June 11, 2009

GOP's priorities improved the state's budget in many ways

by Rep. Josh Tardy & Sen. Kevin Raye

 

State capitals from coast to coast are awash in bitter budget fights. In virtually every state, despite federal stimulus funds, elected leaders face monumental challenges in balancing budgets while being plagued with staggering revenue losses resulting from the worldwide economic downturn.

Too often in recent years, similar rancorous budget battles have also dominated Augusta, with majority Democrats ramming through a partisan budget and summarily adjourning the Legislature to skirt the constitutional requirement for a two-thirds budget.

As a result, Maine has seen dramatic and unsustainable growth in state spending.

This year was different. Maine faced the same budget pressures as other states, confronted by the loss of a staggering $1.1 billion in state revenues just since January. But we were able to pass a bipartisan budget with overwhelming votes in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

From the opening day of this year's legislative session, recognizing the historic nature of the challenges facing Maine people, Republicans sought to establish a constructive and positive tone in Augusta. In doing so, we signaled a determination to work with the Democratic majority in a bipartisan manner to help shepherd our state through these difficult times. At the same time, we recognized our obligation to stand fast on the core principles that define us as a party.

So, as the Legislature worked to craft a bipartisan budget, Republicans approached the process guided by our vision of "Common Sense Solutions for Maine's Future."
Recognizing that state government has grown beyond the ability of hardworking Maine families to afford, Maine Republicans have argued that Augusta needs to make the same tough commonsense choices that Maine families make each and every day. From the moment the governor unveiled his budget proposal this year, we took seriously our responsibility to help improve it. And while the final budget is far from perfect, the GOP's commonsense priorities strengthened it immeasurably.

We worked to thoughtfully prioritize the most vital programs and services – protecting our most vulnerable citizens and watching out for Maine's struggling taxpayers.

We were able to make changes that will save Maine taxpayers $34 million in the areas of tax indexing and preserving conformity to the federal tax code.

We succeeded in softening cuts in revenue-sharing with municipalities and reducing cuts to the Circuit Breaker and Homestead programs.

Republicans also worked to make sure that the budget honors the state's commitment to pay our long-overdue bills to community hospitals so vital to maintaining quality health care for Maine families.

Looking to secure the future, we insisted on structural reform in the costly MaineCare program that will ensure future savings and put us on a path toward a more affordable state government in years to come. Likewise, we were able to include measures that will require state employees, including legislators, to pay an equitable share of their health care premiums – rather than have taxpayers continue to pick up 100 percent of the cost.
Going forward, based on income, state employees will pay between 5 percent and 15 percent of their health insurance premiums, with the ability to buy back a portion through wellness incentives.

We worked across party lines to restore crucial funding for adult education, soften cuts in funding for children in residential care and fund Health Info Net, an electronic medical records system that will provide quicker, more reliable information to doctors and hospitals.

We will continue to be mindful of what Maine's taxpayers can afford. We will continue to advance policies to foster an economic climate that will expand opportunity and allow our children to prosper here in Maine. We will continue to resist leaving the tab for the next generation to pay.

After a series of brain-storming sessions, Republican legislators determined that "CREATE" is the perfect acronym for our positive and constructive approach, because we are committed to producing a state government that is Caring, Responsible, Efficient, Affordable, Transparent and Effective.

Our "CREATE" agenda is already guiding our approach to the issues – including the recently passed budget and GOP measures to reform welfare, make Maine's health insurance market more competitive, and use the future growth in state revenues to reduce Maine's income tax rate.

While Republicans don't currently hold the reins of state government, we do have the ability to help shape the public debate and demonstrate what Republican leadership would mean for Maine people after years of Democrats running state government.