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Gov. Mills to address lawmakers on record $8 billion budget proposal

Mills will have to get republicans on board who say the $700 million increase is too much.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Governor Janet Mills is set to make the case for her $8.04 billion budget proposal to lawmakers in the State of the Budget address Monday night.

The two-year plan is the first to surpass the $8 billion mark coming in at $700 million more than the current budget.

Mills submitted her proposal to the State Legislature last week with most of the increase to funding health care and education. 

RELATED: Gov. Janet Mills proposes two-year state budget

The proposal includes fully funding the voter-approved Medicaid expansion that her predecessor, Gov. Paul LePage, had refused to implement.

Mills proposed budget includes a Medicaid Reserve Account with contingency funding and would invest an additional $126 million in K-12 education in Maine.

TODAY: Gov. Mills is set to take the case of her $8.4 billion budget to state lawmakers in tonight's State of the Budget address. What do you think about the proposal? https://bit.ly/2I23l0S

Mills says the additional $126 million for education will help build to universal pre-K in Maine and a $40,000 minimum teacher salary – all without increasing taxes and while protecting the rainy day fund, according to Mills’ office.

The budget also includes $5.5 million to fight the growing opioid epidemic in Maine, increases in revenue sharing and property tax relief, funding for a Washington County Pre-Release Center, and adding 15 new state troopers and sergeants.

RELATED: Mills prepares to release budget, while GOP warns about new spending

“This budget honors the demands of Maine people who have voted again and again for more health care, not less; for investments in education and our classrooms, not cuts; for better roads, lower property taxes, treatment for their loved ones suffering from substance use disorder, and for a state that believes everybody should have a fair shot at a better life," Mills said in a press release.

Mills will address members of the House and Senate at 7 p.m.

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