AUGUSTA, Maine — State leaders and lawmakers are sharing concerns on how members of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee funded several bills Tuesday.
With over 200 bills to sift through, members on the committee were able to fund several key issues from a bill that would support African American and Wabanaki studies, investments in free health clinics, among others.
In a statement, AFA Chair Melanie Sachs said:
"The set of bills that were forwarded yesterday — bills from both chambers and both sides of the aisle — are strategic investments that will help ensure that we are better able to meet the needs of Maine people. They will help make progress as we work to create a strong future for our state."
However, following Tuesday's committee meeting, several state leaders including Department of Administrative and Financial Services Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa released a letter which expresses disappointment for the way the committee went about funding those bills.
In the letter, Figueroa accuses the committee of choosing not to heed Governor Janet Mills' "serious concerns about protecting the state's long-term fiscal sustainability..." noting they approved "... spending more than the $11.4 million dollars available to them..." in the general fund, in part, "... by using budget gimmicks like stripping fiscal notes, delaying effective dates, and raiding other special revenue accounts."
However, using other special revenue accounts to fund bills are not unusual in the legislative process according to a spokesperson of Senate Leader Troy Jackson. AFA committee member Representative John "Jack" Ducharme agrees that there are appropriate times to use those funds, but is concerned money will soon run out.
"If you're going to have a revenue loss, you need to acknowledge that. You can't just take the money away from something else to backstop that. It's just not the way we should do it, and that's one of those things that frustrates me," Rep. Ducharme said.
Those bills now make their way to the Senate for passage for "Veto Day."