BY MATT WICKENHEISER

MaineToday Media, Inc.

Gov. John Baldacci is considering whether to call the Legislature into special session to add state funds to a federal program that provides heating oil assistance for low-income Maine households, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Republican leaders floated the plan earlier in the week, suggesting that $10 million in surplus funds that would normally go into the state's rainy day fund would be better spent to boost the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, commonly called LIHEAP.

State officials expect to get $19 million from the federal government for the program this winter.

"The governor is looking at the possibility of a special session, at the calendar and the potential timeline, to see what's possible and what's available," said David Farmer, spokesman for Baldacci, a Democrat.

If there is a special session, Farmer said it would have to have specific goals under a bipartisan agreement. And parameters would have to be in place to "limit the prospects of political theater in a highly charged election year."

Senate Democratic leaders, however, said they don't see the need for a special session at this point, adding that the program should have enough money to last until early December, when the newly sworn-in Legislature could act.

Senate Minority Leader Carol Weston, R-Montville, and House Minority Leader Josh Tardy, R-Newport, proposed Monday that the governor call a special session on Aug. 20 to address heating fuel assistance.

Currently, the statewide average cash price for No. 2 heating oil is $4.42 per gallon, compared to $2.69 per gallon at the beginning of October 2007.

"People are worried. I get calls, I know everyone else is getting calls," Weston said Wednesday. "I think we should give them some confidence that we're not just going to ignore this."

Tardy said in a written statement that "waiting for Congress to act will not fill anybody's heating oil tanks. It's time for the governor to call a special session so we can use our own funds to take care of our fellow Mainers this winter."

Congress hasn't passed a new budget for low-income fuel funding, and it's expected that the program will proceed under a continuing resolution, according to Jo-Ann Choate, energy and housing services manager for the Maine State Housing Authority, which administers the program for the state.

Essentially, the program would continue to be funded at the same base level as last year. Maine and the state's Indian tribes received a combined $25.5 million last year from the federal government. The state's portion was $24 million. Some states supplement that fund, and Maine has done so in the past.

If the state gets that amount again, the money would pay for oil for about 51,000 Maine households, with an average benefit of $415.

Choate said her agency has seen a "huge increase" since the beginning of June in people asking for assistance, though she didn't have specific numbers.

If an extra $10 million were added to the program and the average benefit maintained, an additional 24,000 households could be aided.

Weston noted that the state has about $160 million in the rainy day fund. Using $10 million from the recently realized surplus to supplement the fuel assistance program for Maine would maintain a healthy level in the fund, she said.

Weston said she's concerned that most of the state's talk around preparing for this winter has concerned efforts to increase weatherization among Maine buildings, such as adding insulation, doing energy audits and other initiatives.

She said she believes a more immediate, direct solution is needed.

The cost to have a special session is about $40,000 a day. Weston noted, though, that senators would be in session that day anyway for confirmation hearings, and there would have been costs associated with that, as well.

Senate President Beth Edmonds, D-Freeport, said the program should have enough funding for Maine to last to early December. At that point, she said, the new Legislature would be sworn in and could immediately vote to put more funds to supplement the program.

"I'm concerned about spending $40,000 a day to have us in there to do something we don't need to do until December," said Edmonds.

Senate Majority leader Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, said she thought the state needed to do a better job of educating Maine residents about the aid programs that do exist.

"The gravity of the situation is certainly recognized, but we have limited resources and we have to use them properly," said Mitchell. "We have to use them well and make sure we're really helping people not only for the short-term, but for the longer term."

Baldacci's administration continues to work on details for an energy plan, and the goal is to get it done "as soon as possible," said Farmer. Asked about possibly using money headed toward the rainy day fund, Farmer noted that the state's commitment to building that fund has helped strengthen Maine's bond rating.

The funds are there for a crisis, he said.

"They're there for an emergency, a real emergency," Farmer said. "If we need to it, we'll do it. We're not going to let anybody freeze to death."