Storm halts progress for budget panel

AUGUSTA – Legislative leaders huddled with the House and Senate chairmen of the Appropriations Committee behind closed doors for much of Friday trying to identify major problem areas and to determine whether they should continue their work as a major snowstorm advanced toward the state.

Recessing shortly after 10 a.m., Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, reconvened the budget panel at 5 p.m. to inform state agency workers, lobbyists and legislative staff that the committee would adjourn until 2 p.m. Sunday.

“There’s a lot that’s been accomplished even though you haven’t seen it,” she said. “I’m sorry you spent the day waiting here, and I hope you got a lot of other work accomplished or had a good book to read.”

The decision to call off an anticipated late Friday evening and Saturday session compresses an already tight deadline for majority Democrats who are pushing the committee to finish its work by the end of next week.

Republicans and Democrats continue to disagree on more than 100 proposals in the $5.7 billion two-year budget. Many are relatively minor, but a few are substantial. The most formidable obstacle to bipartisan agreement is Gov. John E. Baldacci’s plan to lease out up to $400 million of revenue from the Maine State Lottery for the next 10 years in exchange for an upfront $250 million payment.

In the absence of Republican support, Democrats are preparing to push for a majority vote on the budget before April 1. The Legislature would then adjourn and be called back into special session by the governor to finish its work. The budget bill would become law 90 days later, before the current fiscal year ends on June 30.

Sen. Richard Nass, R-Acton and a member of the Appropriations Committee, said his day was spent waiting to find out what the committee’s schedule would be and detailing all remaining contentious points between the GOP and Democratic lawmakers on the panel.

“There’s a lot of issues out there,” he said. “We’re trying to figure how much less we could do and how much more of a cut we could possibly agree to. It’s part of the normal process, where we begin to negotiate, where we disagree.”

Rep. Joseph Brannigan, D-Portland, and House chairman of the panel, remained optimistic over the likelihood of reaching some consensus with the Republicans. He acknowledged, however, that requests by the GOP to slow the process down and continue to run state government through the end of September through a continuing resolution were not likely to be discussed anytime soon.

“There may be a large number of areas where we still have people who are split on votes, but that doesn’t mean that those are insurmountable or even difficult,” he said. “We’re still wrestling with those in small and large groups. We’ll see how we do.”

The panel’s members did manage to convene briefly at the Blaine House on Friday afternoon for the official signing of the state’s $89 million supplemental budget, which was unanimously approved by the Appropriations Committee. That package provides funding for state agencies and services through the fiscal year that ends June 30.