March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Lawmakers eye more cuts in new session> Legislature convenes Wednesday

AUGUSTA — Lawmakers once again will be under pressure to cut costs and save money when they start the second regular session of the 117th Maine Legislature on Wednesday.

But they’ll also feel pressure to get their work done speedily, in part so they can go home and campaign in the 1996 elections. The session also may be momentarily distracted by Maine’s first-ever presidential primary election on Tuesday, March 5.

Several potentially major money issues loom over the so-called “short session” of the Legislature, but the fact that all seats are up for election may cut down on legislative dawdling.

“We’ve got to get off to a quick start,” said Senate President Jeffrey H. Butland, R-Cumberland. “The committees are going to be hard at it by the second week of January.”

Legislative leaders shaved two weeks off the traditional “short session,” calling now for adjournment by March 31. That’s the same date lawmakers adjourned two years ago and, in recent years, the Legislature has saved significant sums by adjourning early.

Butland said the session should consider only about 250 bills, compared with the 1,400 bills that came up during the first, longer session.

Gay rights advocates’ announcement this week that they would wait until next year to press their fight took a potentially divisive controversy out of the session.

“I think it’s good that gay rights is out of the way,” Butland said.

The focal point for controversy may be the recommendations of the Productivity Realization Task Force that are due March 1. The panel must find $20 million in savings to reach its goal of $45 million during the current two-year budget period.

“The Productivity Realization Task Force is going to be a major preoccupation,” said Butland. “They have $20 million to find and I think those funds are going to come hard.”

House Speaker Dan A. Gwadosky, D-Fairfield, said, “The task force will be controversial and require a lot of time.”

Gwadosky thinks some of the pressure will be relieved because the Legislature won’t have to consider the task force recommendations in a three-day special session as it did in November.

With all the focus on cutting spending, it may prove hard to find money to pay for new initiatives such as the proposed magnet school for the arts in southern Maine.

This will be the second full session for independent Gov. Angus S. King, who sits between nearly equal Republican and Democratic parties. In the Senate, Republicans have a two-seat majority with one independent. In the House, the Democratic majority has dwindled to only one seat, 96-95, after several resignations, party switches, deaths and special elections.

“With a majority of one in the House, and two in the Senate for Republicans, attendance on any given day could give one party or the other the majority,” said Gwadosky.

A year ago, Democrats had a three-seat majority in the House.

Following special elections, there are two new members of the House: Democratic Reps. Ralph Carr of Hermon and Shirley Richard of Madison.

“I think it’s going to be pretty focused,” said King’s top legislative aide, Kay Rand. “I think people will want to tie up loose ends and get out of here.”

“We’re going to have enough to do,” Butland said.

Some think King lost credibility during the special session after a honeymoon-like relationship with the Legislature during the regular session. King’s plan for bailing out the Maine Department of Transportation was roundly criticized as a gimmick and he failed to win two-thirds approval for it. The plan went into effect with a simple majority at greater cost to taxpayers.

King plans to have lunch with legislative leaders on Tuesday, the day before the session starts. His severest critics so far have been Republicans.

King will deliver a State of the State address on Tuesday, Jan. 23. The address will be televised live. In the speech, King is expected to outline his legislative goals for the session.

The governor already has said his initiatives will focus on providing alternatives to nursing-home care; raising educational standards; and creating ways to help the smallest businesses.

Democrats are pushing for their own proposal on long-term care. There could be major debate on health insurance coverage for Mainers.

King also will deliver a supplemental budget proposal to make up for a revenue shortfall estimated at $16 million through June 30. An earlier executive order curtailing spending may take care of the lion’s share of the shortfall. Rand said the midyear budget won’t call for any layoffs.

“Hopefully, we’ll keep the political rhetoric down. Hopefully, that stuff will fall by the wayside because we have a lot to do,” said House Majority Leader Paul Jacques, D-Waterville.


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