|
|||||||
|
 |
|
home > radio > maine news > news story Maine NewsGovernor Proposes $12.6 Million Energy Plan As GOP Repeats Call For Special Session Governor John Baldacci today said that he will not call a special session of the legislature to deal with looming energy concerns this winter. Instead he unveiled a $12 and a half million plan that he says includes investments in weatherization, fuel assistance, and transportation. GOP leaders, meanwhile, are repeating their call for a special session next week, as well as a short- term infusion of state funds into a federal heating assistance program. At a state house press conference, Governor Baldacci ran through the details of the plan he says will address the immediate needs of Mainers facing skyrocketing heating costs this winter. “My plan commits $12.6 million immediately for weatherization, low-income heating assistance, improved transportation alternatives, training and education. Our plan puts resources where they can be most effective between now and December. Our plan is responsible and will help keep people safe and secure in their homes.” Of the $12 and a half million total, about a third will go to boost the federal Low Income Heating Assistance Program, or LIHEAP benefit, from $415 to $500 per eligible household. The plan also includes voluntary alternative work schedules for state employees to allow for four-day work weeks. Baldacci says the Maine State Housing Authority will pull funds forward from future allocations to use immediately. The Governor says he will work with lawmakers to reimburse those funds when they return to Augusta in December. “Now I know there’ve been calls for a Special Session, but after considering a number of options, I believe that we can take the aggressive action to prepare for winter without calling legislators back to Augusta this summer. A Special Session is expensive; it’s about $40,000 a day. So I’ve developed a strategy that will put those state dollars to work today.” The plan is getting a luke-warm reception from Republican leaders, who question how the Governor plans to come up with the $12 and a half million price tag. “I don’t quite understand it. I’m anxious to see all the details. But it seems to me he’s just moving the cells around and borrowing from the future.” Senate Republican leader Carol Weston says a Special Session would give legislators the power to invest $10 million from the state's so-called "Rainy Day Fund" into LIHEAP. “We have a bit of a surplus for right now; we have a Rainy Day Fund. We’re going take this money; we’re going to apply it. We’re not going to borrow and pretend and play games with numbers. We’re going to just do it because it’s a crisis, and then in January we’re going to set out and do a transparent energy policy that we think is going to improve the future for everyone.” Democratic Leaders in Augusta meanwhile today also announced the creation of a bi-partisan task force charged with assessing the current heating assistance options for Mainers, and making recommendations to the next legislature which will convene in December.
|
|
