AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican lawmakers injected a long-running political problem into last-minute budget talks on Tuesday, pushing Democrats to include up to $400 million in ongoing annual funding for roads and bridges.
The party has some leverage as lawmakers aim to reach consensus on the Highway Fund, which is separate from the rest of the state budget, by a July 1 deadline. Putting a plan into place that quickly requires two-thirds votes in both legislative chambers.
Legislative Democrats and officials in Gov. Janet Mills’ administration said while reliable funding would help the state’s Highway Fund, the Transportation Committee cannot solve the issue alone and that Mills included sufficient highway funding in her proposed two-year budget. That leaves the result of Republicans’ demands uncertain with only weeks to go before a deadline.
The need for more guaranteed transportation funding has been widely recognized, but it has confounded the State House over the past decade. For eight consecutive years through 2021, policymakers chose to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars in aggregate to plug gaps in the system rather than raise the gas tax or make other politically difficult changes.
During that time, the gas tax, the dominant source of Highway Fund revenue, has eroded due to the rise of more fuel-efficient vehicles. The work of a legislative task force on the issue broke down in 2020 after Democrats and Republicans could not agree on a plan to bolster funding.
The federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic has made things easier on one front, including when Congress passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021 that is expected to bring billions to Maine. But the Maine Department of Transportation is still operating roughly $265 million short annually of what it needs to maintain its entire system, Commissioner Bruce Van Note told lawmakers on Tuesday.
To shore up the system, Mills, a Democrat, included $400 million for transportation in her latest state budget addition in hope of drawing down $1 billion in federal funds. It led Republicans on the Transportation Committee to call Tuesday for permanent highway funding, rather than one-time spending or bond issues that taxpayers have to cover.
“If we can’t do it now, when would we ever be able to do it with these kinds of current revenues?” Rep. Wayne Parry, R-Arundel, asked.
The request from Republicans put Democrats and the Mills administration in an awkward spot at times during debate on Tuesday as the panel looked to wrap up budget talks.
After Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Norridgewock, asked Van Note what amount of annual money his department would like “in a perfect world,” Van Note replied with the $265 million but said if he were a lawmaker, “I would not give that to me.”
“Because honestly, no policy entity should be fully funded in government,” he told the committee. “That just can’t be.”
The complexities of the debate were evidenced Tuesday by the Transportation Committee meeting starting over an hour late, after members had gone in and out of the room to find budget committee members and hold more private discussions with each other.
Democratic lawmakers echoed some of the same sentiment in pushing back against the call for permanent highway funding.
“In a perfect world, every department of state government would have dedicated revenue for their long-term needs,” Sen. Ben Chipman, D-Portland, who co-chairs the committee, said.
Van Note also told Transportation Committee members they alone cannot solve the thorny Highway Fund issues while arguing that they should pass the governor’s budget.
The committee returns Thursday for further discussion and potential votes on transportation sections of the proposed budget.