Lining up the agenda
LePage pledges regulatory reform
- Gets an earful from businesses
- Considers centralized agency
Governor–elect Paul LePage recently pledged that his administration will propose an overhaul of regulations, which met with applause from members of the Maine Business Association Roundtable.
“I am asking all of you to become auditors of the red-tape-removal process,” he said.
LePage said his administration will use discussions with the business community to draft legislation for the new session that will seek to improve the regulatory process and help spur economic growth.
“I am not saying all regulations are not needed,” he said. “If the regulations are sensible and they have a real purpose, they need to be there. But, we need to see if we can enforce them differently to speed up the process.”
LePage heard criticism about regulations from a range of business people.
“While we recognize the need for government oversight, we implore you to lead a cultural shift in how government interacts with Maine businesses,” said Scott Carlin, owner of several IGA grocery stores in Aroostook County. Several others called for a change in the regulatory culture to treat applicants as customers, not adversaries.
Several speakers were critical of the Department of Environmental Protection.Peter Daigle of Lafayette Hotels, which owns more than two dozen hotels and motels across the state, blasted DEP, calling it the “granddaddy” of red tape.
“If you have a hotel on a sand dune or in a shoreland zone, it is impossible to do any improvements,” he said, “and the improvements I am talking about are things like adding an elevator to be handicapped accessible or adding handicapped-accessible rooms.”
Daigle told LePage his company had tried since 1999 to build a new hotel in Wells and despite repeated requests, did not get an answer on permits until 2009, when it was denied by DEP.
Auto dealer Win Dodge suggested LePage consider legislation that would set up one agency to handle permit requests.
“For example,” he said, “vehicle dealerships must register with the Bureau of Corporations, the Motor Vehicle Bureau, the Bureau of Insurance, the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, the Workers Compensation Board, Maine Revenue Services, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Labor.”
Senate President Kevin Raye, R-Perry, said the Legislature will create a special committee to consider the proposal.
Supplemental budget requests grow
- Time ticking on federal match
- LePage wants review of all appeals
The latest compilation of state agency budget requests for the current budget year has reached $149.6 million from the General Fund, and that concerns Governor-elect Paul LePage.
But the single largest item in the new budget spreadsheet is the result of meetings among LePage, Gov. John Baldacci and hospital leaders, said Sawin Millett, co-chair of the LePage budget transition committee.
They “sat down and looked at ways to speed up the payments to the hospitals,” Millett said. A number of options were considered and the $69.5 million figure in the supplemental budget spreadsheet would allow payments to the hospitals of $248.6 million, he said.
“If we can act in the first three months of the year, we get a better matching rate and can pay more of what is owed the hospitals,” Millett said.
Most of the spending requests in the draft spreadsheet are for the Department of Health and Human Services. A reduction in the federal matching rate for Medicaid set for Jan. 1, and a second reduction on April 1, will force the state to provide more funds for Medicaid programs or MaineCare.
For example, it will take $21.8 million in state funds to make up for the decreased federal share in MaineCare medical services and another $18 million to pay for increased use of the programs.
Another $9.9 million is needed to pick up the decreased federal share of Medicaid for mental health programs.
LePage said he wants his budget transition team to review all requests, but said he will not support appropriating funds to cover “mismanagement.” He is upset by a request from the Child Development Services program in the Department of Education, which proposes a shift of $5.7 million from another account and requests $7.4 million in additional General Fund appropriations to pay for the program through July 1.
DOE argues it is not over budget, but has a shortage of revenue to pay for services that are required by federal law. The shortage was the result of changes in Medicaid rules, said DOE officials, but at a meeting of the appropriations committee in November, it was called overspending by lawmakers.
State revenues were re-projected up by $111.6 million for this budget year, providing additional resources to meet supplemental spending needs. “I don’t think you will see it reach $149 million,” Millett said.
He hopes a supplemental budget request can be finalized shortly after LePage takes office in January.
Delegation reflects on session priorities
- Tax cuts take center stage
- Truck weight limits on the table
The top priority for the final weeks of this congressional session is to extend the tax cuts scheduled to end Dec. 31. But members of Maine’s delegation have other matters they want Congress to address before this session ends sometime in December.
“We can’t allow taxes to go up as we are trying to recover from the recession,” said U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.
A wide range of taxes, tax credits and tax breaks are scheduled to expire and Snowe said the impact of not addressing them makes all other goals pale by comparison.
“We must stay in session until we resolve the tax issues,” she said. The 1099 provision related to the health reform law is also high on her list. It requires businesses to file a 1099 tax form identifying anyone they pay $600 or more for goods or merchandise in a year.
“This is going to be an excruciating burden for small businesses and individuals,” Snowe said. “I think that is a provision that needs to be repealed.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said pilot provisions allowing heavier trucks to use the interstate in Maine expire Dec. 17. She is hoping to get an extension to get more data to prove the program’s worth.
“The initial data that we have are very favorable,” Collins said, “in terms of it improving fuel use, safety and reducing green house gas emissions.”
But she agreed with Snowe that addressing the tax measures must be the top priority, as do U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree.
Pingree said Congress needs to deal with the extension of the tax measures, but there are many other issues to consider, such as an extension of unemployment benefits before the session ends.
Mal Leary runs Capitol News Service in Augusta. He can be reached at editorial@mainebiz.biz. Read more of Mal’s columns here.
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