AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci said Friday he will propose that the state take over the county jails to create an efficient prison system and to lower local property taxes.

Legislative leaders are skeptical of the plan.

The governor said he might propose the legislation at a special session this fall. “Whether it happens in a special session or it happens in January, it’s going to happen,” Baldacci said. “We need this to happen; the taxpayers need it to happen.”

In an interview, the governor said the details of taking over the existing 15 county jails and merging them into the state prison system are being developed by the Department of Corrections. He said once the detailed proposal is crafted, he will launch a statewide effort to garner support for the plan.

“I think the public is ready for this,” he said. “It will save on property taxes and it just makes sense.”

Baldacci said the current cost of operating the 15 county jails is about $86 million, and that is expected to exceed $100 million next year because of the increased costs of operating the separate facilities.

“That’s a property tax increase,” he said. “We need to be lowering the property taxes, not increasing taxes.”

He said one administration for all of the jails in the state will substantially boost efficiency and save money while also improving services. He said some jails could be closed and others turned into specialized facilities under a central administration.

Baldacci said a state takeover of the jails can be achieved through the savings that consolidation would realize and other spending cuts in state government.

But legislative leaders of both parties are worried that any cuts in other state programs to pay for jail consolidation will be tough to sell to lawmakers.

“We have got to have more details,” said Senate President Beth Edmonds, D-Freeport. “It may well be something we want to do, but we have not seen the details on how it would be paid for.”

House Speaker Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, said finding the dollars to fund the proposal will be difficult. He said the Appropriations Committee already must find $10.1 million to balance the second year of the two-year state budget.

“I think the voice of the Maine people is very clear,” he said. “Their top priority is tax reform. To the extent county jails may fit into the broader discussion of tax reform, we are open to that.”

Cummings said House Democrats are focused on lowering taxes and suggested a special session should be limited to “core principles” of putting spending limits in place and reducing state spending in order to reduce taxes. He said identifying $35 million to $40 million in budget cuts to lower state taxes would be a “good first step” in the goal of lowering taxes.

“We want to try and keep the governor very focused on basic tax and spending reforms,” he said.

Sen. Carol Weston of Montville, the GOP’s Senate floor leader, said she had met with Baldacci on the proposal and told him she has reservations about the ideas he presented. She said any effort to cut property taxes should include a “guarantee” that property taxes are reduced.

“I can’t see savings,” she said. “I can’t trust that there will be savings, based on the past.”

Weston said the corrections issue should be dealt with separately from tax relief, although she also thinks the merger proposal deserves consideration by the Legislature. But she said a plan to merge all of the county jails and state prisons cannot be worked out “in the few weeks” before an October special session.

“Let’s focus on what the people want us to do: lower spending and reduce taxes,” she said.

Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee, said he is concerned at pushing a corrections merger bill until all the details can be worked out. He said his committee has been working to address the overcrowding problem and that creating a unified corrections system is more complicated than many realize.

“It needs to be looked at very, very carefully,” he said. “I think there may be a good benefit to this, but there are many issues here we have to consider.”

Diamond said convincing lawmakers of any plan as sweeping as the one being proposed by the governor will take a lot of time, no matter how good it many appear to lawmakers well versed in the issues.

Baldacci acknowledged his plan is not finalized, but when it is he will launch his effort to convince Mainers as well as lawmakers that it should be approved.

“If there is a special session, this will be part of it,” he said. “But I will not call a special session unless there is support to pass what we need to pass.”