Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday unveiled a $10.3 billion two-year spending plan that she called a “stabilizing document” in a time of economic uncertainty.

The proposed budget is $900 million more than the current state budget, in part because it covers the costs of initiatives approved by the Legislature and raises for state workers.

“We’re being fairly cautious,” she told reporters. “We are not proposing or developing any major new programs or expanding state government in that respect.”

House and Senate Republicans told reporters that state revenue projections show a surplus of $1 billion, which they feel is problematic.

“Clearly if we’ve got over a billion more than we had just two years ago, the people of Maine are taxed too much,” said Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Presque Isle). “We’re going to let the committee process play out. It’s an OK start.”

Mills emphasized that her budget does not raise taxes and that it continues efforts to fully support education and health care initiatives.

The budget, which will now go to the Legislature for public hearings, proposes to:

Continue state funding of 55% of the cost of local education costs ($101 million);

Fully fund universal free meals for public school students ($58 million);

Continue the free community college program for high school students in the class of 2024 and 2025 ($15 million);

Add more funds to behavioral health services ($94 million), which includes $7 million to address the state’s opioid crisis with funds for prevention, treatment and recovery services;

Expand workforce housing with a $30 million investment, particularly for rural areas;

Support the Maine Department of Transportation with $400 million, which could be matched by up to $1 billion in federal funds;

Give additional funding to the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services ($17 million) to hire 10 new public defenders and increase attorney pay.

Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Allagash) called the proposal “a good place to start.”

“Maine people are counting on the Legislature to address critical needs around child care, housing and emergency medical services,” Jackson said in a statement. “I’m confident that the Legislature, led by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, can work with the Mills Administration to come up with a budget that delivers for Maine people.”

Mills said the budget does not tap into the state’s historically high rainy day fund, which has more than $900 million.

“We want to leave that untouched in case of an economic downturn,” she said. “We’ve been governing cautiously and I believe in a fiscally prudent manner over the last four years, making sure that even in the hardest of times during the pandemic, we lived within our means. This budget proposal continues that important practice.”