AUGUSTA – A group of lawmakers worked until midnight Saturday looking for ways to replace $250,000 borrowed to balance the state budget.
The Appropriations Committee began early in the morning, voting to slash several state departments and programs.
By 5 p.m., the committee members had agreed on nearly $40 million in cuts, including the elimination of several positions and the freezing of wage increases for certain state workers.
At 10 p.m., after a quick working dinner, they were just getting down “to the real difficult, philosophical issues,” such as cuts to health care programs, said Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, Senate co-chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee.
The group of 13 Republicans and Democrats had hoped to have a complete list of cuts, covering the entire $250,000, by the end of the night. But they were not able to finish.
They gave up at about midnight and planned to return today at 4 p.m., according to a legislative clerk.
The Maine Legislature decided in March to borrow more than $350,000 to pay bills, put money into the state savings account and pay down the unfunded liability – or future retirement costs – of the pension plan for teachers and state workers.
After the budget passed, legislators decided to go back and look more thoroughly for ways to reduce the amount of borrowed money by $250,000.
The Appropriations Committee started meeting earlier this week with a deadline of Saturday.
Rotundo declined to specify any specific cuts, noting that final votes had not been taken.
“The cuts have been to all of the different departments,” she said. “There are no sacred cows.”
The committee members began the discussion by combining the two lists of suggested cuts: the one from the Democrats and the one from the Republicans. They hoped that by not identifying which idea came from which party, it would be easier to reach a bipartisan proposal.
As soon as the list is complete, the Appropriations Committee with draft it into a bill and present it to both houses of the Legislature.
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