Gov. Janet Mills plans to deliver a two-part State of the State address on Tuesday in response to the October mass shootings in Lewiston and three recent storms that caused severe damage across the state.
“This past year — especially these past few months — have been anything but normal for Maine,” Mills said in a statement released Friday. “It has been a period of extraordinary challenge for our state.”
On Oct. 25, a gunman killed 18 people in Lewiston at a bowling alley and at a bar. Mills has said the state must take action in response to the shootings but has yet to announce any policy proposals.
Then on Dec. 18, a powerful rain and windstorm caused significant damage to inland Maine, knocking out power to more than 400,000, washing out roads, flooding riverside communities and contributing to the deaths of four Mainers.
That storm was followed by two destructive coastal storms on Jan. 10 and Jan. 13, buckling roads, washing away piers vital to the state’s fishing industry and damaging historic lighthouses and fishing shacks.
Mills plans to release a written message Tuesday morning that will focus on the state budget and proposed policy initiatives, including her ideas for addressing the lack of affordable housing, the need to improve child safety and the state’s opioid epidemic, according to her office.
Then at 7 p.m., she will address a joint session the Legislature about “the tragedy in Lewiston and the impacts of recent severe storms and on strengthening Maine’s resilience to future extreme weather events.”
The address will be broadcast on Maine Public and through the Maine House chamber’s livestream.