AUGUSTA – The Baldacci administration Friday began circulating a draft of a gubernatorial proposal designed to counter a referendum initiative that would dramatically boost the state’s share of local education costs.

The administration plan would boost the state’s share of certain local school costs to 55 percent over five years and set a cap on growth on the municipal services side of local community budgets that the governor says is modeled after a new budget stabilization cap for the state budget.

The new state budget legislation establishes a cap for future budget proposals linked to a 10-year rolling average of real personal income plus inflation.

Under the Baldacci administration’s tax relief plan, municipalities that exceed a budget cap could face a reduction in state revenue sharing.

Education funding for kindergarten through grade 12 would be based on the costs of providing what are defined as essential programs and services.

In distributing the draft plan Friday, Baldacci administration officials said it had not received final legal review in the governor’s office or technical drafting review by legislative staff.

But the draft plan gives lawmakers and other parties following the protracted path of tax reform legislation detailed language to look at in advance of a Taxation Committee session slated for Thursday and a special session of the full Legislature that is to begin one week thereafter on Aug. 21.

Driving the debate is the citizen initiative backed by the Maine Municipal Association that was submitted to the Legislature with the signatures of more than 96,000 voters.

The governor and his allies argue that the citizen initiative carries an unaffordable cost for the state with no guarantee of local property tax relief.

Referendum advocates say state officials have proved to be incapable of producing adequate tax relief on their own.

In his proposal for boosting the state’s share of local school costs, the governor’s approach would be phased in and his definition of local costs for which the state is responsible would be less expansive than what is envisioned under the citizen initiative.

Should lawmakers agree to put out a competing referendum measure, Mainers going to the polls in November would face options of approving either question or rejecting both.

A majority of votes would be needed for enactment and if neither question were to win a majority, the top finisher would go out for consideration again.