The Maine Commission on Public Defense Services says they need more money than what the governor has offered to address a "constitutional crisis" in Maine courts. Mills says they need to change their rules first.

AUGUSTA (WGME) -- Governor Janet Mills delivered her State of the Budget address Tuesday, outlining her vision for Maine's fiscal future while addressing financial challenges. She used the speech as a pitch to lawmakers to pass her proposed budget into law.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills defended her proposed budget cuts and criticized a proposed 'red flag' law referendum Tuesday night in her annual speech to state lawmakers. Mills used her State of the State address to highlight some of her accomplishments over the past year and discuss key provisions of her budget,

The governor also came out against a citizen referendum for a red flag law and challenged a commission that oversees legal representation to indigent clients to change its practices rather than request more money.

The governor is expected to focus on her proposed spending priorities during the final two years of her administration as lawmakers begin work on the state's next biennial budget.

During the State of the Budget address in Augusta on Tuesday night, Gov. Janet Mills took the opportunity to defend Maine’s unique “yellow flag law” and swiped at a citizen-led effort to bolster the gun safety measure.

There's a new push to regulate Maine's medical marijuana industry. A bill at the State House would require medical cannabis to be tested, similar to the current standards for recreational marijuana. Gov.

Tuesday was a big day for Mainers as Gov. Janet Mills spoke about the budget she's proposing for the next two years.

Governor Janet Mills delivered her State of the Budget Address before the legislature Tuesday, where she discussed the key components of her proposed budget for the next biennium.

Governor Janet Mills is proposing a $1 increase to the cigarette tax in her budget for the next biennium. “A $1 increase for a total of $3, puts us in the middle of our New England neighbors, which is still relatively low,” Mills told lawmakers Tuesday night during her State of the Budget address.

Gov. Janet Mills made history in 2022 when she signed a bill authorizing the state to hire its first set of public defenders. Mills said in a speech Tuesday that she has helped quadruple the state's public defense budget from $11 million to $44 million (now $51 million per year in the proposed biennial budget) and approved dozens of public defense positions across a state that