AUGUSTA – Working rapidly by the Legislature’s standards, lawmakers in the House and Senate gave two-thirds approval Friday evening to an $83 million bond package that will be considered by Maine voters on Nov. 8.

The compromise bond package, which includes $2 million for working waterfront preservation, received the unanimous endorsement of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee earlier this week. Despite strong bipartisan support for the compromise plan, several legislators still felt compelled to offer amendments, including 11 in the Senate and one in the House. All were beaten back by decisive votes.

Six hours after the Senate first took up the LD 998 bond bill, it gave final enactment to the measure in a 34-1 vote shortly after 7:30 p.m. Earlier in the evening, the House approved the bill 128-14.

Speaking to members of the House as lawmakers adjourned, Gov. John E. Baldacci praised the work of the state representatives for working in a bipartisan fashion to deliver supermajority support to the bond package.

“You put the interests of the citizens of Maine first for economic growth, for investments in jobs and investments in Maine’s future,” Baldacci said. “[Republicans and Democrats] proved that with hard work and compromise with everyone giving a little, the Maine Legislature invests in the people and families of this state.”

House Republican leader David Bowles of Sanford said the Legislature had crafted a responsible bond package that met the state’s immediate needs without placing unreasonable financial constraints on borrowing.

“Even those [14 Republican] members who felt they could not support the bond package respected those members who felt it was the right thing to do,” he said. “We’re moving forward united.”

Senate Majority Leader Michael Brennan, D-Portland, and Senate President Beth Edmonds, D-Freeport, said the $83 million state share of the bond package will draw down $224 million in matching or federal funds to infuse more than $300 million into the state’s economy.

“In the end, the compromise package was one that both political parties could work with, and we agreed that we must put our political differences aside and prioritize as best we can the needs of our economy and state,” Edmonds said.

The bond proposal will provide:

. $33.1 million for transportation projects.

. $20 million for economic development.

. $12 million for the Land For Maine’s Future and working waterfront programs.

. $9 million for education.

. $8.9 million for environmental projects.

One of the bond proposals that was tossed overboard by Republican and Democratic negotiators to help fund the waterfront project was an environmental bond that would have provided the Maine State Housing Authority with $1 million in state funds and $3 million in matching funds to remove lead paint from low-income households.

Sen. Elizabeth Schneider, D-Orono, staged an unsuccessful bid to resurrect funding for the paint bond, maintaining that child development is often adversely affected by environmental contaminants such as lead paint.

“Children put lead paint in their mouths and they become developmentally disabled,” she said. “That translates into huge amounts of dollars for child development services which are an incredible drain … I don’t know how many millions of dollars we’ll save over the long haul, but lead paint abatement is hugely important.”

Another environmental-related bond proposal not accepted by the Appropriations Committee was a $4.5 million bond that would have constructed or upgraded water pollution control facilities in Machias, Limestone, Indian Township and Presque Isle. Offered unsuccessfully as an amendment in the House by Rep. Joanne T. Twomey, D-Biddeford, the lawmaker challenged the conventional wisdom of her legislative leaders who had hoped Democrats would keep their amendments to an absolute minimum.

“I was told, ‘You can’t do it, just go with the package because we can’t settle for any more,'” Twomey said. “I care about working waterfront, and I care about Land For Maine’s Future, but what good is that if we don’t have the infrastructure? We’re closing our beaches and people can’t dig clams. It’s about clean water. Please, we need this funded.”

Twomey’s pleas were ignored in the House which initially gave the compromise bond package a 128-12 vote of approval. The decision not to increase the package was applauded by the conservative Maine Heritage Policy Center which praised Democratic and Republican legislators for enacting a fiscally responsible alternative to the Baldacci administration’s original $197 million bond proposal. Jason Fortin, director of communications for the center, said it was unfortunate the Legislature had taken action only after the nation’s three major credit rating agencies downgraded the state’s bond rating.

“It is unfortunate that Maine taxpayers are going to have to pay a higher interest rate on these bonds as a result of the simultaneous downgrading, for the first time in recent history, of the state’s bond rating by the three major credit agencies,” Fortin said. “Passing a responsible bond package was the first of a series of steps the Legislature must make in order to control government spending and improve the state’s finances.”

Still, some Democrats, such as Sen. John L. Martin of Eagle Lake, had hoped for more than the agreed upon $83 million, given the huge needs of the state.

“Within the restraints given to us, this was all we could accomplish,” Martin said. “I feel a little bit embarrassed that we are leaving about a quarter of a billion dollars of federal money on that table that we cannot access.”