By Cynthia Dill
Representative,
House District 121
    Earlier this year, three of the nation’s top bonding houses gave Maine the green light to invest in our state and our future. They advised us to move forward sooner rather than later with robust and comprehensive bond investments or we could hurt Maine’s good financial standing.
    The 123rd Legislature took the advice to heart, along with substantial other evidence that long-term investment is necessary for future prosperity. When you drive nearly any road in Maine, when your children plan for college and career out of state, when you see stands of pine fall to suburban sprawl and coastline turn from working waterfront to condo skyline, I hope you will also be convinced that bonds for Maine’s future are a good thing.
    There is proof enough to put politics aside. Recognizing the urgent need to repair our roads, maintain our quality of life and move Maine forward, the Legislature built bridges across the partisan aisle. In early April, we enacted a historic bond package of $295 million with near unanimous support. The bond package would invest $55 million in research and development to grow the economy, $43.5 million to create opportunity through education, $60.5 million to protect the environment, and $136 million to repair and improve our transportation network.
    Maine’s economy continues its natural transition from a manufacturing base to one supported by services and small, high-tech firms. The economic portion of the bond package includes a competitive loan process that will spur the growth of our most promising new businesses and industries, which will increase job output, productivity and access to better, higher-paying careers. With this opportunity for innovation and growth, we would be well poised to capitalize on Maine’s evolving economy, getting high returns for the investment.
Advances in the economy are often the effect of advances in education, as Maine’s university system is a cornerstone of the state’s research and development effort. By putting college within reach of more Mainers, our workforce will attract more industry to the state, and we will give our children the skills to compete for better career opportunities. Education is the door to opportunity for Maine’s younger and future generations and will allow them to stay here if they so choose rather than have no other option but to uproot from the family trees of multi-generational Maine families.
    Maine’s environment is part and parcel of the Maine brand, in which we must invest or lose. Our forests, farms and coastline stand in stark contrast to the heavily developed regions around us, and they are drawing people here. As more visitors become temporary or permanent residents, the consequences are sprawl and pressure on our natural resource-based industries. By investing in our quality places, and funding programs like Land for Maine’s Future, we can make the Maine brand a lasting legacy and benefit from tourism without diminishing our working waterfront, farms and forests.
    Maine’s roads are the clearest example of how sometimes spending money saves money. Regular investments in transportation would have prevented the major overhauls that our roads and bridges now require. Fortunately, if we make the repairs immediately, we will be able to draw down matching funds from the federal government and make strategic advances in Maine’s transportation system, including passenger rail.
    Though the Legislature has voted in strong support of this bond package, ultimately bonds are a product of the will of Maine people. The bond package will go to voters in three parts: $131.3 million for the environment and transportation in June 2007; $134 million for research and development, education and natural resources in November 2007; and $29.7 million for the environment and transportation in June 2008. If the bond package is improved in its entirety, we will draw $411 million in matching funds from federal and private sources for a total $706 million investment in Maine’s future.
    I encourage your strong support of the bond package. To improve our economy and build for our future, we cannot concentrate on just one area of investment – we need to look at the big picture. A well-paved road is a road to nowhere if we don’t also invest in jobs, the environment and education for Maine citizens.
   
    Rep. Cynthia Dill represents most of Cape Elizabeth in the Maine House of Representatives. She is serving her first term and is a member of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.