AUGUSTA (AP) – A bill that would broaden state sales tax and cut personal income tax won the backing of municipal officials Thursday while business groups split over whether to endorse it.

But as the Legislature’s Taxation Committee took public testimony on the measure, its fate remained uncertain, due more to the misgivings of Democratic Gov. John Baldacci than to opposition of the House and Senate Republican minorities.

“There’s some specific elements of the bill that he is concerned about,” Baldacci spokesman David Farmer said in an interview, citing proposals to boost a real estate transfer tax and the state’s lodging and meals tax.

The bill is widely backed by Democratic lawmakers. Two years ago, a similar bill passed in the House but failed in the Senate with Baldacci’s lack of enthusiasm evident.

This time around, House Majority Leader John Piotti’s bill has drawn support from the Portland Regional Chamber and the Maine Municipal Association. Opponents include the Maine Merchants Association, while the Maine State Chamber of Commerce is on the fence.

Piotti, D-Unity, said that overall his measure is revenue-neutral, but that Maine residents would see their tax burden reduced by $75 million annually as out-of-state visitors pick up a larger share.

The bill would lower the personal income tax rate from 8.5 to 6.5 percent and raise taxes on meals, lodging and short-term car rentals. It also would extend the 5 percent sales tax to include currently exempt items such as ski-lift tickets, auto repairs, dry cleaning and interstate telephone charges.

“We’re hearing, ‘You can’t act in a recession,”‘ Piotti said at a news conference before the committee hearing. “I’m saying you have to act at a time like this.”

A key goal of the overhaul package, Piotti said, is to stabilize state tax revenue, which many analysts agree can fluctuate sharply because of the relatively narrow sales tax base.

“I know there are problems in it,” Piotti told the Taxation panel, expressing willingness to consider changes. “There are problems in every bill.”

Republican leaders questioned not just the details of the Piotti plan but the timing.

Restructuring the tax code as proposed faces strong GOP opposition, “particularly at a time when so many of our small businesses are struggling and the state is shedding jobs at a record rate,” said Senate Minority Leader Kevin Raye, R-Perry.

In prepared testimony, chamber spokesman Steve Clarkin said the statewide group fully supports reducing the income tax, but “with mixed feelings” it would line up with opponents for now, largely because of the potential impact on Maine’s tourism industry.

Clarkin said the chamber’s board of directors is “hopeful that the legislation will be amended and accompanied with meaningful spending and tax limits.”