Bond Specifics: What the $149.5 million will pay for

AUGUSTA — On his way to a manufacturing conference in Florida, Maine’s Republican Gov. Paul LePage issued a proclamation Wednesday calling the Legislature back to work Aug. 29.

In a release, LePage said lawmakers are expected to pass a $149.5 million state borrowing package that has been pre-agreed to between his administration and leaders in the Legislature’s Democratic majority.

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders said Thursday that they were optimistic the legislation would move forward quickly with strong bipartisan support.

State Senate President Justin Alfond, D-Portland, said lawmakers and LePage had a breakthrough in negotiations late last week, and were able to reach an agreement that would allow a five-bond package to go out to voters this November.

“We were at an impasse and the right thing to do for Maine was to find a way to break the impasse and we were able to do this,” Alfond said. He also said that Democrats have been pressuring LePage on a bonding package for transportation, including highways and bridges, for months.

“Earlier last month, the governor finally started talking about his willingness to support a transportation bond,” Alfond said. “We, as Democrats, have been encouraging and urging Gov. LePage to invest in our state, including our roads and bridges.”

Democrats again noted earlier, voter-approved bonding that LePage waited to release until the Legislature passed a bill to pay off about $500 million in state debt. LePage said he would not put the state deeper in debt until it paid money owed to hospitals for services they provided under the state’s Medicaid program, MaineCare.

“For two-and-a-half long years, his failure to release voter-approved bonds held back hundreds of millions of dollars of public and private investments and delayed projects and jobs,” Alfond said. “Two construction seasons have been lost and we will never get those back.”

But Republican leaders backed LePage’s decision to withhold the bonds until the hospital debt was paid.

“It would have been fiscally irresponsible to go on a borrowing and spending spree before paying off our past-due welfare bills,” House Minority Leader Ken Fredette, R-Newport said. “The package that Democrats and Republicans agreed to last Friday, however, is a sensible one. It’s not too large, and it prioritizes essential functions of government, such as transportation and education infrastructure.”

The Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee will begin working the compromise bill on Thursday. It includes funding for highways, bridges, ports and railroads as well as funding for improvement to state university and community college facilities. The measure also includes $14 million to renovate state Army and Air National Guard armories around the state.

“Now is the time for the state to invest in these much-needed infrastructure improvements, especially when the federal government is flat-funding these projects,” LePage said.

House Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, said Democrats, LePage and minority Republican leaders had also agreed to take up another bonding package in January 2014 to address other state needs, including investments in research and development, land and water conservation and sewer infrastructure improvements. Eves said Democrats wanted to do more now but needed to reach an agreement quickly.

“In a divided government, you have to compromise,” Eves said. “Just like the budget we were able to reach a bipartisan agreement that’s good for our economy and good for the people of Maine.”

Eves said keeping negotiations tightly focused on infrastructure improvements allowed agreement on the overall package. 

“Maine construction workers just can’t afford to sit out another construction season. We need to get these people back to work and get beyond the partisan politics,” Eves said.

LePage also urged lawmakers to address issues with the state’s psychiatric hospital, which is at risk of losing nearly $20 million in funding from the federal government over deficiencies discovered there.

In May, LePage proposed adding a psychiatric ward to the state prison in Warren at a cost of $3.3 million to address the issues identified in state and federal audits at the Riverview Psychiatric Center. The center houses some 60 forensic patients who have been sent to the facility via the state’s criminal justice system.

“Our first concern is for the safety of the patients and our staff,” LePage said. “We want to assure these patients, their families and Riverview employees that our administration is working toward a resolution, and we are requesting swift action from the Legislature. This is a dangerous issue that needs to be resolved now.”

Alfond said Wednesday that Democrats were also committed to finding a solution. He said lawmakers had requested that the commissioners of the state’s departments for Health and Human Services and Corrections attend the Appropriations Committee meeting Thursday.

Alfond said he was uncertain that LePage’s proposal to add a wing to the state prison would be the final answer to the problems at Riverview, but before ruling it in or out lawmakers needed the feedback of those key commissioners.

“We just don’t know yet,” Alfond said. “That’s why we need the assistance of both commissioners so we can assure that we can get all of these details out so we can come up with solutions.”

The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee is scheduled to meet in a work session on the bonding bill starting at 1 p.m. Thursday.

sthistle@sunjournal.com

Bonding bill specifics

Transportation

$76 million for highway and bridges, including $44 million to reconstruct or rehabilitate priority 1, 2 and 3 highways; $27 million for bridge renovations and $5 million for municipal partnership programs.

$24 million for multimodal improvements including $9 million to acquire property at International Marine Terminal in Portland; $4 million for Portland Harbor dredging and upgrades to the Portland Fish Exchange; $3 million for marine freight improvements; $1.5 million for industrial rail access program; $4 million for passenger and transit rail; $1.5 million for aviation projects and $1 million for small harbor improvements.

Total:  $100 million

Higher education University of Maine System

$5.5 million to renovate 10,000 square feet of outdated science, technology, engineering and mathematics classroom space at the University of Maine

$1.2 million for science and nursing lab upgrades for UMA campus

$1.2 million to renovate science facilities in Preble and Ricker Halls at UMF campus

$1.2 million to renovate and upgrade forestry GIS and nursing labs at Fort Kent campus

$1.2 million for structural renewal of lab and science facilities at Machias campus

$1.2 million to upgrade space, microscopes, equipment and fume hoods at Presque Isle campus

$4 million in lab renovations at the University of Southern Maine campus

Total:  $15.5 million

Maine Community College System

$2.35 million to Central Maine Community College new building to add science labs, general classrooms and offices.

$2.45 million to Eastern Maine Community College for new 13,000 square-foot addition to existing Maine Hall academic building.

$2 million to Kennebec Valley Community College for renovations of existing lab space, classroom expansions and Hinckley Campus renovations.

$900,000 to Northern Maine Community College for renovations to Aroostook Hall.

$3.4 million to Southern Maine Community College for renovations at Brunswick campus.

$3.4 million to York County Community College for new 17,000 square-foot building including new classrooms, computer labs and associated offices.

$1 million to Waldo County Community College for renovations of Howland Hall, energy efficiency.

Total: $15.5 million

Maine Maritime Academy

$4.5 million for new science facility

Total for higher education  $35.5 million

Maintenance and renovation of state armories:  $14 million

Grand Total:  $149.5 million

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