Government should make people’s lives easier, not harder. Too often, the small frustrations of daily life pile up: a pothole that does not get fixed, a state form that is hard to understand, a dropped call while on the highway, a hidden fee at checkout, or a power outage that leaves a family with spoiled groceries and no clear accountability. These may not always be the issues that dominate political debates, but they are the kinds of problems Mainers deal with every day.
That is what this plan is about: getting the basics right and making our daily lives easier. Mainers should be able to drive on safer roads, see lane lines at night, report a problem without being bounced between agencies. They should be able to get money back when the power is out too long, access state services with one secure login, understand forms the first time they read them, and keep more of their hard-earned money instead of losing it to hidden fees, scam calls, and bureaucratic confusion.
As Governor, I will bring a common-sense, results-driven approach to state government: identify the problems people actually face, use executive leadership where possible, work with agencies to improve service, partner with the Legislature where needed, and hold the system accountable for results. This plan is about making Maine work a little better, a little faster, and a lot more clearly for the people who live here. In other words: less nonsense, more getting stuff done.
-Dr. Nirav Shah
Executive Summary:
- Improve cell service across Maine: Map dead zones, prioritize highways and emergency corridors, and push carriers to fix gaps so Mainers can stay connected when it matters most.
- Fix the roads: Create Maine 311, speed up pothole and hazard response, improve road visibility, fix drainage, and better coordinate construction so Maine roads are safer and easier to navigate.
- Protect your hard-earned money: Crack down on hidden fees, subscription traps, illegal rental application fees, and confusing medical bills so Mainers can keep more of what they earn.
- Create one login for state services: Build one secure, easy-to-use portal where Mainers can renew licenses, check benefits, pull permits, pay fees, and track requests in one place.
- Get money back after long power outages: Push for automatic utility bill credits, stronger restoration standards, and reimbursement for spoiled food or medicine when power is out too long.
- Make car inspections less burdensome: Modernize Maine’s vehicle inspection system by moving toward every-other-year inspections for most passenger vehicles and exempting newer cars where appropriate.
- Stop spam and scam calls: Strengthen Maine’s response to illegal robocalls and phone scams by making reporting easier, coordinating enforcement, and holding bad actors accountable.
- Cut the bureaucratic jargon: Require state agencies to rewrite forms, notices, applications, and instructions in plain language so Mainers can understand what they need to do and how to get help.
Improve Cell Service Across Maine, Especially on Highways
It has happened to all of us: you’re driving home from work, heading up north for the weekend, trying to call your family, check directions, or get help during an emergency, and suddenly, your call drops or your service goes out. Just one more reminder that in too many parts of Maine, basic cell service still is not reliable. In 2026, that should not be normal. As Governor, I will treat reliable cell service like what it is: essential infrastructure for safety, work, family, and daily life.
- Map Maine’s cell service dead zones by letting drivers, towns, emergency responders, schools, and small businesses report where service regularly drops.
- Prioritize highways, rural roads, and emergency corridors where a lack of service is not just frustrating, but dangerous.
- Launch a “No Dead Zones” dashboard so Mainers can see where gaps exist, what is being done, and when improvements are expected.
- Push cell carriers to fix the places where service fails especially in areas where coverage maps claim there should already be reliable service.
- Cut red tape for responsible tower and equipment upgrades while respecting local input, scenic views, and environmental standards.
- Use state and federal infrastructure dollars to fill gaps in places where private companies have not invested on their own.
- Improve emergency preparedness by making sure rural communities, major travel routes, and storm-prone areas have more reliable connection when people need it most.
- Report progress publicly so Mainers can track which dead zones are being fixed, and which companies still need to step up.
Fix the Roads
If you live in Maine, driving is just part of the deal. You drive to work, to school, to the grocery store, to the doctor, to camp, to see family, and somewhere along the way, you probably hit a pothole that makes your whole car question its life choices. Then there are the faded road lines, the signs hidden behind trees, the mystery construction delays, the washed-out culverts, the intersections everyone knows are dangerous, and the eternal question: “Who am I even supposed to call about this?” As Governor, I will focus on the basics and launch a practical, common-sense effort to make Maine roads safer, smoother, and easier to navigate.
- Create Maine 311, a single place to report road problems so Mainers can flag potholes, washed-out culverts, downed signs, flooding, blocked sightlines, unsafe bridges, and dangerous intersections. Issues that are flagged will be automatically routed to MaineDOT or the right town.
- Make road lines and signs easier to see by improving striping, replacing faded signs, clearing trees or brush that block stop signs, speed limit signs, warning signs, and intersections, and adding recessed reflective pavement markers on new state highway paving projects where appropriate so lanes are safer to navigate at night, in rain, and during low-visibility conditions.
- Require faster pothole and road hazard response times for major roads, school routes, emergency corridors, and high-traffic areas, with public tracking so people can see when a fix is coming.
- Keep roads fully open during major travel holidays whenever possible, including Labor Day weekend, Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July travel, Thanksgiving, and other high-traffic periods, so families, workers, tourists, and small businesses are not stuck in unnecessary construction delays.
- Fix drainage before roads fall apart by investing in culverts, ditches, stormwater systems, and flood prevention, especially in rural and coastal communities hit hard by storms.
Protect Your Hard-Earned Money
Mainers work hard for every dollar they earn, and they should not have to lose money to hidden fees, surprise charges, confusing bills, or subscriptions that are easy to sign up for but nearly impossible to cancel. As Governor, I will build on Maine’s existing consumer protections and go further to make sure corporations cannot nickel-and-dime families, trap people in unwanted payments, or hide the true cost of everyday goods and services.
- Require companies to show the real price upfront wherever Maine has authority, including hotel fees, ticket fees, utility fees, service charges, and other hidden add-ons, so Mainers know what they are actually paying before they check out.
- Strengthen Maine’s subscription cancellation protections by making sure companies follow the law, closing loopholes that still trap people in recurring charges, and requiring cancellation to be as simple and clear as signing up.
- Enforce Maine’s rental application fee protections by cracking down on landlords who illegally charge application fees, overcharge for screening, or fail to provide applicants the reports they paid for.
- Take on unfair medical billing surprises by enforcing Maine’s existing patient protections, making bills easier to understand, and fighting hidden charges wherever Maine has authority.
One Login for State Services
Dealing with state government often means hunting through different websites, creating a dozen usernames, mailing the same paperwork over and over, or wondering which agency handles what. Mainers should be able to go to one secure place to renew a license, check a benefit, file a form, pay a fee, apply for a permit, or track the status of a request without spending hours navigating bureaucracy.
- Create one secure Maine login for state services so people can renew licenses, pull permits, or check benefits, all from their phone, with one login.
- Let Mainers track applications, renewals, forms, and permits online with clear status updates, deadlines, next steps, and contact information so people are not left guessing where things stand.
- Make state services easier to use on a phone by modernizing forms, payments, uploads, reminders, and renewals so people can get things done without printing paperwork or taking time off work.
- Protect privacy and security by building the portal with strong safeguards, clear consent rules, and strict limits on how personal information can be shared between agencies.
- Keep in-person and phone options available for Mainers who do not have reliable internet access, need help navigating the system, or prefer to work directly with a person.
Money Back for Mainers After Long Power Outages
When a routine storm knocks out power for days, Mainers should not be left with spoiled food, lost work, frozen pipes, medical risks, and nothing but an apology from the utility company. Maine already has utility reliability standards and penalties, but those penalties do not automatically put money back in the pockets of the people who actually lost power. As Governor, I will push for a stronger utility accountability framework that requires utilities to meet clear restoration standards, automatically credit customers after extended outages, and reimburse families for basic losses when utilities fail to restore power on time.
- Push for automatic bill credits when utilities fail to restore power within clear timelines during non-catastrophic outages, so customers do not have to fight with a utility company just to get basic accountability.
- Create stronger outage restoration standards based on the severity of the event, with shorter timelines for routine outages and reasonable exceptions for truly catastrophic storms, major disasters, blocked roads, and unsafe working conditions.
- Require food and medicine spoilage reimbursement after extended outages when utility failures or slow restoration leave families without power for too long. Such a program could be modeled on states like Connecticut, where eligible customers can receive daily credits and reimbursement for spoiled food or medicine after qualifying outages.
- Make outage credits automatic wherever possible by requiring utilities to use outage data they already collect, rather than forcing customers to file complicated claims after every extended outage.
Make Car Inspections Less Burdensome
Maine drivers should not have to spend time and money every single year getting newer, well-maintained vehicles inspected when there are smarter ways to keep unsafe cars off the road. Maine should modernize its inspection system to reduce costs and hassle for drivers while keeping clear safety rules in place for brakes, tires, lights, windshields, and other dangerous defects.
- Move routine vehicle inspections from every year to every other year for most passenger vehicles, while keeping annual inspections for older vehicles, commercial vehicles, rebuilt vehicles, and vehicles with prior safety violations.
- Exempt newer passenger vehicles from annual inspection requirements for their first several years on the road so that drivers are not forced to pay for unnecessary inspections on cars with modern safety standards and warranties.
No More Spam or Scams
Spam calls are one of the most common ways scammers target older Mainers, working families, small businesses, and people who are just trying to answer their phones. Maine already has laws limiting illegal robocalls, banning deceptive caller ID practices, and protecting people on the Do Not Call Registry, but too many scam calls still get through. As Governor, Nirav will make stopping phone scams a consumer protection priority and use every tool Maine has to protect people from harassment, fraud, and financial abuse.
- Require a stronger statewide response to spam calls and phone scams by directing state consumer protection agencies to prioritize complaints, identify repeat offenders, and coordinate enforcement with the Attorney General, FCC, FTC, and other states.
- Make it easier for Mainers to report illegal robocalls, spoofed numbers, and phone scams through one simple state reporting tool that helps the state spot patterns, warn the public faster, and build stronger cases against bad actors.
- Crack down on illegal robocalls, deceptive caller ID, and Do Not Call violations by enforcing Maine’s existing consumer protection laws and holding telemarketers, scammers, and other violators accountable.
- Push phone companies and voice providers to do their part by working with federal regulators and other states to identify providers that allow illegal scam calls to reach Maine consumers.
- Protect older Mainers and vulnerable consumers from phone scams by expanding public alerts, partnering with banks and community organizations to spot fraud faster, and making sure victims know where to report scams and get help.
Cut the Bureaucratic Jargon
It should not require a law degree to apply for child care assistance, heating help, a professional license, or any other basic state service. Mainers should be able to understand what they are eligible for, what documents they need, what deadlines apply, and what happens next without having to decode dense government language.
- Require state agencies to rewrite public-facing forms, notices, applications, and instructions in simple, everyday language so Mainers can understand what they need to do without legal jargon or bureaucratic fine print.
- Test major state forms with real users before they are finalized, including older Mainers, working parents, small business owners, rural residents, and people with limited internet access, so state government knows whether the forms actually make sense.
- Require clear next steps on every major state application, including what documents are needed, how long the process should take, who to contact for help, and how to track the status of a request.