House Appropriations co-chair submits resignation

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AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) The partisan fight over health insurance reform has led the co-chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee to submit his resignation from the post.

Rep. Patrick Flood, a Republican from Winthrop, sent a letter to Speaker of The House Robert Nutting Friday afternoon, resigning as House Chairman. The resignation follows what has been described as an unusually partisan debate among committee members Thursday night, related to the Republican health insurance reform bill.

Lance Dutson, the press spokesman for Speaker Nutting, says the Speaker has not accepted Flood’s resignation at this point, and intends to talk with him and other committee members over the weekend. Dutson also says that Nutting, who is also a veteran of the Appropriations Committee “has great faith” in Flood’s ability to manage the committee.

The Appropriations panel is in the middle of crafting the new two-year state budget. Leaders of both parties have said that work was being carried out in a cooperative and bipartisan manner, and that Thursday night’s angry debate had surprised many of the members.

Sen. Justin Alfond (D-Portland), the Assistant Majority Leader in the Senate says if Flood steps down “I think its really going to impede the process of getting a hopefully unanimous budget out of committee and get it to the House and to the Senate.”