What is the Stimulus Check Maine Just Passed? Over 800,000 Maine residents could receive an additional stimulus check worth $850 as early as June this year.
On April 20, Governor Janet Mills – a Democrat – signed into law the new $1.2 billion supplemental budget that includes provisions for direct payments to residents. The aim is to help working families in Maine with the rising costs of food, fuel, and consumer goods.
The bill was supported by Democrats and Republicans in the state and contains a $20 million provision that will pay for two years of community college for some students graduating between 2020 and 2023.
Maine Stimulus Check: Who Is Eligible?
Last year, Maine’s relief program was targeted specifically at those who worked during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, however, the relief program is designed to help low and middle-income earners in Maine who live in the state full time.
Full-time residents of Main who filed a 2021 individual income tax return, and who meet the income requirements, will be eligible for an $850 check.
Residents earning less than $100,000 and filing their taxes individually, whether single or married, will be eligible for the check. Anyone filing as the head of a household earning less than $150,000 will also be eligible, as well couples filing jointly with income below $200,000.
Stimulus Check May Arrive by June
The checks could arrive very soon, with the governor’s office saying that many can expect to see the checks arrive by June of this year.
Any subsequent rounds of stimulus checks still owed to Mainers will be sent out on a rolling basis through the rest of the year as tax returns are continued to be received.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
