AUGUSTA — Six times in the last year and a half, Republicans and Democrats on the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee have reached unanimous agreements on state budgets.
Starting next week, new budget negotiations will test that streak.
“I think we can find common ground,” said Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, Senate chairman of the committee.
But this week, Democrats are responding harshly to the Republican majority’s decision not to call lawmakers back into session to consider line-item vetoes by Gov. Paul LePage, including more than $5 million for General Assistance, a program that helps the poor with emergency needs.
“As lead Democratic negotiator, I feel betrayed,” said Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston. “There’s been a breach of trust. What’s the point of negotiating an agreement if that agreement is going to be broken?”
Senate Minority Leader Barry Hobbins, D-Saco, issued a press release Tuesday night accusing Republicans of being flip-floppers and showing “a fundamental lack of courage” in letting LePage’s vetoes stand.
Wednesday, the Democrats filed a Freedom of Access Act request for the list of Republican lawmakers who did not want to come back from the recess to consider the vetoes.
Rosen said it didn’t make sense to call legislators back because the Appropriations Committee can deal with the issue in its next negotiations. And he feared what the governor might do if the Legislature voted to override the line-item vetoes.
Saturday, a day after the House and Senate approved a supplemental budget for the next 15 months with more than two-thirds support, LePage vetoed the $5 million for General Assistance, which is funded by the state and municipalities.
He chastised lawmakers for not making the kinds of structural changes he wants and sent the issue back to the Legislature.
Legislators have five days to act on line-item vetoes. Republican leaders asked their members if they wanted to come back into session and most said no.
The Appropriations Committee will return next week to begin work on a budget to close a funding gap in the Department of Health and Human Services. The size of the gap is uncertain as lawmakers wait for new figures from the DHHS and revenue forecasters.
On the table is the elimination of funding for the Drugs for the Elderly program, cuts to early childhood education and elimination of the Medicare Savings Program, which also helps senior citizens pay forprescription drugs.
Those proposals, and the prospect of new negotiations over General Assistance, make a tough budget even tougher, Rotundo said.
The Legislature will be back in session May 15 to consider the budget.
LePage said Wednesday that he’s not optimistic the Legislature will make the kinds of changes he’s seeking.
“Never say die,” he said, after a bill signing at the Blaine House. “But I don’t know how confident I am. I just know one thing: if they don’t, it’s at the peril of the state of Maine. The state of Maine will suffer if they don’t make some structural changes in this government.”
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