BONDING FOR THE FUTURE

Legislators from both parties dropped the ball this spring when they failed to agree on a bond package. It is not too late, however, to put together a package that will fund necessary transportation and environmental projects and enable purchases of threatened land. This won’t happen if lawmakers are more intent on complaining about being left out of the process than working to move the process forward.

After the failure to agree on a bond issue during the legislative session, the governor asked a member of his staff to head up continued discussions. This prompted Republican leaders to complain that the governor wasn’t talking with them directly. This week, Gov. Baldacci called them directly.

Still, they say there is no rush to pass a bond package. It can wait until January, they say. This is disingenuous. Although the Legislature, with some new members and perhaps the Republicans in control of the Senate, will reconvene in January, a bond package wouldn’t be complete until later in the year, with a public vote held in June 2005 or perhaps not until November. That means at least a year will go by with greatly diminished funds for highway, bridge, wastewater and drinking water projects and other important infrastructure work. It also means that the Land for Maine’s Future program will go more than a year with no money for land purchases.

Not only has the governor reached out to lawmakers, he has also pared down his bond request. It is now a $55 million package, down from the $120 million he proposed earlier this year. Gone are funds for economic development and park maintenance. Bonds for transportation and environmental projects have been shrunk and land acquisition funds have been reduced to $30 million.

The value of bond money was highlighted earlier this year, when lawmakers eagerly took $1.2 million in environmental bond money to use at the two Eastern Pulp and Paper mills, which at that time were declared abandoned. That money was earmarked for more than a dozen local projects, projects that were put on hold while the money went to secure and clean up the mills in Brewer and Lincoln.

Realizing they had taken money from other needed projects, lawmakers from both parties strongly supported upping the environmental bond request to return the $1.2 million to the communities that needed it. The whole bond package, however, never made it off the floor of the Legislature, leaving at least 15 projects without funding.

Both the DEP and Department of Transportation have long lists of projects waiting for funding. Those lists will just grow longer if lawmakers fail to agree on a bond package this summer. LMF has stopped accepting applications, although the state and conservation groups continue to talk to would-be sellers of land where public access and recreational opportunities are prized. Important parcels will likely come up for sale in the coming year, but without a bond, the state will have to let such opportunities pass by.

Calling a special session to complete a bond package is necessary but risky. Two-thirds of lawmakers must support the package for it to be sent to voters. Those worried about borrowing should look ahead. For years, voters have overwhelmingly supported transportation and environmental bonds, and the Land for Maine’s Future program is one of the most highly regarded programs in state government.

Lawmakers must put partisan politicking aside and focus on the issue before them – agreeing upon a package that will fund needed projects, many of which will create jobs and put money into local economies.