Budget Woes and Updates……

The Legislature and the Appropriations Committee have been working diligently for months on the next two-year budget.  Each and every line has been thoroughly reviewed to insure that the fundamental missions of state government can be carried out, and that the original $800 million dollar budget gap we faced at the outset will be met with the least possible impact.  In this time of crisis, we are committed to working together to pass a bipartisan budget.

Today, you may hear in press reports that due to the economic downturn revenue forecasts have worsened by almost $600 million for the next two years.  This will require immediate further analysis and additional cuts on top of the original $800 million dollar gap.

The Legislature is focused on passing the budget in a timely fashion.  Reasons for passing the budget as soon as possible are three-fold. 

First, we need to pass the budget to receive, and inject, the Federal stimulus money into the local economy.  This is critical in order to put Mainers back to work and to help stabilize budgets. 

Second, passing the budget is necessary in order to pay MaineCare providers, the state's low-income health care service organizations.  A critical use of the stimulus money is to help fund the additional demands on MaineCare created by the recession.  If the budget is not passed by roughly May 8, MaineCare providers will not be paid.

Lastly, schools, towns, contractors, health care providers and others need to know the state's funding commitment in order to draft their budgets and business plans.

As you can see, it is very important that the Legislature pass the budget before mid-May.  However, the ever changing and unpredictable nature of our current economy will most likely require us to revisit the budget during the next two years due our constitutional requirement of maintaining a balanced budget.