AUGUSTA – If there is anyone opposed to the idea of a specialized business court in Maine, he wasn’t at a public hearing Tuesday at the State House.

All the testimony presented to the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on LD 1518, a bill that would create a pilot program for such a court, was in favor of the proposal. The only cautionary note struck during the public hearing was when the issue of money came up.

Leigh Saufley, chief justice of the state supreme court, told the committee that the program is expected to cost “just over” $1 million a year.

“It’s not a small amount of money,” Saufley acknowledged. “I do not have the money in my pocket to pay for this proposal.”

Two judges would be picked from the existing 49 judges in the state to work solely on the case docket of the new business court, according to Saufley, who, as chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, oversees the judicial branch of state government. In addition, four new judges would be hired to help with the judiciary’s regular caseload, bringing the total number of judges in the state to 53, she said.

The new business court would have an easily accessible, centralized filing system, but the business judges, or magistrates, would travel around the state to counties where the disputes have sprung up, the chief justice said. The new business court would focus on complex cases involving business or consumer issues, she said.

Other priority types of cases such as domestic violence or family disputes would benefit by having the added judges to help pick up the caseload, supporters of the bill told the committee.

Concerns about the program’s projected cost were brought up both by members of the Judiciary Committee and by people who testified in favor of the bill.

Speaker of the House John Richardson, primary sponsor of the bill, told the committee that the program could be funded partially through the state’s General Fund and partially through court filing fees.

Saufley said that exactly how the program would be paid for has not been determined.

“We’re working on it,” she told the committee.

The new court likely would result in greater filing revenue for the state because businesses, many of which avoid the courts because of its inefficiency, would be more willing to seek relief from the judicial branch of government, Saufley said. An increase in legal precedent that would be created by the new court also would encourage businesses that want to go through the court system to do so.

Saufley said she is opposed to creating a fee system for the proposed court that is more expensive than other courts because the judiciary should not be viewed as biased either in favor of or against those who can pay the higher fees.

The creation of a business court in Maine could make the state a better place to conduct business, according to Saufley. The business climates in Massachusetts and Delaware, which have specialized business courts, have benefited from the greater efficiency with which business and consumer disputes in those states are resolved, she said.

Often, businesses pursue arbitration outside the court system, not because they want to but because they see the court process as too protracted and therefore costly, according to the chief justice. The emphasis in the current judicial system on resolving domestic violence cases and felony crimes often results in business cases being delayed.

“The end result, every time, is that businesses and consumers are squeezed out,” Saufley said. “I believe we are becoming irrelevant to the citizens that need us.”

Saufley said a reduction in the number of civil cases filed in Maine from 5,500 in 1994 to 3,300 in 2004 illustrates the public’s growing frustration with the length of time it takes to have such cases resolved in Maine’s courts.

David Clough, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, told the committee that by helping to free businesses from litigation limbo, the new court would help them function better in today’s “nanosecond” economy. He also cautioned the committee about how the program would be funded, however.

“We would be hesitant to endorse this if it meant an increase in state taxes to pay for it,” Clough said.

Representatives of the Maine State Bar Association, Maine Bankers’ Association, Coalition to End Domestic Violence and attorneys also testified in favor of the bill.

The committee will meet at 1 p.m. Monday, May 16, in Room 438 of the State House to hold a work session on the proposed bill.