Gov. Paul LePage today signed a revised state budget bill that eliminates health care coverage for more than 20,000 people, cuts prescription drug coverage for senior citizens and reduces funding for Head Start.

Lawmakers will take up spending cuts to balance an $83 million shortfall in the state Department of Health and Human Services' budget. Much of the budget balancing would come through cuts in MaineCare, the state's Medicaid program.

Faced for the first time with the various rules on the Maine governor's line-item veto, legislative Republicans decided not to break up their recess in order to decide whether to let the vetoes stand.

The budget contains a total of $31 million in new spending for 2012 and 2013, which is offset by $41.8 million in general fund savings. Much of the document involves shifting savings from one area to fund a shortfall somewhere else.

An accounting error at Maine Revenue Services that led the state to underestimate revenues by $14 million will force another delay in state budget negotiations.

A federal decision to stop paying for some mental health services for jail inmates will cost the state an additional $10.5 million next year, lawmakers learned Wednesday.

After dealing with decades of underfunding and the 2008 stock market crash, lawmakers are considering freezing enrollment in the $10 billion retirement system.

A supplemental budget proposal aimed at closing a $120 million shortfall won approval Thursday night in the Maine House before being placed in limbo by the Maine Senate, where Democrats defeated the proposal.

The emergency legislation to close a $120 million immediate shortfall at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services needs 101 votes in the House and 24 in the Senate for passage. Those in the know say the Senate will deliver.  The House is where things are less certain.

Lawmakers in Maine reached an early morning deal Wednesday on an alternative budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services - a move that likely will send the budget to the House and Senate for votes next week.

After dealing with decades of underfunding and the 2008 stock market crash, lawmakers are considering freezing enrollment in the $10 billion retirement system.

Proposal for reforming Maine's pension plans, including freezing pensions for three years (2011 - 2013), identical to the state employee salary freeze, and ensuring reasonable increases in pensions after that, close to the historical norm of 2.8% annually, based on CPI (inflation), but capped at 2% (currently capped at 4%).

Maine lawmakers are inching toward agreement on a $6.1 billion state budget for the two years starting July 1.

The Legislature's budget-writing committee has reached a tentative compromise on reforms to Maine's pension system, one of three major unresolved issues facing negotiators drafting a two-year, $6.1 billion spending plan for state government.

Unveiled last week, the package of LePage's proposed Maine state budget alterations intended to plug a new, $164 million hole has elicited both cheers and jeers, sometimes from the same groups.

Hearings on Gov. Paul LePage's $6.1 billion budget package opened today with a focus on taxes, and advocates were quick to weigh in with support for a package they said will stimulate business, while opponents said it would foist unfair burdens on those who can afford it least.

Gov. LePage said his proposals to lower overall tax rates and to conform to federal tax provisions that will bolster investment by companies are crucial to improving the business climate and growing the economy.

MaineOpenGov.Org updates detail Maine's $15.4 billion current retiree pension burden.

The portion of the state budget that pays for the pensions for state employees and public school teachers is already eating up one of every 10 taxpayer dollars — and it’s going to get much worse in just a few years.

An important number in the quest to gauge the severity of the state’s budget problems was released, helping reaffirm what almost everyone in state government already knew: The next state budget will require drastic cuts that some say will surpass $1 billion.

Proposal for reforming Maine's pension plans, including freezing pensions for three years (2011 - 2013), identical to the state employee salary freeze, and ensuring reasonable increases in pensions after that, close to the historical norm of 2.8% annually, based on CPI (inflation), but capped at 2% (currently capped at 4%).

Fixing Maine's welfare system requires embracing a Wisconsin-style approach and keeping the system focused on promoting work and self-sufficiency. Maine's current welfare system does just the opposite, trapping people and families in poverty and promoting dependence and an overreliance on government.

Under current law, most school budgets are first approved by those who are able to attend a district-wide public meeting. That approval is then "validated" by voters through a referendum vote. In this way, those who are unable to attend the district meeting, such as those serving in our armed forces overseas, have an opportunity to make their voices heard.

After dealing with decades of underfunding and the 2008 stock market crash, lawmakers are considering freezing enrollment in the $10 billion retirement system.

Proposal for reforming Maine's pension plans, including freezing pensions for three years (2011 - 2013), identical to the state employee salary freeze, and ensuring reasonable increases in pensions after that, close to the historical norm of 2.8% annually, based on CPI (inflation), but capped at 2% (currently capped at 4%).

Maine lawmakers are inching toward agreement on a $6.1 billion state budget for the two years starting July 1.

The Legislature's budget-writing committee has reached a tentative compromise on reforms to Maine's pension system, one of three major unresolved issues facing negotiators drafting a two-year, $6.1 billion spending plan for state government.

Unveiled last week, the package of LePage's proposed Maine state budget alterations intended to plug a new, $164 million hole has elicited both cheers and jeers, sometimes from the same groups.

Hearings on Gov. Paul LePage's $6.1 billion budget package opened today with a focus on taxes, and advocates were quick to weigh in with support for a package they said will stimulate business, while opponents said it would foist unfair burdens on those who can afford it least.

Gov. LePage said his proposals to lower overall tax rates and to conform to federal tax provisions that will bolster investment by companies are crucial to improving the business climate and growing the economy.

MaineOpenGov.Org updates detail Maine's $15.4 billion current retiree pension burden.

The portion of the state budget that pays for the pensions for state employees and public school teachers is already eating up one of every 10 taxpayer dollars — and it’s going to get much worse in just a few years.

The Maine state retirement system will need an additional $287 million infusion in the next budget cycle compared with the current state budget in order to keep it in the black.

This all boils down to who gets to pick taxpayers' pockets first, public pensioners or municipal bond investors? More people are waking up to the hard reality that when it comes to state and local government, somebody has to lose money over the next few decades. The National Association of Bond Lawyers is worried enough about it to issue "Considerations" for advising clients who think they're getting safe investments.

Despite an organized campaign to stop public pension reform, reality is beginning to break through.  One recent report outlines a possible path to long-term solutions and another details the necessity of states and municipalities finding their own way because federal bailout is impossible.  And Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel released a plan that could have been based on both reports.

Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.

Public employees should take their pension money now and run to avoid risk of getting reduced benefits - or nothing - in the future. It's the best deal for them and for taxpayers. A growing chorus of credible voices including the Government Accountability Office, a Federal Reserve bank and now the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government confirm state and local government finances are "spiraling out of control" and even draconian reforms only make it "more likely" that future benefits will paid in full.

Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.

This is what it sounds like when the Federal Reserve Bank screams: "Much has been written about the various headwinds restraining economic activity over the near term. However, our economy also has other headwinds to confront over the medium- to-longer-term. ... the finances of some state and local governments are also under stress and in need of serious adjustments."  - Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto

Fiscal stress and strain continues in the fifty states this week as more legislators look for ways out of the black holes in which they find themselves. Solutions sought by states include delayed retirement, increased pension contributions, and furloughs.