Storm relief bill caught up in last-minute state budget battle

Apr. 16—AUGUSTA — Gov. Janet Mills' emergency storm relief bill appears to have been hijacked by a bipartisan group of state senators who seem hell-bent on turning it into a dueling supplemental budget bill.

A growing group in the Senate, which now includes Senate President Troy Jackson, has loaded the bill with a plethora of expensive riders — estimated by critics to top $100 million — that have nothing to do with infrastructure repair, like raises for educational techs, new behavioral health programs and even more nursing home funding than what the nursing home association had sought.

In the latest Senate vote on the bill, all 13 Republicans and 10 of the Senate's 22 Democrats voted in favor of a last-minute Republican amendment to Mills' relief bill.

Sen. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth, urged fellow Democrats Monday night to vote in favor of the amendment, even though it is inconsistent with the supplemental budget bill. Such inconsistencies can be worked out, Grohoski said.

The amendment would fund many worthy programs that Democrats support, she noted. A bill can have many reasons for being, Grohoski said — to shine a light on a problem, to give the public a chance to be heard or, as is the case with this bill, to send a message.

"It may be that it's sending a message to the other chamber, to the chief executive or to the people we represent," Grohoski said. "So I am going to proudly support this amendment because I think it sends all the right messages to all the right people."

The 10 Democrats who joined Jackson and Grohoski in voting for that amendment were: Donna Bailey, of Saco; Joseph Baldacci, of Bangor; Ben Chipman, of Portland; Craig Hickman, of Winthrop; Mark Lawrence, of Eliot; Joe Rafferty, of Kennebunk; and Cameron Reny, of Round Pond. Democrat Tim Nangle, of Windham, had voted in favor of an earlier version of the loaded-up bill, but voted against it on Monday night.

Behind closed doors, House Democrats — who control their chamber by a 12- to 14-vote margin — said they planned to strip most if not all the costly riders off the emergency relief bill if the Senate didn't withdraw the costly amendment. But a look at the Senate's amendment votes made it clear the group was doubling down and growing in size, not backing down — its initial vote last week was 20-13, with Jackson voting against it, but the Monday night vote was 23-11.

That Monday night vote on what both Republicans and Democrats are openly calling a shadow budget bill happened just hours after the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee voted in favor of an official supplemental budget bill that must go to the House and then the Senate for two votes each before the Legislature is required by state law to adjourn on Wednesday.

That leaves very little time for lawmakers to find a way out of what some are privately describing as a game of political chicken.

If Senate Democrats were hoping to send a message, Mills made it clear Tuesday that she got it, and she responded with a strongly worded one of her own.

"This is another 11th-hour, multimillion-dollar amendment crafted outside of the budget process, behind closed doors, without public input, and without the consultation of me, the speaker of the House, or my administration," Mills said. "It entangles more than $100 million of unrelated, ongoing spending with my storm relief bill, which is exactly what I wanted to avoid when I introduced it as a standalone bill months ago."

She continued: "Worse, the amendment will blow a hole in the state budget and force lawmakers next year to cut vital programs — like 55% of education. We need to get serious. Time is running out for the legislative session. The Legislature needs to pass a clean storm relief bill and pass the supplemental budget approved by the Appropriations Committee yesterday."

Mills' cabinet quickly echoed her outrage.

"This amendment is an insult to fiscal responsibility and entirely ignores the consistently voiced concerns of this administration to prepare for the future of our state in the face of plateauing state revenues," said Kirsten Figueroa, commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. "I can guarantee you this: if this amendment were to pass, it would immediately sink the state budget. This is not good governing."

"While the Senate is playing politics with the governor's bill to rebuild Maine's devastated coastal infrastructure, it is Maine fishermen, seafood dealers, aquaculturists, coastal towns and dock owners who are paying the price and struggling to stay above water," said Patrick Keliher, the commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources. "The damage from this winter's storms has put them at enormous economic risk. ... This is exactly the type of move that fishermen hate from politicians."

Jeanne Lambrew, commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said the supplemental budget bill already includes thoughtful and sustainable support for hospitals, nursing homes and behavioral health providers.

"Virtually all of the health proposals included in this last-minute amendment — which is oddly tacked onto the storm relief package — ignore improvements made through the legislative process, are inequitable to most hospitals and nursing homes, and run counter to the publicly informed MaineCare rate reform process," Lambrew said. "Put simply, this amendment includes ill-considered spending and excludes initiatives critical to advancing the health of Maine residents."

This story will be updated.