AUGUSTA – A legislative committee voted 10-1 Friday against a bill directing the State Planning Office to study the merits of dividing Maine into two states apportioned roughly along current congressional district boundaries.

Sponsored by Rep. Henry Joy, R-Crystal, the bill has been endorsed by some rural legislators who believe state policy favors Maine’s more heavily populated southern region and overlooks deepening economic and social problems developing in the western, northern and eastern sections of the state.

Proponents maintained that, for all practical intents and purposes, two Maines already exist and that Joy’s LD 937 would only make the perception a reality. Others claimed too many of their tax dollars are directed toward programs that are of little consequence in the more far-flung regions of the state and that residents of northern and eastern Maine could make better decisions over how those dollars should be allocated in their communities.

But critics argued that state government has demonstrated it takes an even-handed policy when prioritizing spending and emphasized that many programs, such as the Future Forest Economy Project and the Local Agriculture Task Force, benefit only rural areas.

Rep. Chris Barstow, D-Gorham, and the House chairman of the State and Local Government Committee, joined the majority in voting against the bill, but added that a 1998 study prepared by a task force to examine the equality of economic opportunities across the state had developed some interesting information that could be expanded to meet some of the goals in LD 937. Barstow said he will see if it is possible to persuade legislative leaders to continue some of the work undertaken by the 1998 task force for that purpose.

Rep. George R. Bishop, R-Boothbay, cast the lone vote in favor of Joy’s bill in order to give the Aroostook County legislator an opportunity to debate the merits of the bill on the House floor.

Later, Joy said he hoped he would be able to get his message across to other lawmakers who are not as familiar as they should be with issues facing northern and eastern Maine.

“I think it’s important that they realize that probably 11 counties have some problems with the way Augusta handles their lives,” Joy said.