AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine lawmakers convened the 2010 session on Wednesday with the usual perfunctory ceremonies but under a dark financial cloud as they prepare to cut another $438 million from the state’s budget.
In the House of Representatives, Speaker Hannah Pingree predicted that “much of the work this session will seem dire” against the backdrop of yet another year of severe budget shortfalls. This is also an election year for many, raising the stakes for political gesturing.
But Pingree, D-North Haven, noted that 38 other states have also reported midyear revenue shortfalls totaling $34 billion as of December. She urged her House colleagues to maintain the bipartisan spirit that enabled the state to close an even larger gap last year.
“While our opportunities will be limited, we must not ignore our ability to invest and prepare our state for rebuilding our economy,” Pingree said in her opening remarks.
“Whether it is rebuilding our infrastructure, insulating our homes, supporting Maine farmers, encouraging capital for Maine businesses or educating future Maine workers, there are opportunities for progress during this short session.”
Gov. John Baldacci’s proposed budget fix would cut $67.8 million from the Department of Health and Human Services’ appropriation and $73 million from the Department of Education.
The supplemental budget does not propose any new taxes or tax increases. It also employs a number of short-term tactics to trim expenses, including adding three more government shutdown days, delaying $32 million in payments and transferring funds from special revenue accounts.
Rep. Josh Tardy, a Newport Republican and House minority leader, said his party’s top priorities will be working with the Democrats and holding the line on taxes. In addition to the budget, Tardy said other high-profile issues this session will be energy and the state’s transportation infrastructure.
Tardy said he believes the tone of the session will be positive, despite a governor’s race and legislative elections.
“There may be some political rhetoric ratcheting up as we get closer to the primary, but I think leadership understands the task that we have ahead of us,” Tardy said.
Rep. Adam Goode, D-Bangor, said he has already heard from concerned parents of children with disabilities about how services will be affected. He anticipates fielding even more as the Legislature’s budget-writing committee begins delving into the governor’s proposed supplemental budget, beginning today.
“There is no question Bangor is a major service center and the areas that are going to be cut the hardest are social services and education, so that’s a big deal for Bangor,” Goode said.
Across the State House in the Senate chamber, Senate President Elizabeth “Libby” Mitchell said last year’s budget compromise was reached through what she called “principled partisanship” that respected differences of opinion.
Baldacci’s proposal calls for the elimination of 44 positions within state government, adding to the nearly 1,000 state positions that have been eliminated since 2002.
But Mitchell, whose district includes many state employees, said the Legislature must avoid the temptation of taking out frustrations “on any unpopular group.”
“We are going, respectfully, to try to recognize the quality of the services we have and to reward those who dedicate themselves to public service,” said Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, who is also running for governor.
The Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee will begin a week of public hearings on the budget today. In addition to working on more than 200 new or carried over bills, other committees will also work with Appropriations on areas of the budget within their jurisdiction.
Some of that work began Wednesday.
In the Judiciary Committee, Chief Justice Leigh Saufley with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court said its budget proposal calls for the elimination of 45 positions rather than closing additional courthouses.
The courts are already seeing a decrease in the number of criminal cases as prosecutors focus their increasingly limited resources on the most important cases. Some courthouses are reducing hours while everyone is simply trying to deal with fewer people.
“We will continue to see delays in nonpriority cases,” Saufley told committee members during a budget briefing. Additionally, there will continue to be substantial delays in the processing of some “routine” needs, such as writs and other administrative tasks, she said.
Worries that present funding won’t sustain Maine’s highways and bridges foreshadow a debate over transportation funding, which comes from a separate budget. But prospects of raising fuel taxes, which cover the bulk of that budget, are also dimmed in an election year.
“We have a lot of highway, bridge, rail and port work that needs to be done and that will always need to be done,” Baldacci told The Associated Press. “What we’re trying to do is do it smartly” through money saving approaches such as composite bridge construction that has been pioneered by the University of Maine.
Baldacci said the state has applied for additional federal transportation funds. Although Maine has used all of its federal stimulus money, it has received the go-ahead to apply for extra funds left over from states that didn’t spend theirs as efficiently, he said.
Another issue likely to come to a head this year involves Maine’s stake in proposed energy corridors that carry power from the Canadian Maritime Provinces through the state to southern New England. Lawmakers also will debate lingering issues of sex offender registry requirements, all-terrain vehicle regulations, special edu-cation and jail funding.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.