AUGUSTA – If the 2004 legislative session came in like a lion and went out like Tyrannosaurus rex, the current atmosphere at the State House has become so increasingly kumbaya that it’s hard to believe Democrats and Republicans were resolving their differences in court only two years ago.

In fact, if spectators observing the events from the House gallery in 2004 were magically beamed into the present, they’d feel like they just landed in Superman’s “Bizarro World” where everything is exactly the opposite of what is expected.

Consider that in 2004, majority Democrats and minority Republicans in the Legislature had become mired in partisan rhetoric, unable to reach agreement on a supplemental budget.

The majority had once again muscled its agenda through the State House, inciting House Republican leaders to blame their Democratic counterparts for bringing “dysfunction and rancor” to the floor. To underscore their point, some GOP lawmakers then walked out of the chamber in protest.

Republicans later offered apologies for the accusations, but other flash points lay ahead. There was the Democrats’ interpretation of the Maine Constitution’s requirements for special session pay that was so woefully misconstrued Republicans wound up appealing the majority vote to Superior Court – and actually won.

All of the sniping resulted in lawmakers hanging around the State House even longer than they had intended, missing their April 21 targeted adjournment date. When they finally did leave in the wee hours of April 30, Democratic and Republican leaders were barely speaking.

In contrast, as this year’s Legislature winds down:

. The Appropriations Committee has turned out a unanimous ought-to-pass recommendation on a $170 million supplemental budget.

. Democratic House Speaker John Richardson of Brunswick and House GOP leader David Bowles of Sanford credit each other’s leadership skills for bringing the session to a productive and collegial conclusion.

. Even Republican Sen. Debra D. Plowman of Hampden ended years of testy sparring with Democrats and now occasionally engages in witty jokes with her political counterparts who humorously reciprocate in kind.

Personnel changes really set the stage for a more positive dialogue at the State House this year, and while Baldacci is still governor, the new leaders in the House and Senate harbored a desire from the beginning not to repeat the past. While former Democratic House Speaker Patrick Colwell and House GOP leader Joe Bruno were political pugilists, Richardson and Bowles are political pragmatists. Senate Republican leader Paul Davis of Sangerville and Democratic Senate President Beth Edmonds of Freeport enjoy a rapport Davis could not have dreamed of with former Senate President Beverly Daggett.

In addition to new leadership, another factor contributing to the congenial atmosphere at the State House is what Maine pollster Patrick Murphy refers to as the “looming awareness” of the election cycle for all legislative candidates. Those returning to the campaign trail from 2004 know all too well that Maine voters are turned off by partisan infighting and the perception that the Legislature can’t accomplish anything.

“Our studies have demonstrated that voters disapprove of what is perceived as partisan bickering, and that generally registers as a negative among those that we survey,” said Murphy, who operates Strategic Marketing Services in Portland.

Murphy was less optimistic about how many of the details in the coming budget approval vote will resonate with voters. But House and Senate leaders are banking on the expected two-thirds approval of the $170 million package next week to send the message that the 122nd Legislature took its responsibilities seriously, made wise decisions and was accountable to the voters.

A casual look at the budget reveals lawmakers wasted no time in pursuing unattainable goals. Republicans deftly used the two-thirds requirement for a bond proposal to their advantage to pursue a specific goal and did not make unreasonable demands. Democrats also set their priorities, but did not stake out positions they knew Republicans would immediately reject.

“Part and parcel of what is going on and why we were able to reach agreement is because we’re all getting better at the job,” Richardson said. “And each of us, perhaps, learned something from past mistakes and learned to trust each other in a way that creates a win-win situation for both sides.”

For Bowles, the comparatively new “can’t we all just get along” feeling in the Legislature has a lot to do with the Democrats’ slim three-seat advantage in the Senate and razor-thin, single-seat edge in the House.

“In the eight years that I’ve been here, Republicans have had more input into this budget and have helped shaped the final product more than at any time in my recollection,” Bowles said. “But we’re so close in numbers in the House that we cannot be ignored or marginalized.”

As the legislative schedule shifts into high gear Monday with day and evening sessions, Richardson remained confident that proposed amendments to the budget would be held to a minimum and that the bill would receive its final votes in the House and Senate by Thursday. After meeting their scheduled April 19 adjournment date, legislators seeking re-election are likely to point to aspects of the budget to demonstrate what their priorities were and how they were achieved.

Members of both parties will claim credit for:

. Returning $29 million of the state surplus to the Budget Stabilization Fund to bring the balance from zero in 2002 to $100 million.

. Injecting $42 million into local school funding to bring the state’s share of education to 50 percent.

. Paying down the state’s debt to Maine hospitals with a $17 million allocation.

Democrats will emphasize that they did not abandon those with health care needs and made sure there was nearly $50 million in the budget to help cover the added costs of the federal Medicare Part D prescription drugs program. They also included $6 million to ensure that seniors who received prescription drug benefits under the state’s Drugs for the Elderly program would not lose benefits or have to pay more because they were switched to Medicare Part D.

The Democrats have found a way to make their political points by castigating national Republican policies with attacks on President Bush’s health care and energy policies. Republicans have offered tepid responses, but are not necessarily eager to engage the Democrats on the president’s strategies for health care.

“Maine people need to know that Democrats can govern and that they’ve been able to do so and have shown that they can restrain their spending appetite and put money away when it’s needed,” Richardson said. “And we’re pleased that we’ve increased access to health care for Maine people, that was an important goal for Democrats in this session.”

From the beginning of the session, Republicans remained dedicated to using their numbers to bar any further state borrowing or bonding, a goal that became potentially problematic when Baldacci announced his intention to seek a $25 million transportation bond earlier this month. The GOP successfully convinced Democrats it was fruitless to pursue a bonding plan that would require two-thirds approval when it was clear Republicans would not support further borrowing. Instead, both sides agreed to use $15 million from the $150 million state surplus for transportation projects.

“The chairs of the committee were much more amenable to working with us, given the closeness of the numbers in the [House and Senate] and the realization that they had a lot to lose if they tried to ram through a majority budget,” said Rep. Sawin Millett, R-Waterford, a member of the budget panel.

Another victory from the Republican perspective was the Appropriations Committee’s failure to include Baldacci’s plan to set minimum teacher salaries at $30,000. Republicans were convinced the initiative would add to municipal tax burdens, and they were successful in getting proponents to consider the proposal as a separate bill next month.

If the governor did not get all of what he had asked for in the supplemental budget, it may have been because Democratic leaders in the House and Senate pursued a different approach to this year’s budget negotiations. During previous budget sessions, the governor and his staff appeared to play larger roles in keeping Democratic leaders focused on the chief executive’s agenda and did not sign off on a budget deal without Baldacci’s expressed approval.

Millett said that while the governor’s staff attended the budget sessions, they did not seem to be as plugged into Democratic negotiations as they once were.

“I have seen a diminished role from the chief executive’s office in terms of direct participation from the very get-go,” Millett said. “We’ve heard from the Democratic side of the aisle that [Democrats and the governor’s office] do not speak regularly and that they are basically pursuing an independent course.”

Richardson said that contrary to Millett’s observations, there had been numerous meetings with the governor to work on the budget’s big picture.

“[The governor] did not get everything he wanted – but what he really needed, he got,” Richardson said. “In terms of the smaller items, he wasn’t as involved, but from a macro standpoint, he was very much involved, and, without his leadership, this budget agreement would not have been accomplished.”