AUGUSTA (AP) – The Baldacci administration gave lawmakers a rough sketch Tuesday of what a new round of budget cuts in the range of 5 percent would look like, touching off a new round of partisan jousting on the Appropriations Committee.

Democrats suggested that spending reductions of that magnitude might still not be enough to eliminate a controversial borrowing provision approved by legislative majorities earlier this year. Republicans still attacking the borrowing plan dismissed the administration’s informal impact statement as a ploy designed to deflect attention from reductions that could be made in other ways.

Baldacci budget chief Rebecca Wyke said the department-by-department proposals for spending reductions did not constitute an administration plan, but did reflect that “we are down to the bone here.”

State officials, meanwhile, confirmed that the state’s bond rating is being dropped from AA to AA- by Standard & Poor’s. Two other rating agencies lowered Maine’s rating last week.

Lawmakers from both major parties and the Baldacci administration have been exploring alternatives for a $450 million revenue bonding provision in the $5.7 billion two-year state budget slated to take effect on July 1.

Critics have launched a petition drive aimed at forcing a people’s veto referendum on the provision in November.

The net amount needed to replace the budget borrowing provision and keep the budget in balance would be about $250 million. Other proceeds from the borrowing would be earmarked for lowering the state’s pension liability and boosting reserves.

A Baldacci administration compilation given to Appropriations Committee panelists Tuesday indicated that $258 million in savings could be generated over two years by the imposition of 5 percent cuts across the board on top of other budget adjustments already enacted or proposed by the governor.

The $258 million in cuts, however, would include more than $90 million from the Department of Education, according to the administration tally. The biennial budget that was approved in late March was designed to target about $250 million in new funding for local schools – an outgrowth of a statewide referendum vote held a year ago.

In June 2004, Maine voters approved a ballot question to increase state aid for public schools from about 42 percent to 55 percent of total costs. The proposal was promoted as a way to reduce property taxes by shifting more of the burden for school expenses to the state.

Discussions of replacing the budget borrowing provision have also raised questions about higher taxes.

Wyke, who along with state Treasurer David Lemoine spoke with Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday, said the reasoning on Wall Street behind the decisions to drop Maine’s rating had been consistent, focusing on the state’s modest reserves and structural gap between anticipated revenue and spending demands.