Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) has the third-worst fiscal policy of any governor in the country, according to a report from the Cato Institute, even worse than that of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
The Cato Institute ranks governors from a “limited-government perspective,” considering their spending habits and tax policy, with the bottom spending the most and raising taxes the most.
Gov. Mills received an F from the institute, with 31 points on their grading system, considering seven variables on tax policy, revenue, and spending.
In contrast, Gov. Newsom received a D rank with 42 points.
Mills ranked just two points above New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).
The only other governor below Mills was Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, considered the least fiscally responsible governor in the nation according to the Cato Institute, earning only 19 points.
Under Mills, in 2022, Maine’s debt hit 6.6 percent, the seventh-highest debt rate among all states in the nation.
Since taking office in 2019, Mills has pushed for massive spending increases, proposing a 10.3 percent increase in spending per capita, and ultimately overseeing an even larger 11 percent increase per capita.
The Mills administration saw a $1 billion increase in the general fund budget from 2022 to 2024.
Under Maine’s former governor, Paul LePage (R), the state scored an A every time Cato ranked state spending. Mills quickly brought the score down to an F.
The institute specifically pointed to Maine’s recent paid family leave law, set to take effect on January 1, 2025, and bring a blanket one percent increase to taxes on wages.
That policy, supported by Mills, is set to begin taxing Maine’s workers and employers to fund the new paid family leave policies 16 months before any of the benefits go into effect.
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The top of the Cato Institute’s ranking was dominated by Republicans, with all A ranks held by Republican governors, and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) coming out on top.
Democrat governors made up the entirety of the F category.
The Cato Institute report came shortly after Maine’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) published a report projecting that the state will face a $949.2 million budget shortfall for 2026-2027.
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