News

Will rough start smooth out to productive session?
Q&A with Maine's House Speaker and local legislators
By Elizabeth Prata

Augusta--the 122nd Legislature opened last week with a bang. From Rep. Twomey's conversion back and forth from Democrat to Independent, to Rep. Edmonds' dispersal of decorum material urging Representatives not to engage in hobbies and crafts such as crocheting while in session, to Rep. Richardson's last minute pulling of the power sharing compromise, it is obvious Maine politics are alive and well.

As to the actual business of the abbreviated second session of the 122nd legislature, over 200 bills were accepted for consideration. Rep Susan Austin (R-Gray) is sponsoring one, "An Act To Protect Volunteer-earned Funds of the Maine Wildlife Park," LR 2898. This bill would ensure that volunteer-earned funds of the Maine Wildlife Park could not be used to reduce overall state funding of the park.

Rep. Mark Bryant (D-Windham) is sponsoring two bills. LR 2927, "An Act To Increase Agent Participation for Insurance Products, which would provide a broader agent base for health insurance products and increase agent participation, and LR 2981, "An Act To Protect the Employment Rights of Military Reserve and National Guard Personnel." This bill would allow members of the military reserve and National Guard returning from temporary duty overseas 72 hours before returning to work rather than the 8 hours provided under federal law.

Maine's Speaker of the House visits The Monument

House Speaker Rep. John Richardson, (D-Brunswick) visited The Monument Newspaper last Friday to discuss the upcoming session.

Mr. Richardson said that he has three items he considers a priority. "We made a strong bipartisan statement when we added $5 million dollars to the (LIHEAP) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding," Rep. Richardson said. He was referring to an emergency bill to appropriate $5 million of state funds to supplement the federal program.

Hopes for heating help evaporated on December 22 when Congress voted against sending an additional $2 billion into LIHEAP. The LIHEAP funding was tagged to an Arctic oil drilling proposal, but Federal legislators cut back from the Fiscal Year 2006 Defense Appropriations Bill, and LIHEAP went with it.

Rep. Richardson wants Maine to pick up the slack. Maine's LIHEAP program is administered by the Maine State Housing Authority. The bill would add on to the private efforts of Gov. Baldacci's Keep ME Warm Fuel fund.

Another priority for Speaker Richardson is putting together a bipartisan budget. Asked if this was possible, given the rancor and upset of the session's first week, he replied, "It's realistic if people come to the table in good faith, with both sides giving and taking." Last, the Speaker would like the legislative session to address the wraparound to Medicare Part D.

"Medicare part D is inferior, we need to budget for the drug program people were used to. That would be our biggest accomplishment." He was positive about the fiscal outlook for Maine people. We should meet the obligation for people's access to drugs, we have been and should continue to put money into the rainy day fund, and now that there is a surplus, we should step up and meet a few needs.' Richardson said that the Judiciary system in Maine needs "just about everything, staff, computers, judges." Rep. Richardson was careful to say that they should not go on a spree, but fund the dire needs that exist now that there is some money to do so.

Rep. Mark Bryant is all business

Local legislators have their own views about the upcoming session. Rep Mark Bryant (D-Windham) said, "Since this is the second session, we will be working on an abbreviated calendar, but the issues we'll be considering are very important.

In Gray and Windham, we're facing the same challenge the rest of our state is encountering: how to grow our economy while preserving what already makes our area a great place to live. Finding that balance begins with job creation, and not just any kind of jobs, but sustainable, good-paying jobs. We accomplished some of this in the bond package voters approved this fall, but there is still more work to be done.

From my own experience having been laid off, I know that we can't rely on big businesses anymore to provide good jobs in our state. We need to not only invest in our small businesses, but make it easier for them to do business in our state.

One of the bills I plan to support this session is the creation of a business court. Too often, small businesses spend valuable time and money being shuffled through small claims court, and their cases are intermingled with personal claims. The business court will give small businesses a way to expedite their cases and not become lost in a larger judicial system.

One of my chief priorities is also ensuring that all Maine people have access to affordable health care. I believe in the Dirigo Health program, and to help it to continue to serve its clients, I have proposed legislation that will permit the state to find another insurance carrier if Anthem or the state ever chooses to cease its DirigoChoice contract, without any interruption in service or care.

Besides working to create jobs and better access to health care, I will continue to support the Maine Wildlife Park and use my position on the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee to secure its funding. I have signed on to Rep. Austin's bill and will work with her to do whatever I can to help maintain the park and continue its important mission of education in our community and for the state of Maine."

Rep. Austin is full of hope

Rep. Susan Austin (R-Gray) said, "This session is hopeful regardless of its surprising start. One legislator left their party while another legislator's indecisions whether to be enrolled in her party or not certainly presented challenges to leadership and membership. The full bodied Chamber was "electric" with enough energy to sustain a small town!

By Day 2 equilibrium had returned. An article in the Portland Press Herald stated that being an election year no one would accomplish much. That seems such an oxymoron... If not every year, then certainly the year when people often are more attentive to government process, accomplishments should occur. The BETR Program is hot with the business community's attention to the recent decreased reimbursement. Dirigo has thus far fallen short of its anticipated goal of insuring the uninsured. Taxes are an ever looming shadow clouding your security. This remains the same. I am in my seat voting as I believe you deserve to keep more of your paycheck for your use. I believe you deserve more choices in building your home, your business and your future. This session is ripe with hope and full of challenges!"

Rep. Mike Vaughan wants no waste

Rep. Mike Vaughan (R-Durham) said "In some cases, Speaker Richardson and I will share the same ideas on what should be the top priority item in the upcoming short session.

Among those ideas are true tax relief, and improving the business climate in the State of Maine. The speaker has indicated that he plans to revisit the bill which addressed the 55% funding of schools and property tax relief from last year...LD1. Also in the works is another bill which we hope will survive legislative manipulation, a repeal of the business equipment tax.

As we know, tax cuts will stimulate the economy, and both of the above measures, if they are effective, will pave the way for business growth and reinvestment.

As I revealed last week, the failing Dirigo program has not only failed to significantly scratch the surface of covering the 130,000 uninsured in Maine, but also to lower the cost of health insurance.

There will be a bill before the Insurance and Financial Services Committee which will allow the State of Maine to take advantage of federal grants to establish a High Risk Pool, which most other states have already done. The citizens of virtually all of those states enjoy health insurance rates 50% of what we pay, or even less.

The HRP is a major component of the needed policy changes, which Maine has been stubbornly refusing to enact. That is, and has been, my first priority since going to Augusta.

If you take your own health insurance costs, and cut the yearly outlay in half, you can see that no other possible policy reform could make as much difference to the average working family's standard of living.

Road and infrastructure construction and maintenance should be a major priority. We have seen $70 Million stripped from the transportation budget, we just approved borrowing for that very purpose, and we now also see important road construction projects being put off.

I maintain that this should be a high priority in Maine, but it isn't. The proof is in the funding.

Massive spending reform and the elimination of fraud, waste and inefficiency should be job one, starting with Maine's massive fiscal black hole…the DHHS."