Maine: Department Of Administrative And Financial Services

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s share of the federal economic stimulus package will be about $900 million, but the figure is preliminary, state Finance Commissioner Ryan Low told lawmakers Friday.

Low called the $900 million figure a “ballpark estimate” of Maine’s share of the $787 billion economic stimulus package as he addressed the Appropriations Committee. Low said the federal government has already determined how a large share of the funding will be used, with chunks allocated to areas such as tax cuts, added unemployment benefits and education.

“The vast majority of these funds are going for very specific purposes,” said the commissioner, who heads the Department of Administrative and Financial Services and serves as state coordinator for managing the stimulus money.

AUGUSTA, Maine — State employees urged lawmakers Monday to revisit a cost-cutting provision in the governor’s budget that would require many state workers to pay a portion of their health insurance premiums.

The first day of public hearings on Gov. John Baldacci’s proposed $6.1 billion biennial budget was largely mundane as administration officials walked legislators through cost-saving proposals in about a half-dozen state agencies.

Faced with an estimated $838 million revenue shortfall, the Baldacci administration has outlined plans to eliminate more than 200 positions and reduce spending throughout state government during the two-year budget that begins in July.

The most lively discussion came late Monday when state employees got the chance to weigh in on a proposal to require government workers who earn $50,000 a year or more to chip in 5 percent of the cost of their health insurance premiums.