The pending Bowater/Inexcon deal may make plans for worker ownership of the Great Northern holdings moot. The notion that Inexcon might fail to pull together the financing may be little more than false hope, given the experience of Mr. Kass and Mr. Bedard. None of this diminishes in any way the importance of proposed legislation to increase Maine’s ability to assist in employee buyouts.

LD 2222, An Act to Retain Jobs at Paper Production Facilities in the State, is sponsored by Sen. Michael Michaud and co-sponsored by legislators spanning the political spectrum. Although the urgency may be lost, it remains one of the more important bills under consideration this session.

The bill adds paper mills to the list of industries eligible for state assistance in expansion and modernization. It increases the Finance Authority of Maine’s ability to support individual projects from a woefully small $25 million to a realistic $120 million. It sets definite, demanding criteria for such assistance.

Perhaps most importantly, it tells Maine workers, like those in Millinocket, that if they are willing to fight for their jobs, the state will stand with them. The state has helped shipbuilders and utilities, it participated in the employee buyout that created Biddeford textile. Its paperworkers deserve no less.

In fact, the case for supporting these workers may be the most compelling of all. Paper mills are not just places to work; in some towns, they are the reason the town exists. Given FAME’s good record in judging investments and the stringent conditions for repayment of these loans, the risk is small compared with the social and economic costs of community-wide devastation.

The last few months have brought dizzying changes to Maine’s forest-products industry. Millions of acres have changed hands between corporations based in South Africa, Georgia and South Carolina and corporations based in Washington, Alabama and Canada. More than 300 workers at the aging S.D. Warren mill in Westbrook soon will be out of jobs. The aging Great Northern mill in Millinocket was on the market, unwanted for nearly two years; it sold only when Bowater combined it with its other, more lucrative holdings. Temporary mill shutdowns everywhere are more and more common.

The public hearing for LD 2222 was held Wednesday, the same day as the Bowater/Inexcon announcement. The hearing went well, support was strong, but there is the danger that lawmakers will use the announcement as an excuse to avoid taking this bold and necessary step. The Great Northern Millinocket workers may not end up owning their mill, but they have accomplished much. They fought for their jobs and their town. They gained the backing of some of the nation’s leading investment houses. They sent a message that the state had better prepare for the next time the fate of an entire community hangs in the balance.

And there will be a next time.