As I write this update on Mon., Jan. 5, the work of the 124th Maine Legislature formally begins.
I am pleased to report that I have been named to the same two committees I served on in the last Legislature, namely Marine Resources, and Business Research and Economic Development committees. These are both great committees to be on from the perspective of the needs of our towns, as well as for the needs of the state as a whole.
As we all know, the economic downturn of the last year has hit us hard, in our personal budgets as well as in the budgets at all levels of government.
The Appropriations Committee of the Legislature has today begun hearings on the supplementary budget, needed to close a gap of $140 million in the current budget (covering the next six remaining months of the 2006-08 budget), before we get to the even bigger gap in the budget for the next two years, which starts in July 2009.
By the time you read this, both of the committees on which I serve, will have met with the Appropriations Committee to discuss the proposed supplementary budget and its impact on the areas we oversee.
For Marine Resources, the 2009 proposed budget cut is by about 4.7 percent, or a cut of $415 thousand on a total yearly budget of nearly $10 million.
Cuts proposed in Economic Development activities total a little over 5 percent, or about $1.2 million on a yearly budget of $27.4 million.
The committees get a chance to push back on these numbers in meetings with Appropriations. As our committees meet, I will keep you informed on how we’re doing and where I stand on the proposed cuts in these areas.
Important as these areas are, the lion’s share or roughly 75 percent of the state budget is taken up by expenditures in two departments: Education, and Health and Human Services.
Cuts in Education total 2.3 percent, or $22.9 million on a yearly budget of 1.2 billion. Cuts in Health and Human services total about 3 percent, or $34.7 million on a yearly budget of $1.1 billion.
I remain concerned about the impact of these cuts on our schools and university system, as well as on the sick, needy, and elderly of the state.
I am also concerned about the impact on our hospitals of a cutback in the reimbursement rate for Critical Access Hospitals (of which St. Andrews is one) and for hospital-based physicians (of which St. Andrews has several). I will be tracking what is happening with these cuts and looking to propose alternatives, if at all possible.
The bottom line for us is that we cannot run a budget deficit in the State of Maine. Our Constitution requires a balanced budget year-to-year, unlike the federal government.
Overall, this supplemental budget eliminates 94 positions, including 40 layoffs. As a backdrop, since 2002, 729 positions have been cut from state government.
As the economy worsens, and as the federal government has backed away from aid to the states, the trend has been downward, with many needs in bridges and roads, healthcare, and education left unmet.
I hope for a change in this picture, as the economy brightens over the next two years, and as the federal government steps back into its historic role of aid to the states for infrastructure, for healthcare, and for education.
You can look at the full proposed supplemental budget online at www.maine.gov/budget/budgetinfo/fy09supplbudget.htm.
The full Legislature will vote (as we must, since the governor can only propose, but the Legislature must approve) these and all other cuts to the present budget very shortly. That’s because this Fri., Jan. 9, we will get the next job, which will be to consider the full 2010-2011 biennial budget proposal from the governor.
That’s the one that needs to be about 14 percent lower than anticipated, or almost $1 billion down on a total of about $7 billion over the two years. We will work on this budget through March, with a vote likely by the end of that month.
I look forward to hearing from you on these and other issues facing the state. You can reach me via email at bmacdon@roadrunner.com, or by telephone at 633-0570, or by regular mail at 656 Back River Road, Boothbay, 04537.
