AUGUSTA, Maine — Democrats who control the Legislature have not released their preferred addition to the state budget with less than two weeks until the targeted adjournment date.
It has left rank-and-file members, lobbyists and others who follow the State House waiting for the final tweaks to a $11.3 billion budget that Democrats passed in March after protracted disagreements with Republicans over how to fill a $118 million deficit facing the state’s Medicaid program.
It has been an unusually secretive process. Each day this week, the budget committee has scheduled public meetings but then canceled them as lawmakers race through floor votes on hundreds of bills. Few commitments are being made both in public and private, according to lobbyists who are anxiously awaiting the final products.
“Just a lot of bobbing and weaving,” Retail Association of Maine CEO Curtis Picard said of his efforts to get more updates from lawmakers about a proposed pharmacy tax and other items.
Democratic and Republican leaders and the top appropriators from each party met Monday to try to hash out a path forward but said they have no consensus on a budget addition. House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, said in a Wednesday radio interview that it is not set yet.
All but two Senate Republicans opposed the initial two-year budget in March while arguing for MaineCare work requirements and other limits on the state’s version of the federal health insurance program serving roughly 400,000 low-income adults and children in Maine. That led Democrats to use their majorities to pass the plan so it would take effect July 1.
That budget only left about $130 million in unspent revenue for lawmakers and only filled the MaineCare funding gap for one year, meaning another roughly $120 million is likely needed in the budget addition for that to go along with all the other measures that lawmakers and Gov. Janet Mills approve before a June 18 adjournment date.
Lawmakers must also decide on what aspects to include from the Democratic governor’s preferred two-year budget she unveiled in January, such as a $1 per pack increase to Maine’s $2 cigarette tax, a 70 cent per-prescription tax for pharmacies, a 5.5 percent streaming tax and cuts to health and child care programs to fill a $450 million shortfall through 2027.
The Monday meeting was aimed at moving lawmakers “closer to a solution” on the budget, said Mary Catus, a spokesperson for Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick. But House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, said Tuesday he is “still waiting for the Democrats to put forward their plan.”
Mills has urged Democrats and Republicans to work together. Last year, she wielded “pocket vetoes” to not sign dozens of bills approved near adjournment dates by arguing they would put too much pressure on the state budget.
Legislators from both parties have pushed back on some of the governor’s proposed taxes and cuts, with the Health and Human Services Committee voting against her proposed 70-cent tax on each prescription pharmacies fill and $30 million worth of cuts to child care worker stipends.
But Mills still has influence, and the Legislature’s budget panel could choose to go against health committee recommendations. Other tax measures have been carried over to next year or were facing poor prospects due to opposition from the Mills administration, such as a proposal from Rep. Cheryl Golek, D-Harpswell, aimed at funding schools by adding a 2 percent tax on income above $1 million for individuals and above $2 million for married couples.
Meanwhile, the delayed MaineCare payments continue to put pressure on hospitals and health care providers due to the state capping certain payments to try to minimize negative consequences until July. Northern Light Health, which has faced various financial problems, is awaiting roughly $24 million as a result of deferring MaineCare payments for provided services, according to Paul Bolin, the system’s executive vice president.
“That continues to provide a significant anxiety point for us as well as other employers in the health care sector,” Bolin said.
