03/01/2016 02:14 PM EST

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Contact: Adrienne Bennett, Press Secretary, 207-287-2531

AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage announced today he will not support a tax conformity bill that is tied to taking $23 million for additional education spending from the Budget Stabilization Fund.

“I will not support good policy tied to the back of bad policy,” said Governor LePage. “After speaking today with leadership from both sides of the aisle, it is clear that socialist legislators will continue to hold up tax conformity to get more spending. It’s totally unrelated to tax conformity.”

The Governor said he hopes to work with the 128th Legislature to support tax conformity next year and make it retroactive to this year.