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Senator Ned Claxton 3 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0003 (207)287-1515

130th Legislature Senate of Maine Senate District 20

Dear Neighbor, Thank you for putting your trust in me to represent you in the Maine Senate over the past four years. Though I am not returning to the State House in 2023, I want you to know that representing our community in Augusta has been a profound honor and responsibility, and an experience I will never forget. During my two terms in office, I focused my efforts on the issues I heard about most often from folks in our community. That includes the high cost of health care and prescription medications, property taxes, support for our veterans and seniors, and most recently inflation and the rising cost of energy. While we haven’t completely solved these large and complicated problems, I am proud of the progress we have been able to make by putting politics aside and working across the aisle. To address high property taxes, we restored the municipal revenue sharing program to its full 5 percent, fully funded the state’s share of K-12 public education at 55 percent for the first time ever, and fully reimbursed municipalities for the Homestead Exemption. These steps took a huge burden off our towns and residents. I sponsored a law to protect patients from surprise medical billing, and as chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, I made sure our vital direct care providers got the raise they rightfully deserved. I also sponsored a new law that provides funding for Meals on Wheels programs around our state, a critical lifeline for seniors and disabled Mainers. During the pandemic we were reminded of just how vital these programs are – they deserve full support from the state. We also worked to increase transparency in prescription drug pricing, so lawmakers can have the data they need going forward to take real and meaningful steps to lower costs. In 2022, we sent $850 checks directly to over 850,000 Mainers to help deal with inflation and rising costs. I heard from folks around our community about how helpful the money was for bills, groceries or their medication. We also worked to improve and streamline the Home Energy Assistance Program, which is a major way for folks to get help paying to heat their home. Finally, we provided Maine businesses and nonprofits with a credit of more than $2,000 on their electricity bills. A vast majority of the work I did during my time in Augusta was done in a bipartisan fashion. I have seen firsthand that the two major parties can still work together, and when they do, Maine people benefit. I am incredibly proud to have been a part of this work during these four years and will always be grateful for the opportunity. Sincerely,

Ned Claxton

Fax: (207) 287-1585 * TTY (207) 287-1583 * Message Service 1-800-423-6900 * Website: legislature.maine.gov/senate

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