine has nearly 166,000 family caregivers

· These caregivers provide nearly 155 million hours of unpaid family care

· If valued at $18.81 per hour this care is estimated to be $2.9 billion in economic value in Maine.

Commonsense Solutions

· Providing family caregivers who work with financial relief to help cover their costs for caring for a family member such as through caregiver tax credits.

· Expanding access to family caregiver support and respite services to allow family caregivers to take a break, so they won't burn out and can keep caring for their loved ones.

· Expanding services to help seniors live in their homes instead of a nursing home.

· Helping family caregivers navigate the health care system


Tuesdays at the State House (TASH) 2024: This year we want to regularly remind our lawmakers all that caregivers do. We are seizing the opportunity to build a movement that will get family caregivers the support they need in Maine. By regularly highlighting the stories of family caregivers and speaking with our lawmakers we are building a group of dedicated advocates and elected officials who will speak up for these solutions.

 
JOIN THE FIGHT FOR FAIR AND TRANSPARENT ELECTRIC RATES
 
Overview: Utilities, and electric rates in particular, are an important issue for many Mainers because rising prices have directly impacted their monthly budgets. The cost of the Standard Offer electric rates skyrocketed in 2023, due in part to international market volatility. Customers shouldn’t have to choose between paying for groceries and keeping the lights and heat on. Maine also allows customers to choose which company delivers their electricity but some of the companies doing so operate with questionable practices. Mainers need more consumer protections and AARP Maine is fighting to make sure everyone has access to fair and transparent electric rates.

Fast Facts:

· Maine is in the top 10 for highest electricity rates in the U.S.

· Maine deregulated its electricity market in 2000

· Standard Offer electric rates are set by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC)

· CMP and Versant Power are legally NOT allowed to generate electricity, only deliver it to customers


Commonsense Solutions

· Reform the process by which the PUC sets the Standard Offer rates

· Provide greater consumer protections from Competitive Energy Providers (CEP)

· Offer customer incentives to lower usage or use power at off-peak times of day

· Ensure the shift to renewable energies does not unfairly burden older Mainers


TASH 2024:

For the coming year, we want to build stronger relationships with our lawmakers and partner organizations who will join AARP Maine as champions of our commonsense solutions. With the high-profile vote on the Pine Tree Power issue, we want to capitalize on the momentum coming after the election to keep people’s attention fixed on the challenges presented by overly high electric rates. We want to collect stories of Mainers negatively impacted by high rates and share them with legislators and the public to demonstrate how important this issue is while also offering solutions to the challenges at the legislature.

 
ADDITIONAL ISSUES IN 2024:

I HOUSING:

Overview: People of all ages and ability levels need safe, decent, and affordable housing that will enable them to continue living safely in their homes and communities as they get older. Housing policies should be aligned with the following principles: securing affordability, ensuring equity, prioritize accessibility, promote housing stability, ensure health and safety, foster service delivery in housing.

a.      Fast Facts:

· In Maine in 2024, AARP predicts that nearly 2,155 evictions will occur.

· Maine is short nearly 22,498 rentals homes for extremely low income renters.

b.       Commonsense Solutions:

· AARP supports state/local legislative efforts that addresses permits for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and multifamily zoning.

· AARP supports state/local legislative efforts that codifies universal design in housing and support legislation that develops visit ability standards.

· AARP supports state/local legislative remedies that addresses housing discrimination in source of income, redlining in real estate transactions, during selling and buying of real estate (including predatory homebuying) and other forms of housing discrimination that is pervasive in the country


II.      PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Overview: High prescription drug prices are deeply personal for seniors and their families and impact their day-to-day life. People shouldn’t have to choose between buying the medicine they need and paying for food or rent. Medication doesn’t work if you can’t afford it.

a.      Fast Facts:

· One in five older adults report having to forego filling their prescription or skipping doses to save money on their medications.

· In 2018, the price of brand-name prescription drugs widely used by older Americans went up at more than twice the rate of inflation.

b.       Commonsense Solutions:

· AARP is supportive of policy called Reference Pricing which would utilize the Medicare negotiated price to mark the price of prescriptions purchased in Maine.

III.       HIGH-SPEED INTERNET

Overview: High-speed internet isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. For too many Mainers, the high-speed internet they need to access opportunity and succeed is out of reach and this holds them back. Maine is taking action now to make sure everyone is connected. AARP is fighting for Americans and Mainers to have affordable, reliable high-speed internet access in the communities where they live and to have the skills, technology and capacity needed to succeed in today’s digital economy.

b.      Fast Facts:

· The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will provide Maine with a $272 million grant that will bring critical resources to fund broadband infrastructure and digital equity for the entire state.

· The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) expects BEAD implementation to take roughly 6 years from start to finish.

c.       Commonsense Solutions:

· AARP Maine is working closely with the Maine Connectivity Authority and the Maine Broadband Coalition to ensure that older Mainers are considered in the development of plans for infrastructure improvements as well as digital equity programs.

 
IV.        VOTING ACCESS

Overview: The right to vote is a fundamental human right. Free and fair elections are essential to democracy. Everyone should have access to easy voter registration, including through automatic voter registration systems.

a.      Fast Facts:

· 61.8% of voting age Maine citizens turned out to vote in the November 2022 General Election (one of the top ten highest rates in the US).

· In 2023, multiple bills were considered (and defeated) to limit citizen access to voting including voter ID requirements and ballot drop box measures.

b.       Commonsense Solutions:

· AARP Maine will continue to advocate for easy access to voter registration and voting locations while ensuring that older voters and voters with disabilities are not unfairly excluded from voting.

 
We are here for you! If you have any questions about AARP Maine’s advocacy work, please contact us at me@aarp.org.

Interested in learning more about our advocacy initiatives and how you can make a difference by volunteering with us? We would love to hear from you! Visit https://states.aarp.org/maine/volunteer to learn more and download our brochure.

Please send an email to me@aarp.org and a member of our team will get right back to you.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @aarpmaine.