Legislature braces for BRAC action

AUGUSTA – As lawmakers gather for a special session next Friday, discussions are already under way for a post-BRAC special session of the Legislature to deal with the economic impact of the possible closure of Maine bases by the Defense Department’s Base Realignment and Closure commission process.

“I can’t rule anything in or out right now,” Gov. John Baldacci said in an interview. “I am really focused right now on getting a bond package approved next week.”

In several meetings with lawmakers, however, Baldacci has outlined a response to the possible closing of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Brunswick Naval Air Station and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service center in Limestone that includes a special session soon after BRAC decisions are acted on by President Bush.

Some of the plans he will discuss publicly, but others, such as a sizable bond issue for economic development, he is unwilling to discuss with the bond package before lawmakers next week.

“We are doing everything we can to prevent a base closure,” Baldacci said, “We are hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.”

The worst has been called the “perfect economic storm” by University of Southern Maine economist Charles Colgan. He said the loss of more than 12,000 jobs if all three facilities were closed would be a blow to Maine’s economy that would take a decade to recover from.

“We can’t wait for that,” said Sen. Lynn Bromley, D-South Portland. She is the co-chair of the Legislature’s Business, Research and Economic Development Committee, a panel that wants a far larger bond than the $20 million proposed by legislative leaders.

“This is just the first bond,” said Rep. Nancy Smith, D-Monmouth. She is co-chair of the panel. “We will have to deal with another bond proposal after the BRAC process is over and we know its impact.”

Smith had just emerged from a private meeting with Baldacci, Bromley and the two GOP leaders on the committee. She said there was broad agreement the state would need to significantly invest in its economy to help offset job losses from BRAC.

“I don’t think there is any doubt we will have to do more,” Sen. Dana Dow, R-Waldoboro, said after the meeting. “But that’s not something we are ready to deal with next week.”

Not all Republicans agree with the need for larger bond issues next week or after BRAC. House GOP leader David Bowles, R-Sanford, said if bases were closed it would result in lower state revenues and less ability to pay back any additional bonds.

“Do I have to remind people that we just had our bond rating lowered this year?” he asked. “I don’t think we should be incurring more debt if we will have less ability to pay it back.”

But, Bowles said, a special session to create development agencies for the areas where bases are closed would have his support.

“If we are talking about creating agencies like the Loring Development Authority and providing some startup funding for them, that’s something we should do as soon as we know about the bases,” he said.

The Loring Development Authority was created by the Legislature after an earlier BRAC commission voted the Limestone base closed in 1991.

Senate President Beth Edmonds, D-Freeport, said she expects that once the BRAC commission has made its decisions there will be a special session to craft a state response to the economic impact.

“I think the whole state is holding its breath to see what BRAC does,” she said. “If the worst happens, we have to be ready to create the impetus for new jobs and economic development.”

Edmonds said a bond for investment in the state’s economy likely would be a part of that response. She said the state must respond swiftly to mitigate any job losses from BRAC.

“I want to make investments in jobs that are going to move the state forward,” she said. “We can’t hold back and just wait and see what happens.”

In addition to legislative action, the state is working with local groups to plan both short-term and long-term responses to any closings, the governor said. Federal grants will be available to help plan reuse of facilities and develop them for civilian uses.

“We have preliminary approval for a grant of about a million dollars to the Department of Labor to help workers affected,” he said.

The grant, a joint project with New Hampshire, will provide funds for a wide array of planning efforts to handle increased layoffs in areas on the BRAC list. Money is also available to plan for what additional educational resources may be needed to train workers for new occupations.