Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

Budget decrease passes in state Senate

BY MATT WICKENHEISERPortland Press Herald

AUGUSTA — Gov. John Baldacci will sign into law today a $5.8 billion biennial budget that makes cuts to social services and revenue the state sends to local cities and towns, while raising fees for state licenses.

Baldacci is scheduled to sign the bill in a State House ceremony at 3:30 p.m. The Maine Legislature voted on Wednesday to adopt the budget, which covers the two fiscal years beginning on July 1.

The budget reflects the current economic downturn and is $500 million less than the last two-year spending plan — the first time the state budget has decreased in 30 years. The cuts were necessitated by continually dropping revenue, and they will be felt across the state, in ways both big and small.

It will cost residents an extra $4 to get a fishing license and an extra $32 to get a scalloping license — a few of many fee increases. Non-essential government will shut down for 20 days over the next two years — meaning, for example, that Mainers won’t be able to renew their driver’s licenses on those days.

Funding was cut for services for children and adults with mental problems; they might not be able to get supervised psychiatric beds in a crisis.

Funding for residential care for older adults was also cut.

Revenue sharing for local communities was cut by $34 million. That means residents might see town workers laid off, city services reduced or increases in local property taxes to make up the difference.

“These were major changes — very, very difficult to make,” said Sen. William Diamond, D-Windham, who led the budget process as co-chairman of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. “This budget is comprehensive, and it’s a good product. We fully understood the impact of every decision we had to make.”

Diamond noted that the state has had to contend with a $1.4 billion drop in revenue in the current fiscal year and in the next biennium. The budget will cover the rest of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, as well as the following two fiscal years.

The Senate on Wednesday passed the budget by a vote of 33-2, with state Sens. Richard Nass, R-Acton, and Douglas Smith, R-Dover-Foxcroft, as the only dissenting votes. The House, which had given preliminary approval Tuesday night, approved the budget with a final vote of 119-26 Wednesday.

All House Democrats and some Republicans voted for the budget; only Republicans and one unenrolled representative voted against it.

Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, a member of the Appropriations Committee, noted that federal stimulus money was used to restore tens of millions in cuts to local schools. But there is a $69 million drop in school funding in fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, 2010, he said. Schools should consider a two-year approach to their budget, he said, to help soften that blow.

Sen. Justin Alfond, D-Portland, said that every Mainer will be affected by the budget, but that there are some bright spots. The state is expanding the school laptop program, he noted, and funding a biomedical school at the University of Maine. Also, an early-childhood education center in Waterville will be a model to expand such programs across the state, he said.

Before voting against the budget, Smith said it was “clearly an improved product over what was introduced originally” by Baldacci. But it maintains government at essentially the same size, he contended.

Smith said he’s not convinced the budget will hold up, and said lawmakers could have to come back to make more cuts. The budget “sentences Maine to a long, cold, dark economic winter,” he said.

Rep. Joshua Tardy of Newport, the Republican leader in the House, said the budget passes on problems to future lawmakers, has some questionable revenue projections and passes on pain to municipalities. But, he said, it begins the process of “rightsizing” state government to reflect the state and national economy.

Tardy, who voted for the budget, said structural changes were important, such as those requiring state workers to contribute toward their individual health insurance and moving welfare costs toward the national average.

But with the economy still ailing, “it’s going to get worse,” he warned.

“We will be back, dealing with this,” he said. “Prepare for heavier lifting and far more difficult times.”

Democratic Rep. Emily Cain of Orono, the House co-chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said the budget is not one “that anyone feels happy about.” Cain said she was proud of the bipartisan work that went into the budget, though.

Rep. H. Sawin Millett Jr. of Waterford, the ranking Republican on the budget-writing committee, said he remains concerned about short-term and long-term revenue projections. “I think we are well-positioned to continue our work,” he said.

Baldacci, who was out of the state Wednesday, released a statement praising the Legislature for passing “a responsible state budget during a time of great financial difficulty and uncertainty.”