AUGUSTA (AP) – Democratic and Republican negotiators offered separate proposals for revising Maine’s pending state budget Tuesday, setting the stage for voting in the Senate and House of Representatives on the most contentious issue still remaining for lawmakers.

The key financing element of the plan put forth by majority Democrats – a $1 doubling of the tax on a pack of cigarettes – was supported by Democratic Gov. John Baldacci, according to senior gubernatorial aides, but was cited as a deal-blocker by Sen. Richard Nass of Acton, a lead GOP bargainer.

The Appropriations Committee split was 8-5 along party lines.

A Republican budget-trimming plan without taxes was circulated as well, and Democrats tagged Republicans with being too eager to curb social services and health care programs.

“It’s a step backwards,” said House Speaker John Richardson, D-Brunswick, charging that the Republican plan would undercut state-subsidized health care programs and eventually drive up premiums for people with private coverage.

Officials have said a net amount of $250 million would be needed to supplant an unpopular $450 million revenue bond provision in the biennial state spending blueprint due to take effect July 1.

The revenue bonding is the subject of a people’s veto petition drive and an organizer of that effort, Republican Sen. Peter Mills of Cornville, said Tuesday veto proponents were not ready to call it off yet.

“It doesn’t do anything to us until we see the votes,” said Mills as the two Appropriations Committee factions fine-tuned their dueling replacement plans.

The Democratic plan roughly matches half of the $250 million in lowered expenditures with another half in new revenue.

To reach a cutback total of around $125 million, the Democratic package counts on managed care to reduce the cost of mental health services by more than $10 million.

It would also lower for one year state reimbursements in the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement program from 100 percent to 90 percent for savings of about $7.5 million.

Additionally, the Democratic package envisions savings of more than $5 million from a one-year delay of some school construction projects and of nearly $6 million through capital audit recoveries on expenditures from the School Renovation Revolving Loan Fund, a Democratic House caucus summary said.

Also, the package would cut $5 million in the second year of the biennium from revenue sharing for municipalities, according to the compilation distributed to Democratic lawmakers.

Cuts linked to the Dirigo Health insurance program would exceed $2.2 million.

The Democratic package also relies on fees for teachers, pegged at an equivalent of $20 annually, for total new revenue of more than $2 million.

Moreover, it would transfer the Maine state ferry service to the Highway Fund, saving $6 million.

Richardson expressed satisfaction with the outcome, saying, “we worked in a bipartisan fashion to cut as many programs as possible.”

Republican legislative leaders issued a statement touting their focus on spending reductions.

“We have to recognize that we’re in competition with other states to attract businesses and create jobs, and that’s tough when you’re famous for high taxes,” said Assistant Senate Minority leader Carol Weston, R-Montville.

In late March Democratic House and Senate majorities enacted a reworked version of Gov. John Baldacci’s original two-year budget plan that would not increase broad-based taxes but that called for the sale of revenue bonds worth about $450 million.

Passage of the $5.7 billion budget reflected the Democrats’ numerical edge over Republicans in both the Senate, where the final tally was 18-16, and in the House, where the approval vote was 77-73.

Baldacci and state lawmakers had agreed early on that the state should provide an additional $250 million for local schools as a follow-up to referendum voting last year.

Initially, the governor proposed using anticipated future lottery revenue to raise $250 million from an investor for the biennium. Later, that plan gave way to the revenue bonding approach, which became equally controversial.

Mills said Tuesday the people’s veto effort had collected about four-fifths of the required number of signatures to force a statewide vote.

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