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Do you support the latest Maine legislative proposal for heating aid?

A stalled emergency relief plan to help Mainers pay for rising heating and energy costs might be moving forward after a bipartisan proposal was put forward. A pair of state senators – Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, and Sen. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth – are proposing a relief plan that dramatically scales back what was unsuccessfully spearheaded by Gov. Janet Mills.

Mills’ proposal included a round of $450 checks to individuals earning up to $100,000 and $900 checks to married couples filing jointly earning less than $200,000. The proposal also included $50 million for home heating assistance and $21 million for emergency housing assistance to prevent evictions. But Senate Republicans blocked the proposal.

Now, Bennett and Grohoski are proposing a plan (funded by surplus revenue) that limits direct checks to households earning less than $60,000 for married couples, which is roughly 300% of the federal poverty level. Their proposal would provide checks of $800 per person for married couples in households below the federal poverty level of roughly $20,000; $400 checks per person for married couples in households at 200% of federal poverty level, or roughly $40,000; and $275 checks per person for married couples in households up to 300% of federal poverty level, or roughly $60,000.

The average price statewide for heating oil, which had crested at $5.92 per gallon in May and had been $5.71 a gallon as recently as Nov. 14, has subsided somewhat and was at $4.74 a gallon as of Dec. 5, according to the Governor’s Energy Office.

The Bennett and Grohoski would to be considered during a public hearing, along with the governor’s compromise and any other ideas legislators may have.

But what do you think? Do you support the latest Maine legislative proposal for heating aid? Tell us what you think in the comments below.