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By SUSAN M. COVER
Staff Writer Sunday, July 1, 2007

Yet they acknowledge the Legislature's inability to deliver tax reform and its failure to approve a measure to stabilize funding for the state's Dirigo Health program.

Maybe next year.

"The whole session was tied up around the school district consolidation issue," said Sen. Earle McCormick, R-West Gardiner. "That really drove everything."

In the end, McCormick said the requirement that the number of districts be reduced from 290 to around 80 is a good law, although it won't be popular in some communities.

As a former member of the Taxation Committee, McCormick said everything came together too late on the tax reform proposal this year.

Among other things, the proposal sought to lower income taxes, while applying the sales tax to more services. Analysts with the state estimated it would save the average taxpayer $338.

Last-minute questions doomed the proposal.

"We don't have a very good confidence level up there in Augusta with the people," McCormick said. "They don't trust us."

Rep. Sharon Treat, D-Farmingdale, said she worked hard to make changes to the Dirigo Health program, a bill that also did not pass this year but will come up again next year.

Those issues aside, Treat, who is in her 15th year of legislative service, called it a successful session.

"It was just about the most productive, positive legislative session I've ever been in," she said. "In comparison to the last few years, it was so much more pleasant, productive and businesslike."

Treat pointed out what she considers to be good environmental steps -- a law to ban the use of a potentially toxic flame retardant, a law to try to curb global warming and new rules regarding outdoor wood boilers.

She sponsored several bills dealing with prescription drugs, including regulations that prohibit insurance agents from trying to sell senior citizens other types of insurance when they are explaining the federal Medicare Part D prescription drug program. Another outlaws the practice of charging a copay higher than the cost of a drug.

On the fiscal front, Rep. Pat Flood, R-Winthrop, spent the year serving on the Legislature's Appropriations Committee, where he worked on the borrowing package and the state budget.

Flood and his fellow committee members will be at the Statehouse this summer as members of a commission charged with finding $10 million in savings. The Government Efficiency Commission, which became law when the Legislature enacted the $6.3 billion budget, will have a "difficult and probably controversial" task, Flood said.

"It won't be pleasant work," he said. "We're going to be talking about people and programs."

Although many complain about the size of the state budget, Flood said much of the increase for this year was driven by a voter mandate to increase school funding to a state share of 55 percent.

When that's taken out of the mix, the budget increased 3.8 percent over two years, he said.

Flood said he's worked hard to make sure there was money in the bond package for drinking water and waste water improvements. Voters approved those in June.

Flood said he was saddened by the death of Rep. Abigail Holman, R-Fayette, whom he described as "an old friend and old buddy." Holman died in an April skiing accident.

Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, whose district includes Richmond, said he worked with Treat and Rep. Kim Silsby, D-Augusta, to make improvements to the school district consolidation plan.

The trio wanted to make sure districts close to the 2,500 student minimum weren't punished if other surrounding communities refuse to consolidate.

Berry said he also worked with other lawmakers to make sure high performing schools weren't hurt by consolidation mandates.

Berry said he worked to craft a law that will improve outdoor wood boilers without hurting consumers who use them or the industry that makes them.

"The American Lung Association and several other groups said there's a problem with this approach to burning wood because it produces excessive toxins," he said.

The law calls on the Department of Environmental Protection to draft rules that define a nuisance boiler and set guidelines for size, placement and stack height. Also, the industry will be required by April 2008 to meet new emissions guidelines, he said.

Another area of interest for Berry is how municipalities use tax increment financing and whether it produces the kind of results people expect. The new law requires the state Department of Economic and Community Development to study whether the tax breaks for companies work and whether they are producing unintended consequences, such as sprawl, he said.

In other business-related matters, Rep. Nancy Smith, D-Monmouth, sponsored bills to improve the state's business equipment tax reimbursement program, and to expand tax breaks to small businesses.

She also sponsored a bill to allow certain midwives to be licensed by the state, a measure that is currently under review by the state Department of Professional and Financial Regulation.

And though it might seem like a minor change, she served as House chairwoman of a committee that, for the first time, will require those who apply for state research and development money to compete for the funding.

"There are no earmarks," she said.

She's confident that whether it happens in a special session or next year, the Legislature will pass tax reform.

"When I first ran, the biggest issue was property taxes," she said.

"We've made some progress. Making the tax system more stable is important."

Susan Cover -- 623-1056

scover@centralmaine.com

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