Simply accounting for a way to pay the state’s bills does not make for an adequate budget, yet that’s what legislative Democrats are planning to do to avoid compromising with Republicans. It is a shortsighted plan, one that badly serves Maine because it does not prepare the state for the obvious difficulties it will soon face. While there is still time and with three very able leaders, Democrats should slow down and begin thinking about the state’s budget differently.

The Democratic intention, as has been clear for more than a month despite their protestations, is to pass a budget by simple majority, which by law would not become effective until 90 days after the Legislature adjourns. To meet the July 1 start of the new fiscal year, Democrats, who control both houses, would adjourn before the end of this month, then ask the governor to declare a special session to complete the non-budgetary work. A budget approved by a two-thirds majority would become effective immediately, but that would require support from Republicans and that would mean compromise.

The language that allows for special sessions says they may be called in times of “extraordinary occasions,” but what is so extraordinary about this session? Nothing. The governor may use his discretion to recall the Legislature, but it is clearly not in the spirit of the law and breaks with a long tradition of the parties working together to achieve a budget. In the last couple of weeks, Republicans have offered the idea of a continuing resolution to give lawmakers more budget time and opened negotiations on making cuts that would lead them to joining with Democrats on the budget – both ideas were rejected.

Gov. John Baldacci, House Speaker John Richardson and Senate President Beth Edmonds are all skilled at negotiation and building consensus. They have the weight of the majority and the argument of building a budget without broad tax increases behind them. They would be negotiating with Republicans from a position of strength, if they chose to. Instead, their intention to rush the budget through creates animosity in the capitol that will play out in numerous ways elsewhere, to the detriment of Maine.

More important, the budget has not been completed. Maine got a huge break this week when the U.S. Senate rejected the president’s plan to trim Medicaid growth – it would have cost the state $80 million – but that deal is far from certain and there remains projected for the following biennium, in 2008-09, a budget shortfall of $633 million. Certainly, economic growth will reduce that over the next two years, but with so few places left to cut in the budget, any significant shortfall is a major problem that will be made worse by the other federal budget decisions now being made in Washington. And Maine has its own difficulties, with the nation’s highest ratio of tax-supported gross debt to revenue.

The Legislature’s proposed change to the governor’s lottery plan that would bond needed money was an encouraging start to addressing these challenges, but it was only a start. Maine has a long way to go toward getting its budget in shape, and, fortunately, it has months this session to work on it. Or it would if Demo-crats would pull back from their plan to pass the budget in a needless hurry.