By Greg Kesich gkesich@mainetoday.com
Editorial Writer

That sound you may have heard emanating from central Maine last Thursday night was not ice breaking on the Kennebec River. The winter we’ve had, you’d be lucky to find a skim of ice on a puddle.

No, it was the groan of the Democrats in the state Legislature finally standing up to Gov. LePage, promising to make the rest of the session a little more interesting.

On Thursday night, the Senate was considering a bipartisan compromise to fix the shortfall in funding for theDepartment of Health and Human Services budget, mostly through cuts in its Medicaid program, known here asMaineCare.

The supplemental budget was hammered out by the Appropriations Committee, a group known for its ability to reach across party lines and come up with adult alternatives to the governor’s tantrums.

And the Appropriations Committee had come through again. This time, it proposed reinstituting some managed-care initiatives that the new administration had stopped when it took office last year.

It also proposed borrowing money from the 2013 budget to pay costs in the current year’s budget, filling a hole while waiting for the managed-care cost savings to kick in. Instead of booting 65,000 people off MaineCare, as the governor had hoped, they would dump only 14,000.

It had all the earmarks of a good compromise, including the hyperbolic bellowing from the governor’s office, complaining that it was full of gimmicks and wouldn’t achieve his real policy goals and wondering “Where’s the outrage?” I mean, if the governor hates it, it must be a good deal, right?

It was good enough for the House, where it passed 109-27, getting most Democrats to go along. But a further tweaking in the form of a floor amendment that made the deal a little sweeter for tea party Republicans got on the Senate Democrats’ nerves. The changes were needed, they were told, in order to keep the Republican caucus together and prevent a veto from the governor. But that was not good enough.

For one thing, you can’t make the tea party happy. It is a protest movement and if it has nothing to protest, members will invent something.

And as for the veto, who cares? The emergency portion of the budget needs two-thirds support, with or without the governor. The tea partiers should not be the only ones who have to be kept on board.

Even though a lot of the quotes in Friday’s paper after the budget deal collapsed were about floor amendments and respect for the Appropriations process, there was something deeper going on here.

The Democrats hate the budget. It takes health insurance away from 14,000 people, mostly parents of MaineCare children who earn too much to qualify for MaineCare on their own.

These are almost, by definition, people with jobs who don’t get health insurance at work and don’t make enough to buy it on their own. Providing health insurance to these people is a core Democratic value, and this time, at least some party members were not going for the compromise.

The Democrats in Augusta have given a lot of ground since they lost the Blaine House and both houses of the Legislature in 2010. They signed off on a pension reform plan that breaks promises to retired workers. They approved tax cuts on the state’s wealthiest and watched revenue tank.

This time, they decided not to go along with the plan just because it was better than what the governor proposed.

And there is the little-discussed second phase to this whole drama.

The budget that did not pass is a piece of emergency legislation that requires two-thirds support in both houses and goes into effect immediately. This is necessary because the administration says it will run out of money in the current DHHS budget in April.

Next year’s budget, which begins July 1, can be changed with a simple majority vote. So if Republicans want to follow the governor’s leadership and stop helping the elderly pay for their prescription drugs, they don’t need a single Democratic vote to help them do it.

The only leverage the Democrats are ever going to have is right now, and they are right to use it.

The Democratic leaders are not hard-core partisans. Sen. Barry Hobbins and Rep. Emily Cain are the deal-making kind of legislators who believe that they can accomplish more through compromise than they can by digging in their heels.

I tend to be pro-compromise in most things, but there are also times when a party should be willing to say “no.” The tea partiers are not afraid to do that, and as of last week, neither are the Senate Democrats.

The Republicans are going to have their way in most issues during the final weeks of this session, but as we head into an election year, it’s helpful to know who stands for what, and sometimes the best compromise deal is still not good enough.

Greg Kesich is the editorial page editor. He can be contacted at 791-6481 or at: gkesich@pressherald.com

AUGUSTA—Lawmakers on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee held a public hearing on a measure that would improve teacher effectiveness. The measure encourages and provides incentives for teachers to attain national certification from a preeminent, national certification program.

LD 1781 “An Act To Restructure the National Board Certification Program for Teachers” was sponsored by Senator Justin Alfond, who also serves on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

“The foundation for a successful public school begins with its teachers,” said Sen. Alfond of Portland, who serves as Assistant Senate Democratic Leader. “This is about improving performance in the classroom and we know that when teachers become life-long learners our classrooms get stronger and our students benefit. Now is the time to strengthen and enhance our teachers.”

Five years ago, the Legislature created a stipend program set at $3,000 to incentivize teachers enlisting into the National Board Certification Program. Sen. Alfond’s measure would reduce the state’s share of the salary stipend from $3,000 to $2,000, and would require each School Administrative Unit (SAU) to provide at least $1,000 of the salary supplement. In addition, SAUs will be required to dedicate a share of their per-pupil funding for professional development to assist teachers seeking National Board Certification.

Currently, Maine is in the bottom 20% of states when it comes to Board Certified teachers. Out of an estimated 15,000 public school teachers in Maine, only 212 are National Board Certified.

Alfond added, “The measure also aims to improve teacher retention rate and reduce teacher turnover. We must make it easier for teachers to apply and enroll in the certification program.”

National Board Certification is administered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The certification is valid for 10 years, and may be renewed. The rigorous, multi-year process is an advanced teaching credential As part of the certification process, candidates complete 10 assessments that are reviewed by trained teachers in their certificate areas.

Later this month, the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee will hold a work session on LD 1781.

PORTLAND, Maine (WTW) — Gov. Paul LePage on Friday called Senate Democrats obstructionists for voting against a proposed state budget that would close a $120 million shortfall. A Democratic senator responded by calling the budget proposal “short-sighted with long-term consequences.”

The Republican governor said Republicans, House Democrats and some Senate Democrats were willing to cooperate in reaching agreement on the budget, which aims to shore up a revenue shortfall for the current fiscal years that ends June 30. Additional cuts of more than $80 million for fiscal year 2013, which begins July 1, will be taken up by legislators later this session.

The House voted overwhelmingly in favor of the budget Thursday night, but it fell short in the Senate.

“While there has been some progress, there is still much work to do and Thursday evening’s actions by most Senate Democrats show their unwillingness to reach a solution,” LePage said in a statement. “Their strategy to solve this $221 million shortfall is still unclear after 74 days since I’ve presented this plan.”

It doesn’t help matters when the governor calls Democrats obstructionists, said Sen. Justin Alfond of Portland, the Senate’s assistant Democratic leader.

“We believe solutions are attainable and we are here today working on trying to make this a better deal for the people of Maine,” Alfond said. “We are obligated to take a balanced approach that will take care of the needs of Maine people — not a plan that is short-sighted with long-term consequences.”

Legislators have been working on the budget for weeks and officials were hopeful that a negotiated agreement would be approved Thursday by both the House and Senate.

LePage has said the cuts he proposed are needed to financially sustain Medicaid, known in the state as MaineCare, past April. But some Democrats have called the shortfall a “manufactured crisis.” When the time came Thursday to vote in the Senate, a dozen Democrats opposed the budget while three voted in favor. If one more Democrat had supported the budget, it would have passed.

Democrats said they didn’t like that an amendment was added to the budget bill on Thursday, suggesting the final proposal had been negotiated behind closed doors. They further said they couldn’t support a budget that eliminated Medicaid health insurance coverage for 14,000 residents.

“This budget arbitrarily kicks people off health insurance — and that is not right,” Democratic Sen. Troy Jackson of Allagash said on the Senate floor Thursday night.

But the budget had strong support from House Democrats and was unanimously supported by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, said Senate President Kevin Raye, a Republican from Perry.

“By their action, they now make very real the prospect that providers will not be paid in April, and that those who depend on MaineCare program for health coverage won’t have that available to them. It’s an irresponsible action,” he said.

The budget is now in limbo and is expected to be taken up Tuesday in the Senate, where it was tabled.

http://www.htrnews.com/usatoday/article/38592983?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

LePage: Democrats’ vote was ‘obstruction’

Senate Democrats say they are trying to find an alternative after rejecting
a budget plan Thursday.

By Susan M. Coverscover@mainetoday.com
MaineToday Media State House Writer

AUGUSTA – Senate Democrats who voted Thursday night to reject a plan to close a budget shortfall in the Department of Health and Human Services “resorted to obstruction,” Gov. Paul LePage said Friday.

The bill fell short of the two-thirds majority it needed for final passage when 12 Democrats in the 35-member Senate voted against it late Thursday night. The proposal could come up for more votes as soon as Tuesday.

“While there has been some progress, there is still much work to do and Thursday evening’s actions by most Senate Democrats show their unwillingness to reach a solution,” LePage said in a prepared statement released Friday. “Their strategy to solve this $221 million shortfall is still unclear after 74 days since I’ve presented this plan. Senate Minority Leader Barry Hobbins has shown a willingness to work with the majority, unlike others in the caucus who resorted to obstruction.”

Hobbins, Sen. Dawn Hill, D-York, and Sen. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, were the only Democrats in the Senate who supported the bill. In the House, more than two dozen Democrats supported it.

Other Senate Democrats said Thursday that they continue to have concerns about the number of people who would be affected by the cuts proposed to MaineCare, and that they objected to the way an amendment was crafted to win support in the House.

The budget to address a shortfall in the fiscal year that ends June 30 would shift more than $60 million from the 2012-13 fiscal year to this one, prohibit new enrollment in the MaineCare health insurance program for adults without children, and discontinue MaineCare health insurance for 14,000 parents.

Lawmakers still must deal with an $84 million shortfall in the DHHS budget for 2012-13.

On Friday, Assistant Senate Minority Leader Justin Alfond, D-Portland, said he and others were working to find alternatives to the proposal that was rejected Thursday.

“It is not helpful for the governor to call us obstructionists,” he said in a prepared statement. “We believe solutions are attainable and we are here today working on trying to make this a better deal for the people of Maine. We are obligated to take a balanced approach that will take care of the needs of Maine people — not a plan that is short-sighted with long term consequences.”

House Speaker Robert Nutting, R-Oakland, said Senate Democrats had several opportunities to participate in budget negotiations, and the delay forced by Thursday’s vote was “political gamesmanship.”

“If they wanted a seat at the table, they should have pulled up a chair,” he said in a statement.

LePage thanked Republicans and House Democrats for supporting the budget-balancing plan. The House voted 109-27 in favor of the measure. “Mainers understand we can no longer afford to be all things to all people,” LePage said. “We have a choice. We can continue to be a welfare state or we can revive the American Dream.”

MaineToday Media State House Writer Susan M. Cover can be contacted at
620-7015 or at:

http://www.pressherald.com/news/LePage-blasts-Senate-Democrats-for-obstruction.html

by Rob Poindexter – February 17th 2012 04:38pm - Read more Local News

Most of us see a room filled with computers, but, to the team at the Maine Computer Crimes Unit, they are evidence. They are hard drives that may contain disturbing images of child pornography, kids who need to be rescued and they can’t reach.

“We have evidence that will take sexual predators off the street sitting right there in the closet and we can’t get to it,” said Sen. William Diamond. “Just unconscionable we allow that to happen.”

Maine state Senator Bill Diamond is sponsoring a bill to increase funding to the computer crimes unit by $300,000. It’s enough, he said, to hire three more computer forensic analysts.

He told the judiciary committee the unit has a record of success, including a case several years ago when a Maine investigator used the bed linens in a hotel room to track down a suspect in Georgia and save a girl who was being sexually abused.

“There are no boundaries to it. You could be in a foreign country and watching porn of a child in Maine or in Maine producing child porn and sharing,” said Col. Robert Williams with the Maine State Police.

Any crime involving an electronic device in Maine comes to this unit, but, with just two investigators and five computer experts, they just can’t get to it all.

One computer analyst said it’s like emptying the ocean with an eye dropper, which is one reason why they surround themselves with photos of the predators that have been caught and convicted: a reminder that their work does make a difference.

No one spoke against the bill at the hearing, but it’s a question of money. The bill’s sponsor believes if all lawmakers saw the photos the crime unit team sees every day, finding that money would become a priority.

http://www.necn.com/02/17/12/Child-porn-evidence-ignored-in-Maine-due/landing_newengland.html?blockID=653340&feedID=4206

Diamond has submitted a bill that calls for adding four more forensic computer analysts to the unit at a cost of 300-thousand dollars. A worthy use of state funds Diamond says, but a tough sell in tight times. Diamond told members of a legislative commitee Friday it’s time to set priorities and protecting children should one of them.

At the unit’s headquarters in Vassalboro there are 560-pieces of evidence that have not been looked at yet because there’s not enough staff.

“We’ve got evidence, 20-feet from an empty desk that would take predators off the street, save kids from being molested and tortured in some cases but we can’t get to it because we don’t have people to do that. To me that’s the ultimate crime, it’s outrageous”, Diamond testified.

The Criminal Justice Committee will take up the bill again on March 1st.

NEWS CENTER

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/189877/2/Bill-would-give-Computer-Crimes-Unit-more-resources

The Resounding Win for Democrats in Senate District 20 a Wake Up Call to the LePage and Republican Lawmakers

Good Morning. This is Senate Democratic Leader Barry Hobbins of Saco.

Earlier this week, the people of Maine spoke. And their voice was loud and clear: They want change in Augusta.

In a special election for Senate District 20 which includes all of Lincoln County and several communities in Knox and Kennebec, Democrat Chris Johnson pulled off a huge victory against a very experienced Republican lawmaker. This is a seat that has been held by Republicans for nearly a decade, but this week, voters sent a clear message to lawmakers: they seriously question the direction taken by the LePage administration and the Republican Legislature.

It’s becoming clear to voters that only one party cares about working families; only one party is working to put more money in to the pockets of middle-class families; only one party defends our most vulnerable; and only one party has your back…and that’s the Democratic Party.

Since the Republicans took charge of the Blaine House and State House they’ve delivered on little of what they’ve promised or what is important to Mainers. Instead of rubber stamping national agenda ideologies we should be focused on job creation and working to put more money back in to the pockets of middle class families.

The resounding win for Democrats in Senate District 20 we hope will be a wake up call to this administration and to my Republican colleagues.

We believe the win is a repudiation of the misguided policies of the majority party. In fact, the defeated Republican candidate may have said it best, and I quote, “I would simply say this vote represents a referendum on the governor and maybe the budget we are trying to get passed. That might have something to do with it.”

Mainers want lawmakers who will focus on creating jobs and putting money in their pockets not an ideological agenda that picks winners and losers and benefits the rich at the expense of working people.

Democrats will continue our focus and commitment to getting people back to work and creating jobs that keep our kids in Maine.

We will continue to make sure our seniors, our veterans, our children and the most vulnerable are taken care of.

And, we will work to ensure that we can all afford to take care of our health needs.

Just like helping a neighbor in a time of need; we must work hard and work together. As Mainers, we believe in family, in hard work, and in community. We may have trouble asking for help, but we certainly have no trouble offering it to those who need a hand. Maine people are known for their resolve and it is what makes Maine a great place to call home.

This is Democratic Leader Barry Hobbins of Saco. Thank you for listening and have a good weekend.