It’s a short session in Augusta, but there’s plenty on the agenda.

Tax reform tops the list of must-dos for the governor and the Legislature. Facing a June up-or-down referendum vote on a plan by the Maine Municipal Association and Maine Education Association to drastically increase state funding for education, there is great pressure to reach a deal and avoid what could be a financial disaster for the state.

Maine already faces a shortfall of $113 million that must be resolved. Cuts are likely across the board. And the projected deficit will make it even more difficult to balance demands for more education spending with the governor’s pledge not to raise taxes. Look for big cuts in popular programs, including community college funding, the University of Maine System and MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program.

The votes in Westbrook and Saco won’t be the end of the racino debate. Despite rebukes by voters, Scarborough Downs will try to convince the Legislature to change the rules put in place by a November referendum. The track would like to have more time and more flexibility to find a new home that could accommodate slot machines. There is a pro-gambling faction in the Legislature that will try to help Scarborough Downs add slot machines somewhere in Southern Maine. That impulse should be avoided. One of the selling points of the referendum was the limitations on location.

Big fights are also brewing over the regulation of soon-coming slot machines in the state. Rules should keep the industry on a tight rein of regulation. Strict rules should be created on who can run a gambling house and on the number of slots allowed.

Flying just below the radar are a host of other important issues for the Legislature, which convenes Jan. 7. Included on that list is finding a way to help snowmobile clubs find insurance, protecting customers from shady contractors and bonds for preserving land.

And that still leaves the merger of the the Department of Human Services and the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services, a huge task that the governor is counting on for big financial savings and improved services.

Whew. That’s a lot to get done by April. We’ll see how the Legislature does.


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