During a two-day special session in August lawmakers corrected a major shortcoming left over from their initial sojourn to Augusta. Hard work and hard negotiations paid off, primarily in the form of an important package of bonds that will now be voted on in November.

Voters will be presented with three bond questions, totaling $89.4 million: $63.4 million for roads, bridges and other transportation needs; $19 million for upgrades to the University of Maine System, Maine Maritime Academy and community college system; and $6.9 million for water-quality and pollution-control programs.

The final amount of suggested borrowing and the three-question format is a legitimate and fair compromise between the desires of some Republicans who wanted to limit the bond to $84 million and some Democrats who supported a $94 million bond, with all the borrowing lumped into a single question.

Some big-ticket items include $2 million for the campus of Lewiston-Auburn College, $3 million for rail rehabilitation that will speed passenger service to the Twin Cities and $4 million for the Waldo-Hancock Bridge.

All three bond questions should be approved on Nov. 4.

On the second piece of unfinished business, Gov. John Baldacci and legislators agreed to a tax-relief plan to compete on the ballot with a proposal backed by the Maine Municipal Association. At their core, both seek to reduce property taxes and increase the level of state funding for education.

Both questions are flawed, and we advise voters to say no twice.

The MMA plan will throw $264 million of obligations immediately onto the state, which, in turn, will be forced to raise income and sales taxes, or both, or impose major cuts on valued programs. MMA backers have done property taxpayers a service by forcing tax reform onto the agenda, but the plan should be rejected.

The Legislature’s proposal phases in an increase in education funding and provides specific money for the circuit-breaker program. But we believe the real intent of the plan is to draw support away from the MMA proposal.

Voters have an opportunity to demand real tax reform. They should reject both of these plans and keep the pressure on lawmakers to find a better way to adequately fund education and modernize the state’s tax code.

All in all, the Legislature accomplished its most important task during the special session. It agreed on a bond package. The spending, especially on transportation, is crucial to building a strong economy. Without the bond, more than $200 million of federal highway money – our money that we sent to Washington in the form of fuel taxes – would have been lost.

Now political leaders need to go about the task of convincing voters to support the bond. Labor Day is over, and the campaign season begins in earnest. Time to get back to work.
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