AUGUSTA – Asking local lawmakers on Friday to reflect on their work this legislative session resulted in sighs, coughs and mixed feelings.

“We’re all exhausted,” said Rep. Nancy Smith, D-Monmouth.

But members did agree that successfully passing the budget without dipping into the rainy day fund or raising broad-based taxes was one of their biggest accomplishments. Ethics reforms and greater disclosure of Clean Elections spending also topped their list of meaningful laws enacted this session.

“Given what we had to work with, the fact that we could (balance the budget) without raising taxes and minimizing the damage was a success,” said Smith, chairwoman of the Business, Research and Economic Development Committee.

Members of the Appropriations Committee agreed.

“No tax increase and budget stabilization fund sanctity were the two overarching goals that we began the budget deliberations under,” said Rep. Sawin Millett of Waterford, ranking Republican on the committee. “We were able to accomplish those with some minor exceptions.”

Facing a $190 million shortfall, lawmakers were forced to make cuts in nearly every department.

Rep. Janet Mills, D-Farmington, another committee member, said no one was thrilled with the final budget decisions, but she felt they preserved “as much as we could.”

Ethics

In addition to balancing the budget, Senate President Beth Edmunds, D-Cumberland, and House Speaker Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, authored separate government ethics and accountability bills, making transparency a high priority of the 123rd Legislature.

Rep. Smith of Monmouth said it was important to acknowledge potential conflicts of interest.

“Even the perception of impropriety matters, so we need to be very careful and we need to be accountable,” she said. “The bills that we have passed have done that.”

Rep. John Patrick, D-Rumford, said he was disappointed that the bills got weakened as they traveled through the system.

“The public deserves a higher standard of those who represent them here in Augusta,” he said. “People wonder if we have any financial interests when we cast our votes. If there was more disclosure for the public to have access to, they could probably make a fairer judgment of what we do here.”

Millett said he was happy with the balance that has been struck.

“It provides a little bit more transparency and hopefully provides a fire wall between their role as an employee or business person and their votes here in the Legislature,” he said. “But we stopped short of intruding into peoples’ private finances. We haven’t opened the books into total and complete acknowledgment of all property owned and stocks.”

Clean elections

The ethics reform did not just come from the top.

Mills of Farmington drafted her own ethics bill regarding Clean Elections funding that was signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci on April 7. Mills’ legislation was prompted by former independent gubernatorial candidate Barbara Merrill, who used more than $100,000 of Clean Elections money to pay her husband for campaign services.

“Everyone I spoke to assumed it was wrong to do that, and we want to make sure that nobody does it again,” Mills said.

Rep. Deborah Simpson, D-Auburn, chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee, said Mills’ legislation was important because Maine is a national leader in Clean Elections funding.

“The rest of the country looks to us and we have to make sure that we ensure the integrity of how (Clean Election funds) are used,” she said.

Jail consolidation

In addition to working against Clean Election abuses, lawmakers sought to stretch tax dollars by eliminating inefficiencies in the state’s correctional system.

When asked about the session’s successes, Reps. Millett, Patrick, Simpson and Smith all pointed to the recent work in jail consolidation.

Baldacci proposed a broad plan to reduce inefficiencies in the system, but county officials stepped up with a compromise after working with legislators and the governor’s office.

“Jail consolidation turned out to be wonderful compromise in my view,” Millett said. “We learned a lot from school consolidation. We used a much more bottom-up approach with the jails. The only worry was that we would try to put that burden back on the property tax, and we avoided that outcome.”

Transportation

Two major transportation bills also fostered bipartisan support.

One bill was the result of a study on the state’s bridges ordered by Baldacci after a deadly bridge collapse in Minnesota, and the other was a measure addressing the state’s pothole riddled roads after a particularly damaging winter.

Simpson said no one could deny the poor road conditions and a reluctant Millett agreed.

“I supported both the bridge and the road construction packages even though I remain nervous of using revenue bonding absent voter approval,” Millett said. “But my need to assure myself that we can pay those off has been satisfied.”

Health care

But it wasn’t all love in the Legislature this session. The Dirigo bill proved to be both divisive and controversial.

“The Dirigo plan was not supported by our party,” said Millett, a Republican. “The system works when people are committed to making it work. If there is an area where we fail, it’s where decisions get made in an isolated fashion with one party driving the solution. To that extent, the so-called solution to Dirigo was not a good way to resolve that issue, and I think maybe we’ll come to regret that one.”

The Dirigo bill included an increased tax on beer, wine and soda to help offset costs after the Legislature resisted hiking taxes on cigarettes.

Some Democrats also had reservations about the new tax.

“I have mixed feelings about the funding mechanism for Dirigo,” said Mills, a Democrat.

Unfinished business

Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Oxford, said he is wary of the looming possibility of consolidation between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. He had hoped to stabilize funds for the warden service before adjournment in an effort to stave off the possible consolidation.

“It’s a disappointment that we haven’t fixed that problem before we leave,” said Bryant, chairman of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee.

Smith of Monmouth said she wishes the Legislature could have done more to help small business owners deal with rising diesel prices.

“Last summer it was lobstermen, this winter it was truckers, and this summer I am afraid it will be the farmers using tractors,” she said. “It’s going to hit hard on tourism as well. We’ve tried to find ways to mitigate the impact but it’s frustrating that we couldn’t do more.”

New laws

Rep. Tim Carter, D-Bethel – an act to provide low-interest loans to pay for the installation of geothermal home heating units.

Rep. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston – an act creating a study of long-term home- and community-based care to assess unmet needs and financing options of such care.

Rep. Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston – an act authorizing the Department of Health and Human Services to participate in a national database tracking information about newborns and children who are deaf.

Rep. Sawin Millett, R-Waterford – an act creating flexibility in changing county government fiscal years.

Rep. Janet Mills, D-Farmington – an act to ensure hospital-based physicians reimbursement for Medicaid services.

Rep. John Patrick, D-Rumford – an act to amend card game licenses that increases allowable daily entry fees and the number of players covered.

Rep. Deb Simpson, D-Auburn – an act allowing consumers to get cash for gift card balances less than $5.

Rep. Dick Wagner, D-Lewiston – the naming of the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, formerly the South Bridge connecting Lewiston and Auburn.

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