AUGUSTA – If you read the press statements from both political parties, you would think Maine’s business community is jumping for joy at the accomplishments of this session of the Legislature. It is not.

Even the passage of the long-sought repeal of the personal property tax on business equipment lost some of its luster with retail businesses being treated differently from other businesses in the legislation that was approved.

“We think that was a very bad decision and one that will haunt the business community for years to come,” said Jim McGregor, executive vice president of the Maine Merchants Association. “The Legislature has found out they can divide the business community, and that won’t be good for anyone in the future.”

While most equipment used by businesses will be exempt from the property tax, retailers will continue with a new version of the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement program. The difference: While one is an exemption, the other is an appropriation that must be secured every year in competition with other spending priorities.

“We certainly did not support separating out retail,” said Chris Hall, vice president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. The “fact that it did happen sends a message, and it is not a good one.”

Hall said the Chamber will strongly support retailers in securing funds for the new BETR program and eventually exempting retail business equipment from the personal property tax.

Citing the minimum wage increase to $7 over two years, the retail BETR decision and Gov. John Baldacci’s pocket vetoes of two business-related bills, McGregor says it was not a good year for many in the business community.

“My general assessment, from a small business and retailer’s perspective, is that it was not a very good session,” he said.

The first of the bills subjected to pocket veto would have set limits on the ability of citizens to petition to retroactively block or change local zoning ordinances. The second measure would have reversed a decision of the Maine State Housing Authority’s board of directors giving a slight preference in the bidding process to firms that provide health insurance to their workers.

While the business community was divided on the ordinance bill, there are concerns over the veto of the MSHA bill. It had been unanimously approved by the Legislature’s Business, Research and Economic Development Committee. It had such broad support in the House that there was no recorded vote and the Senate vote was 22-12 in support.

McGregor said the veto was a blow more to the Legislature than to business, but that the business community should be very concerned.

“We are going to have to watch agencies all the time,” he said, “or we will see more rules that go beyond what the Legislature has authorized.”

Hall shares that concern, but believes the big vote in the Legislature for the bill has sent a message to agencies that they should not go beyond what the Legislature has approved when writing regulations.

“Remember,” he said, “these are also the people that set the budget for these agencies and I don’t think they want to get them mad.”

And Hall was more positive than McGregor in his overall assessment of the session.

“I am going to say that we had a pretty good legislative session,” he said. “We had the one major victory with the change from BETR, but we had several other bills, smaller, but still important.”

For example, he said, the state finally went along with federal income tax provisions that allow Health Savings Accounts. He said that will help some small businesses deal with the cost of health care.

“Of course, a great disappointment is the failure to reach any compromise on Dirigo,” he said. “That is an issue that will not go away and must be addressed. ”

David Clough, Maine director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, also was more positive in his assessment of the session. He said some of the legislative actions have very different impacts on the various sectors of the business community.

“The minimum wage increase will have a big impact on some and virtually no impact on other employers,” he said.

Clough said what he found most encouraging this session was an emphasis on small business that has not been there in the past. He said with small employers leading the way in creating new jobs in the state, the change in attitude was refreshing.

“The small business court, the regulatory fairness board, the tax break for film companies are all small steps,” he said, “but they are all a help.”

Clough was encouraged to see some Democratic leaders, like House Speaker John Richardson, work with Republicans for small-business legislation.

“That is why I see this as a positive session, even with the battles lost,” he said.