AUGUSTA, Maine — Working toward the close of the 125th Legislature, Maine lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a Republican-backed bill to gradually lower the state income tax rate to a flat 4 percent.
The legislative action in the early-morning hours came amid traditional speeches highlighting bipartisan successes and expressing farewells as lawmakers completed the business of their two-year session but left open the possibility of a return if Gov. Paul LePage vetoes legislation.
The tax cut, sent to LePage, would gradually lower income tax rates to a flat 4 percent from the current 8.5 percent, due to a drop to 7.95 percent in January. In part, the cut is possible because of an income tax relief account in the state’s rainy day fund.
Minority Democrats argued against the bill, saying the account would not sufficiently cover the cost of a tax cut and the relief would leave the next Legislature with a whopping bill to pay.
“This isn’t a tax cut. It’s a tax shift, and it’s a sham,” Sen. Philip Bartlett II, D-Gorham, said during a debate. “This is nothing more than credit card politics.”
Senate Majority Leader Jon Courtney, R-Springvale, said it was the previous Democratic majorities who had left a budget shortfall of more than $1 billion when the GOP assumed control of the State House in 2011.
“We’re going to be lectured by the people who created a $1.3 billion structural gap? I don’t think so,” Courtney said. “This is not a shift. This is just a commitment the Legislature ought to be making.”
During the two-year session, lawmakers overhauled health insurance laws, cut state debts, passed highway safety laws including a texting-while-driving ban, reduced the social service rolls, took steps to curb domestic violence, and enacted regulatory changes.
“For the most part, we have done a good job,” said Senate Minority Leader Barry Hobbins, D-Saco, who has reached his four-term limit in the Senate.
Stopping short of final adjournment Thursday, legislative leaders left open the possibility of calling back lawmakers to take up any vetoes. LePage signed the budget bill before leaving Wednesday for a Republican Governors’ Association meeting in North Carolina. It closes an $80 million shortfall in the state Health and Human Services Department budget and includes a number of cuts in Medicaid benefits to bring the program more in line with what the governor said the state can afford.
The governor has 10 business days including Saturdays to veto bills.
LePage’s office did not know Thursday of any particular measures the governor plans to veto. Speculation in the State House was that bond issues in the nearly $96 million package approved Wednesday would be the most likely candidates.
Asked if any of the bonds faced likely vetoes, LePage spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett said: “We’ll address that later.”
LePage is wary of adding more debt to the state’s obligations. The bond issues, which would go to voters in November, seek funding for transportation, state colleges and universities, research and development, clean water and conservation programs.
House Democratic Leader Emily Cain of Orono and House Speaker Robert Nutting, R-Oakland, agreed that LePage’s actions will determine whether legislators return to the State House.
“There are a number of bills the governor is going to get for the first time. He’ll get to see them as soon as he gets back from his trip. So early next week we expect to have an indication of whether we’ll need to come back for a day,” Nutting said.
America is in deep dysfunction and the LePage Administration is a microcosm of that sickness.
We are trapped by ignorance. You can vote that it is either the Democrats or the Republicans, but my vote is that the Republicans are the problem, in line with the article “Let’s Just Say It: The Republicans are the problem” written by Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html
Quote:
We have been studying Washington politics and
Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this
dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we
believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge
that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.
The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in
American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved
by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of
the legitimacy of its political opposition.
It is true that the republican party has taken filibuster abuse to new levels and acted to usurp the constitution that they pretend to hold so dear. The filibuster was never intended to increase the threshold for lawmaking to 60 votes in the Senate. The founders were clear that there are only 6 things that require a super-majority and none of those things involves passage of laws. This threshold is reserved for impeachment, removal of a member, ratifying a treaty and the like.
What this boils down to is that the republican party has stolen the congress from the people. Any party that would stoop to these levels as a matter of course will stop at nothing to inflict their agenda on our democracy. They are treasonous and must be stopped before they take it to its inevitable end. As history shows, when a government becomes overrun by a radical element that disregards law and tradition, they eventually end up committing atrocities. I believe the moral meltdown we are seeing in this party, unchecked, will move in that very direction.
Any measure of the success or failure of this administration must take into account the absence of a functioning congress.
We are not dealing with a political party anymore. They are a well financed rogue faction that is hell bent on inflicting their ideology on this republic.
The end game is clear, the republican party stands only for:
– Debt servitude (taxpayer bailouts of bankers while dismantling bankruptcy protection for workers)
– Work discipline (low wages and reduced safety nets mean everybody works harder and longer into their lives)
– Sexual purity (increasing teen birthrates to provide a new generation of poverty stricken and hungry workers.)
Greater wealth inequality is the desired end result of this. This is a vast social engineering experiment in our midst. It offers no hope of progress. It is a one way ticket back to the 19th century.
You might remember that the majority of House Republicans voted against the bank bailouts.
While I agree with your last point regarding sexual purity, your points regarding debt servitude and work discipline are typical left-wing statements that have no basis in reality and are a result of pure emotions.
Republican support for bailouts to banks or other institutions is a falacy, I really can’t even make an argument other than Republicans in general are against this, so I am not sure where that statement even came from.
In regards to work discipline, I am guessing that you are referring to “union busting” which only means that employees will be able to choose if they want to be part of a union or not. That is all, that is not union busting, that is called liberty. Not sure why you’re complaining anyway, unions are just as corrupt as many claim every other corporation to be.
Wages of skilled laborers are set by the particular job market or industry, this is a fact, if it weren’t then everybody would be getting paid minimum wage.
Now granted, there is a lot that I do not agree with the GOP about, but in general they stand for small government, low taxes, and liberty. Please explain to be, how in any way those are bad things?
You’re correct the GOP stands for low taxes for THEMSELVES, liberty so they don’t have to pay a livable wage when they own a business and small government when THEY hold the positions and can distribute the money to themselves and their companies. You got that right!!
Did we read the same article? I read that LePage wants lower taxes for all, please explain to me how that is extreme. And in general the GOP fights for small government, and low taxes, I fail to see how that is “extreme.”
The reality is that neither side is particularly extreme, they believe what they believe, and fight for what they believe. That is all.
If we are talking about many social issues, or other environmental issues I am inclined to agree with you that the GOP has a tendency to ignore science relating to those things. However, in regards to fiscal issues, I would be more inclined to say that people simply interpret data differently, resulting in their own “facts.” I could post, or provide you with an endless supply of data that support my fiscal beliefs and it is likely that you would accuse me of “cherrypicking” data, or ignoring “facts” all together, the fact of the matter is that you are simply interpreting the data differently. As I could just as easily make those same statements about your interpretation.
I for one am happy that republicans are finally the ones making the rules. Democrats, for forty long years, have torn the heart out of this State and turned a thriving hard working State into a welfare State hell bent on conserving everything, taxing the heck out of anyone still making a profit (dirty word in democrat speak) and creating a culture that has known no other way but the democrat way. No compromises, no discussions, a dictatorship that finally has ended. Sit back and let the adults fix things. It will take a while, but it will get fixed.
Dysfunctional Spruce, that’s what democrats are, dysfunctional and out of touch. And using the words of the Washington Post, the chair of the democrat party holds no weight in this discussion.
Democrats = ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved
by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of
the legitimacy of its political opposition.
Actually, it’s Mann & Ornstein who are making the statement, not the Washington Post, and they are very respected by both parties, at least they have been for decades.
Your bias is showing.
The legislature did a number of wonderful things this year. Congratulations to all members of the 125th legislature!
We will begin to bear the ill consequences of these short sighted decisions in the months and years to come. When the people come to understand the impacts on their property taxes, cost shifting increases to health care costs and the further weakening of our schools, they will not feel that any of this was a good deal for them.
>>>>
Only in your world
no, probably in at least 61% of the world–enjoy his 1 term
11 / 6 / 2012 … Big day for the U Haul business throughout the state …. especially Augusta. Bye Bye R’s.
Ha! You just made me recall the introduction of the Beverly Hillbillys. I’ll put a little twist on the concluding music theme of the same show, “Ya all DON’T come back now, ya hear!”
They won’t return. The Republicans in the house and senate are a bunch of cowards who can’t stand up to Gov. Bully. Passing the supplemental budget without bipartisan support is proof of that. I am appalled and disgusted by the cuts they made to the elderly and the children of the poor. Shame on them.
Shame on YOU for supporting a system that drives the helpless elderly, children and poor into a life of dependency and reliance on unsustainable government systems that only let them down in the end….
if you liberals actually cared about these people, you would have figured out by now that your policies are failures and taken a different tack….instead we have your support for bankruptcy and a monetary system that feeds money to Obama and his rich, fat cat wall street buddies, while the middle class gets pummeled by unemployment, inflation, and growing costs of government….We can thank the progressives for the desctruction of the middle class.
How do you figure Obama is in bed with Wall Street when he wants to raise taxes on them and create more regulations for them? Leaving those issues aside, it wouldn’t make them friends with him.
While jtc is way off base on his rant, if you think Obama wants to raise taxes on Wall Street think again. He extended the Bush tax cuts and has yet to prosecute anybody for the 2008 economic disaster. As for Dodd-Frank, well let’s just say it doesn’t reinstate Glass-Steagall or regulate derivatives and leave it at that. He does the bidding of Goldman Sachs and their ilk just like a good Republican, or Clinton for that matter.
Really. Is that why Obama bailed out Wall Street. Including Congresswoman’s Chellie Pingree’s Multi-Billionaire Wall Street Hedgefund Manager Husband Donnie Sussman. Mr. Sussman who is also being investigated by the SEC for unfair business practices and sleazy behavior. The same gentleman who just bought the PPH/KJ/MS newspapers here in Maine.
and if he hadn’t continued the BUSH bailouts, you would have been lying on the floor, drumming your heels and screaming how anti capitalist he was
Must be a Governor relative making such negative comments which they are famous for doing:)_
Yes, shame on you Honey777 for supporting a system that drives the helpless elderly, children and poor into a life of dependency. Can’t you see that these are the people we should be cutting off from any aid and left to fend for themselves?
Shame on you. How dare you usurp the Republican party and their goals!!
Sounds like you bought stock in cemetary’s, shovel’s and funeral homes. Nice to see where the Republican’s have their priorities set.
Democrats are heartless and without shame. Their only response to any problem is to steal more money from the people. Well Done Governor, standing up to the bullies!
You have gotten to the truth. It is the Dems who have been warring on the Maine people for decades who are the real bullies. Republicans have finally given the people a voice in Augusta.
Unless those people are elderly, in Head Start, or sick and without health insurance.
The only people given voices were those who wanted to buy fireworks.
The looters don’t like stepping off the gravy train.
Stealing? Bullies? Pot calling kettle black?
What has this person said that isn’t the truth about Democrats. What this person has said is 100% accurate about the Democrat controlled Legislature from 1974-2010 and the 50+ years of Democrats/Democrat-Independent Governors. They love to steal from the working person to redistribute those people’s wealth to those who refuse to work , and to those Special Interest who are tied to Democrats.
see how many republicans get reelected .. you should listen to yourself and see how pathetic you sound
“steal more money from the people. Well Done Governor” ??? Let’s talk to the town of East Millinocket, shall we?
Good. Get this bunch out of Dodge. We can deal with all of this after Nov. 6th.
you have got to like all the vacation trips we have sent the gov.and lawmakers on this year.why cant we cut some of that spending along with the gas and groceries for the gov and lawmakers. I still say that the lawmakers of maine have the best part time job of anyone i know
The Rs will never return this year. Too busy. Too cowardly.
Yeah let’s bring the Democrats back who will be cowards refusing to make cuts that are much needed. Always will raise taxes on the working folks who they claim to represent. Let’s let them come back so they can tax , spend , borrow their way out of the mess they have caused this state. Yeah we will bring them back so all of these folks on Welfare can continue to live the good life while all of us working folks get the shaft. Business as usual that is the Liberal way of doing things. Destroying jobs, destroying working people’s quality of life. While buying votes to keep Democrats in power.
That Paulie is outta town tells me that he’s done as far as the Legislature is concerned. Now that he can’t line item veto anything means that he’s stuck with the Legislature’s work as it was voted on for the balance of the year. It also means that if he want’s to have a temper tantrum and object to any piece of legislation passed he’s going to have to veto the entire bill that he’s unhappy with. That is, sure as God made moose dangerous at night, not what he wants to do since it’s gonna provide the entire Legislature a reason to re-convene the whole Legislature, now madder than a wet hen and looking for blood, and provide them with a reason to go back and undo his line item veto’s thru supplemental legislation that’s gonna be bulletproof beyond question or political arm turning, Party be dammed. Naw, Paulie can stay in North Carolina and enjoy the golf. It’s better than him coming back and screwing things up even more.
He’ll get to see them as soon as he gets back from his trip. Adrienne is your supervisor going on vacation again. Does he need rest for a trip as he has the funds for a trip – but – i wondered if all the people he dropped from the HHS service if they will now go on a trip? Must be nice to work so few days a year plus all the benefits of the Blaine Manson:) NOVEMBER!
I’m confused. Why would the GOP vote for a tax decrease when the state is in debt? Like I’m going to notice that on my paycheck? I would rather keep it where it is and run the state efficiently and STOP the job cuts!!