Lawmakers returning to the Statehouse as a partial government shutdown began Saturday were greeted by dozens of union members and state employees who blamed the budget impasse on Gov. Paul LePage and his fellow Republicans.
Lawmakers returned to the Statehouse amid a partial government shutdown Saturday, greeted by dozens of union members and state employees who blamed the budget impasse on Gov. Paul LePage and his fellow Republicans.
The state’s first shutdown in a quarter century began after lawmakers failed to meet Friday’s deadline for a new state budget. House Republicans, who objected to $162 million in increased education spending in a proposed two-year, $7.1 billion budget, said they were working with LePage on an alternative plan.
The House was scheduled to begin meeting at noon Saturday. Union members and Democrats were the first to arrive, and held a rally outside the House floor.
“We’re not going to stop until we get it done, ” said Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook.
Phil Bartlett, chair of the Maine Democratic Party, called the shutdown unnecessary and motivated by ego.
“This shutdown is about no core principle. This is all about the show, ” he said.
LePage this week vowed he would not sign any budget that did not include his overall income tax cut proposals. On Friday, he once again accused legislators of waiting until the last minute to approve a budget and aid, then rushing toward a bad compromise “so they can go home for the Fourth of July.”
But Democrats and Senate Republicans said averting a government shutdown that could hurt state employees and the economy was more important than passing a perfect budget. Democratic House Speaker Sara Gideon described LePage’s alternative budget plan as a list of demands that would require at least a day of work. The Legislature early Saturday voted to once again allow a new six-member committee to try to hash out a budget deal in the coming days.
U. S. Rep. Chellie Pingree urged lawmakers to think of state workers, whose livelihoods are at stake.
“As families gather together to celebrate Independence Day, thousands of state employees across Maine are filled with anxiety and worry that they will not be able to make ends meet because obstructionist politics have prevented a common sense budget to pass in Augusta, ” she said.
The full effects of the shutdown haven’t been felt by many yet because it’s the weekend. State parks, correctional facilities and psychiatric hospitals remain open, and law enforcement and first responders are on the job. If the shutdown continues, bureau of motor vehicle offices would close, while at least one courthouse would be open in each county.
During the last shutdown, in 1991, a time of bleak revenues with no immediate sign of recovery, state employees flooded into the State House as citizens seeking services found shuttered motor vehicle offices, long waits to apply for food stamps and closed veterans’ cemeteries.
This year, revenues are healthy, with unemployment at a historic low. The union representing state employees said it’s ready to sue if workers aren’t paid on time in the coming weeks, while the nonprofit advocacy group Maine Equal Justice Partners sued to ensure the state continues to pay benefits to low-income Mainers.
Sign up today for a 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access.
