The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee has split on party lines on a budget designed to keep the state’s books in balance through the end of the fiscal year in June.
Members of the committee agreed on about 98% of the plan, but split over conforming state tax law to all the federal tax changes Congress made last year. Passage will require a two-thirds vote, so it will need some Republican support.
Democratic state Sen. Cathy Breen of Falmouth co-chairs the committee and says failure to pass the budget will cause a lot of problems.
“All the businesses who got PPP payments, all the people who got unemployment and the folks that we are trying to help who are recipients of social services that are desperately needed, none of that will happen,” she says.
Breen says Republicans refused to negotiate before the committee vote. But GOP state Rep. Sawin Millett of Waterford says his party is willing to continue talks.
“I will still continue to be hopeful and optimistic that we may get there and I will always promote consensus,” he says.
Both Senate and House Republican caucuses want to conform state tax policy to all federal changes. But Democrats say those tax breaks are mostly for big business, with much of the benefits going to out of state corporations.
“We wanted to follow the lead of the federal government and conform with everything that changed the ground rules for federal treatment so that Maine would be on the same path,” Millett says.
Lawmakers meet in session Wednesday to consider the budget bill.
