Lawmakers were put on notice yesterday that the Department of Health and Human Services has no further areas to trim, and that lawmakers searching for an additional $30 million should prepare to cut services.
“At this point there are no grand opportunities … that represent $30 million or even a significant portion of it,” Commissioner Brenda Harvey told members of the appropriations committee, reported the Bangor Daily News.
Legislators are tasked with finding $30 million in cuts overall for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2010 to meet a projected drop in revenue of $1.4 billion for the current fiscal year and the next. Among the options brought before the committee were early prisoner release, streamlining the Maine-Rx program and teacher furlough days, reported the Sun Journal.
Education Commissioner Susan Gendron testified that $7 million in state and local funds would be saved per shutdown day for teachers, with about $3 million of that coming from the General Fund, reported the Sun Journal.