State liquor stores get ax from House

AUGUSTA – Weary House members started hacking away at a “fragile” $5 billion, two-year budget package Wednesday night, despite complaints by some members that they had insufficient time to read the 286-page document. Members of both parties agreed the budget was a “house of cards” that could collapse with too many amendments.

The budget survived its first test when, after an hour of debate, the House voted 92-50 to close the state’s 27 liquor stores. The budget was scheduled to make its first visit to the Senate on Thursday morning then return to the House on Friday for a potential final vote.

In what was termed “the ultimate arm-twisting” by House Minority Leader Joseph Bruno, Gov. Angus King visited the Republican caucus early in the afternoon asking for its support on the budget and promising to veto any tax increases in Part 2 of the budget. He told Republicans that he would not support the 50 percent tobacco tax hike proposed by House Speaker Michael Saxl.

Rep. Randy Bumps told the governor the budget agreement was highly “fragile” and asked about the governor’s decision on state liquor stores. “The liquor stores have to be closed. I will refuse to sign a budget that does not close the liquor stores,” King said.

The liquor stores were the first hurdle in the Wednesday night deliberations. For more than an hour, opponents of the stores argued the state should “get out of the liquor business” and leave it to private business, while supporters said the more than 70 jobs in the 27 stores were important issues in tough economic times. Few could agree on the financial impact of the liquor store system.

A proposal to keep the stores open with money from the Rainy Day Fund came from Rep. John L. Tuttle, R-Sanford, who said closing the stores would result in no savings to the state. He warned that states that have privatized liquor sales have experienced a 10 percent increase in liquor consumption. After 12 hours of committee deliberations on the question, too many unanswered questions remain on the distribution system, which will replace the state stores, said Rep. Arthur F. Mayo, R-Bath.

Rep. Joanne T. Twomey, D-Biddeford, who voted against the closures, said the issue was simple: “Jobs, jobs, jobs. I am not dealing. I don’t compromise.”

At 8 p.m., the House voted 92-50 against Tuttle’s last-minute scheme to keep the stores open and continued deliberations. A proposal to take funds from the governor’s laptop program to keep the liquor stores open failed 112-30.

The House rejected amendments which sought to:

. Take $5 million from the demolition of the Maine State Prison to fund health care projects, by a vote of 99-43.

. Repeal the education personnel fingerprint law and cut $900,000, by a vote of 95-46.

. Take $3.6 million from the laptop technology fund for general purpose to education, by a vote of 106-35.

. Take $3.6 million from the Rainy Day Fund for general purpose aid to education, by a vote of 113-29.

. Reduce the budget by a 5 percent, across-the-board cut, by a vote of 116-24.

. Add funds for nursing facilities, by a vote of 101-39.

The document presented to House members Wednesday was basically that proposed by Gov. King with the exception of the governor’s plan to save $35 million by extending debt repayment by four years on the Maine State Employee Retirement Fund. The budget before the House took the $35 million from the Rainy Day Fund.

Deliberations started at 6:30 p.m. as both Democrats and Republicans scrambled to postpone the action for 24 hours to study the 286-page document.

Rep David A. Trahan, R-Waldoboro, said he needed 24 hours to “amend and comprehend” the budget, since he expected no votes on the document before Friday or Saturday. “Do I have a clue what’s in here? We can’t absorb this document. You might as well throw it away. We are going to have to live with this vote for two years. This might be the most important vote you make in this session,” he told fellow legislators.

Rep. Twomey agreed that the Wednesday vote was “unfair” since she has had no time to determine if it included adequate funding for nursing homes and senior citizens.

Members of the Appropriations Committee sympathized with the complaints but said deadlines must be met. Lawmakers have until Saturday to enact the budget by a simple majority. After March 31, passage of the budget will require a two-thirds vote in both chambers to pass.

Rep. Richard A. Nass, R-Acton, said if legislators were not paying attention to the budget before Wednesday, “another 24 hours will not make much difference. I wish there was more time, but that is not the case.”

A quick roll call vote to kill Trahan’s request for a 24-hour postponement went down by 105-31, a sign that legislators were ready to start the budget adoption process.