Gov. Baldacci wants legislation to narrow the scope of the bill he signed Monday.

AUGUSTA (AP) – Facing a choice between interests of loggers and concerns of the industry, Gov. John Baldacci decided Monday to sign a bill giving loggers and haulers negotiating power in setting rates for wood.

But the governor also set conditions, saying he wanted the scope of the legislation more narrowly focused, according to a spokesman. That would be accomplished through a separate bill to go to lawmakers this week.

The Democratic governor faced a midnight deadline to sign or veto the bill, which was pushed aggressively by loggers who say they now have a hard time making money from rates they’re offered.

The bill was sent to the governor after passing by a single vote in the Senate on April 14.

It would allow haulers and harvesters to organize associations and negotiate collectively for rates. It also establishes a board of arbitration representing loggers, landowners and the public to settle disputes between loggers and landowners.

Loggers say the legislation will give them a more even negotiating footing with the wood purchasers.

Baldacci was concerned that the bill was overly broad and consulted with state lawyers and others involved with the legislation to work out details of the new clarifying measure to be drafted, said Baldacci spokesman Lee Umphrey. Details were not immediately available Monday night.

The bill’s chief sponsor, Rep. William Smith, D-Van Buren, said many of the loggers have made large investments in equipment but are in a situation in which they can only work for one landowner.

“These are small businessmen. Many of them have employees too,” said Smith.

Loggers often invest $150,000 to more than $1 million after in a grapple skidder, delimber and other equipment needed for their work, said Smith, who estimated that 200 to 300 woods workers could potentially be affected by the legislation.

Presently, if two or three cutters propose getting together with the landowner to negotiate prices, landowners balk, saying it’s a violation of antitrust laws. The bill seeks to void that concern.

As the bill was written, two or three landowners “in a monopoly or near-monopoly situation” would be affected by the measure.

The bill applies only to landowners that hold more than 400,000 acres in a defined market area, according to the Maine Pulp and Paper Association, which opposed the legislation. The association said only three companies meet that definition: Irving Woodlands, Plum Creek and Wagner Forest Management.

Other opponents said that besides singling out certain large companies, the bill tinkers with the free market system and could cost jobs.

The pulp and paper association said the bill if enacted would result in higher fiber prices and add to uncertainties about the supply of fiber across Maine.

Also opposing the bill was the Maine Forest Products Council.

AP-ES-04-26-04 1936EDT