AUGUSTA – The affect of an estimated $200 million budget shortfall on ambitious plans to expand funding for education, health care and prescription drugs will dominate the 120th legislative session, members of the House and Senate said Thursday, the first working day of the new session.

House Speaker Michael Saxl called the legislators “the best Maine has to offer” and welcomed them to the “new” State House and State Office Building, which have undergone a massive $60 million renovation. For the first time, both buildings meet handicapped standards and provide a healthy work environment for lawmakers and state employees, he said.

The $200 million revenue gap is serious, but “not insurmountable” when compared to the billion dollar shortfall of just 10 years ago, the speaker told House members. Legislators will toil over 2,344 bills, again a total “not insurmountable” when compared to last year’s record total of 2,598 bills. That means the Legislature must decide an average of 22 bills for each day of the session. “We have a lot of work to do,” the speaker said.

Saxl said the goals and aims of individual members may differ, but the bottom line in the session will be “to make Maine a better place.” Mainers need greater access to health care, education and prescription drugs, he said. Maine has one of the highest rates of uninsured residents in the country and lags behind the rest of New England in sending high school graduates on to college.

House Majority leader Patrick Colwell of Gardiner said the Legislature will not forget domestic violence, which Gov. Angus King has termed “Maine’s public enemy number one.” Colwell will sponsor a $4.5 million bill, offering a “holistic approach” to domestic violence, which would provide financial, health and housing support services to family members threatened with violence. “That’s a lot of money, yes. But domestic violence is a huge problem in Maine,” Colwell said.

House Democrats will part ways with Republicans who seek additional tax cuts, Colwell said. The Legislature has cut taxes by $500 million in the last four years. Those cuts “came home to roost” and caused the revenue gap, according to Colwell. Cuts in the sales and income taxes alone total $225 million, he said.

Gov. Angus King should form a study commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the entire state tax structure, said House Minority Leader Joseph Bruno of Raymond. The Legislature is asked to take a piecemeal approach to the tax structure each session. “But we have never looked at the entire structure in a serious fashion. You can’t do it in six months. We need a two-year study,” he said.

Bruno expressed disappointment with the $5.5 billion state budget proposal released by Gov. King on Wednesday. “I expected a bolder approach,” Bruno said. He questioned the $2 million cut in aid to the elderly and said the Legislature must take a clear look at the present school funding formula before making the “tough decisions” on a realistic funding program, Bruno said.

House Democrats and Republicans agree on the need for greater access to health care but part ways on the best method to achieve that end, Bruno said. Republicans will not support a universal health care program, but will favor steps to provide lower cost health insurance for employees of small business, he said.

House Democrats have an 89-61 edge over Republicans, with one independent in the chamber. But in the Senate Republicans and Democrats have a 17-17 split, with a single independent, a development which required a unique working arrangement with Democrat Michael Michaud of Millinocket serving as president the first year of the session and Republican Rick Bennett of Norway serving as president the second year. Bennett is now serving as president pro tem.

In this unique situation, bipartisanship will be required “in order to get anything done in this session,” Bennett said Thursday. “Both parties feel they got a good deal and there is a good foundation of cooperation and compromise … so far,” he said.

Senate Republicans will fight any proposal to hike taxes to meet the revenue gap. In a state where revenues are growing at 7.9 percent a year and expenses are growing at 7.5 percent a year, the current tax revenues “ought to be enough,” Bennett said. Despite the present $200 million revenue gap, the long term budget trend is “not bad,”‘ according to Bennett.

“During this session we need to set priorities to meet existing commitments,” Bennett said. Meeting those obligations will force reconsideration of the $50 million computer laptop program, a pet project of Gov. King, he said. But killing the laptop program and putting that $50 million back into the general fund would take a two-thirds majority in both houses to override an expected governor’s veto, he said. That money might be better used to provide prescription drug cost relief to senior citizens, Bennett said.

Senate Democratic leader Beverly Daggett of Augusta agreed that the session will be “challenging” with the 17-17 party split, but she expected both parties to get along.

“During my four years here, there has been very little acrimony. I believe members are more focused on the issues than in party politics,” she said. Both parties agree that health care, prescription drugs and education need additional funding, but they differ on “how much and who pays,” Daggett said.

Daggett said she will work to fund a new school for Augusta which has been on the drawing boards for about 30 years. She also will focus on the “serious issues” of affordable housing across the state.