AUGUSTA – The anti-tax, anti-spending drumbeat continued Thursday in the State House as a conservative group released a report pointing to where it says government wastes taxpayers’ money and urged lawmakers to think carefully before they approve more borrowing.

The Maine Heritage Policy Center released a “2007 Maine Piglet Book,” which says the state overspends on its Medicaid program and has wasted millions fixing a computer glitch that led to extensive billing problems in the Health and Human Services Department.

It also said that more than $12 billion in debts – including bonds, unfunded liabilities and other obligations backed by the state’s promise of payment – should give pause to lawmakers as they consider bond issue packages.

The Baldacci administration said the debt figure is far overblown and dismissed the “Piglet” book as superficial treatment of serious financial issues with which elected officials are now wrestling.

Thursday’s news conference targeting state spending came as legislative committees consider Gov. John Baldacci’s $6.4 billion two-year budget — which includes proposed tobacco tax increases and a major school consolidation measure – and an array of tax system changes.

Baldacci, a Democrat, and Republican legislative leaders have also advanced separate borrowing packages.

Maine Heritage and the Washington-based Citizens Against Government Waste joined others who have been urging lawmakers not to raise taxes and to control spending. On Monday, a coalition of diverse businesses brought that message to the State House.

“Maine isn’t really unique when it comes to waste,” David Williams, a vice president of the anti-waste group said Thursday. But he said state finances should be subjected to scrutiny of an independent commission.

The report calls Baldacci’s Dirigo Health program, which is designed to cover more of the state’s uninsured, “one of the most costly disappointments in recent history.” It says state employees’ compensation is excessive compared to nongovernment workers and says salaries of some state employees who are paid more than the $70,000 the governor receives are excessive.

Their report questions the need to fund nearly two dozen programs that together receive more than $42 million in state funds. Examples are the Maine Arts Commission, the Lobster Promotion Council, Maine Public Broadcasting Corp. and the Office of Tourism.

The groups also took aim at a bipartisan tax reform proposal which had been unveiled the previous day. The proposal offered by Sens. Richard Nass of Acton, a Republican, and Democrat Ethan Strimling of Portland seeks a number of changes, including lowering the top income tax bracket from 8.5 percent, with other drops for lower brackets.

“It’s a shift – that’s all it is,” said Bill Becker, president of the nonprofit Maine Heritage. Becker said supporters should “shift their focus to spending reform.”

State Finance Commissioner Rebecca Wyke scoffed at the report, saying, “It’s fun to poke fun at government, but we have some serious business to do this session.”

Wyke said bond-rating agencies that visited the state March 8 found that even with its existing obligations, the state is in a position to issue additional bonds. The commissioner also said that critics of the proposed bonds should take into account the need to upgrade and repair highways and other state facilities.

Wyke said the administration’s budget is confronting spending in two of the biggest areas of the state budget – education and human services. She defended pay levels for Maine’s higher-paid officials, saying the state must compete with the private sector to hire people with specialized skills and education.

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On the Net:

Citizens Against Government Waste: www.cagw.org/site/PageServer