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This is the long year: The 122nd Legislature convenes Tuesday. This year is the longer year of the two-year session, with adjournment scheduled for June 15. Next year is the shorter year, with adjournment scheduled for late March.

The year is beginning earlier than usual. Gov. John Baldacci already has lawmakers working on his property tax relief bills, which the House and Senate need to vote on by Jan. 20 to avoid competition with referendum proposals at November’s ballot box.

Key upcoming dates: On Jan. 7, Baldacci is scheduled to release his two-year budget; his annual State of the State address will be given Jan. 25.

Both the budget and the State of the State are important in that they typically establish much of the tone and direction for work legislators will tackle this year.

Tough choices, battles, face new Legislature

AUGUSTA – The Androscoggin River, Dirigo health, gay rights and resolution of the $733 million state budget deficit promise to bring on political battles during the 122nd Legislature. The tussle begins Tuesday.

Before the new year even began, Gov. John Baldacci was already praising legislators for getting off to an “early, good start” by working across party lines for property tax relief.

Despite the governor’s optimism and constant call for everyone “to work together,” don’t expect people to be holding hands and singing “Kumbaya.” The session will see challenges to what Baldacci is or isn’t proposing.

Hospitals and Republicans are bucking some health reform proposals. It’ll be Round 2 for cleanup of the Androscoggin River, with paper mill workers versus environmentalists on how much pollution the mills should discharge.

The projected $733 million state deficit will have many factions clamoring over what services should or should not be cut to balance the budget.

Property tax relief is considered a must, and soon.

Baldacci plans to introduce gay rights legislation that will make it illegal to deny a job, housing or credit based on a person’s sexual preference. That plan has galvanized the conservative Michael Heath and members of his Christian Civic League to fight what they fear is a step toward the legalization of gay marriage.

Restaurants will face-off with health professionals backing measures to help Mainers slim down, including one that would force chain restaurants to post how many calories are in the food they sell. Dick Grotton of the Maine Restaurant Association said his group will “vehemently” oppose that proposal.

Air pollution would be reduced if a proposal that requires 10 percent of new cars sold in Maine by 2009 are “clean cars” – more hybrids and highly efficient cars – becomes law. Automobile manufacturers are expected to resist.

And, despite the budget deficit, Baldacci says he’ll work to get bonds approved to create new jobs and encourage more Mainers to take college courses. Democrats and Republicans disagreed on the borrowing amount last year, so no bonds were passed. “That hurt Maine,” Baldacci said.

Baldacci: No to higher taxes

When talking about red ink in the upcoming budget, Baldacci reminds Maine that things are improving. “We’re not out of the woods,” but two years ago Maine had a shortfall of $1.2 billion, no money in the Rainy Day fund and a $300 million tax anticipation note, something bond banks don’t like.

Maine had nowhere to go but up, Baldacci said.

This year Maine again faces a deficit, but it’s $733 million. “We’re wrestling the deficit down and protecting Maine’s job growth at the same time,” Baldacci said. There is now $49.6 million in the Rainy Day and other reserve accounts, plus a tax anticipation note of $190 million.

The deficit is from more state money that will be spent on local education and property tax relief, and making up for cuts from the federal government, Baldacci said. The deficit will be closed by continuing to restructure, streamline and consolidate government.

“We’re not raising taxes,” Baldacci said. “We’re not eliminating any services in Medicaid. We’re restructuring the delivery of those services to be more cost effective. We’re managing to make sure that nobody falls through the cracks, which is the commitment I have to providing the services to the most vulnerable.”

Easier said than done, said Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, who has been named co-chair of the Appropriations Committee.

“Our greatest challenge is to figure out how can we provide people of Maine with what they told us they want: greater property tax relief, maintain services important to the disabled and elderly, and more aid to schools, without raising taxes.”

All while the federal government has said it will cut an estimated $70 million to Maine in reduced Medicaid reimbursements. Covering that “will be a huge challenge,” Rotundo said.

Senate Republican Minority Leader Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, said Republicans want spending cuts and no increase in taxes. Red ink “will continue to a big problem until we bring our spending to the same level as revenue,” Davis said. Republicans will push for changing the constitution to include a spending cap, he said.

Different views on the Androscoggin

Rep. Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston, advocated last year for higher standards for a cleaner Androscoggin River, but now says she was lacking the key ingredient for success: support from her community.

“Last year I was unprepared and didn’t realize the amount of support in the community,” Makas said. The Lewiston delegation was there, but few others from Lewiston-Auburn were. Since then a citizen group, the Androscoggin River Alliance, has formed to lobby for a cleaner river. “Now people in the community are more aware of what’s happening” and will voice concerns when the bill is aired, Makas said.

In 2004, Class C rivers throughout Maine “were given fairly good protection” by a new law. “But exceptions were made for a stretch of the Androscoggin and the St. Croix. The Androscoggin should not have been separated out from protection afforded other Class C rivers,” Makas said. “My bill will correct that.”

But workers for the paper mills on the Androscoggin – the main source of the water’s pollution – will be fighting just as hard against Makas’ higher standards that would force the mills to pollute less.

Mill lobbyists and workers – including Rep. Tom Saviello, D-Wilton, and other legislators who themselves are mill workers – argue that the higher standards would cost the mills more, result in job losses and not make much difference in water quality.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Environmental Protection is writing overdue pollution licenses that limit how much pollution the mills can discharge. Public hearings on Makas’ bill and proposed pollution licenses are likely to attract arguments of jobs versus a cleaner river.

Adjusting health care coverage

Another priority for Baldacci is lowering costs of health care and improving access.

He will seek to pass new laws to allow hospitals to work closer together to lower administrative costs and pass on the savings to patients.

Maine hospitals are more expensive than others in the nation, concluded the Dirigo Commission to Study Maine’s Hospitals. It is recommending ways to lower administrative costs, including: electronic medical records, examining whether there are too many hospital administrators and whether they are paid too much, and voluntary limits on how much profits hospitals should make. Some recommendations will end up as proposed laws this session.

The Maine Hospital Administration dislikes several of the recommendations, and complains that the state appears to be moving toward hospital regulation. The MHA, hospitals and hospital workers afraid of losing jobs are expected to oppose some proposals.

Meanwhile, Dirigo will begin to provide subsidized health coverage to some individuals and small businesses. Eventually, Dirigo is set to expand Medicaid coverage, or offer more subsidized care.

Republicans object to expanding Medicaid, saying the state can’t afford it. Republicans want to bring back a stronger private insurance market and favor junking insurance regulations. Republicans want to create a high risk pool to take the sick out, which could lower premiums. “Health insurance is a lot cheaper in other states than it is in Maine” because of too much regulation, said Senate Republican leader Paul Davis.

Dirigo opposition “is unfortunate,” Baldacci said.

Both the Dirigo coverage and hospital reform “is all voluntary. There’s no mandatory anything,” Baldacci said. “We have people going into hospitals who lack health insurance and drive up all of the premiums of all those paying, that’s the bad debt and charity care. … So the more you expand access, the more you’re reducing your costs. This saves lives and saves on the budget.”

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