Gov. Paul LePage declared a state of civil emergency last week in response to the federal shutdown. It’s a move that has raised some hackles, particularly among members of the Maine State Employees Association, who are worried about its implications.
While we’re not sure such a declaration was absolutely necessary, since other states do not appear to have taken this step, it does seem that the governor’s intentions are with the best interests of the state and its employees. The declaration is expected to give the governor more leeway in addressing the funding problems that are arising due to the continued federal shutdown. So long as the power is not abused, it should allow the governor to help the Maine employees whose salaries are paid in part, or whole, by the federal government.
The state already laid off 56 federally funded state workers so far, and the LePage administration has noted that more than 2,700 state employees are at least partially funded by the federal government. The state cannot afford to fill in the payments that the federal government is not providing, and people are not going to work for free. This is going to result in further layoffs, but those are essentially furloughs, since Congress is expected to eventually decide to fund the government operations again ”“ hopefully sooner rather than later.
The law that enables the governor to enact an emergency states that it can be done “so that he may reduce the disruption in state service in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of Maine citizens.”
This effort certainly seems to do that, most notably by sidestepping some of the barriers to getting these furloughed workers temporary unemployment benefits. The law currently requires those who are getting unemployment benefits to seek another job, and LePage could now eliminate that requirement for these workers, who are expected to return to their jobs.
He has reached an agreement with the state employees union for the state to cover health benefits during the furlough and to allow use of vacation time pay if the federal government does not cover back pay when the shutdown ends. The declaration will also allow those workers to collect unemployment within five days, instead of waiting out the 15-day notice period without pay and LePage could also decide to reopen a state-owned pier on federal land in Washington County, restoring work for fishermen there, according to reports.
All of these efforts will help keep those most directly affected financially solvent while waiting for Congress to take action, and those are steps we believe should be embraced.
This is a scary situation, and not just for state employees. By defunding these salaries, a myriad of state programs will suffer, and that impacts us all. Health and human services, veterans affairs, employment services, environmental protection, fisheries and wildlife enforcement are just a few areas that are being hit by this shutdown.
It’s not unprecedented for a governor to make such a declaration and embrace the emergency powers given to the office. According to Associated Press reports, former Gov. John Baldacci signed a proclamation in 2009, during the flu epidemic, that gave clinicians liability coverage through the state while giving flu shots, as temporary state employees. Other governors have used it to change truck weight limits, allow fuel truck operators to work long hours, allow out-of-state electric workers to help Maine crews turn the power on after storms, among other uses, the LePage administration has noted.
We’re glad to see the governor being proactive about protecting Maine’s employees during this far-reaching shutdown, and we hope it has the intended consequences of keeping those employees from experiencing financial difficulties due to the failures of our Congress. That said, the entire state will be keeping an eye on this administration to make sure the emergency declaration does not translate into an overreach of powers and have any negative effects on the agreements the state has already negotiated with the union.
It seems that the crux of the problem with LePage’s declaration is lack of communication. Despite a meeting with union members and others on Thursday of last week, many still did not feel that the governor had adequately explained exactly what he plans to do. We would expect that all previous agreements be honored, and that this effort is simply to mitigate the impacts of the federal shutdown for Maine employees.
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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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