Before the Maine Legislature adjourns, it must pass a substantial bond package. With unemployment rising to 8.3% in February, government must act to preserve existing jobs, create new ones, and support long-term economic development.

One effective tool available to state policymakers is the issuance of bonds to fund roads and other projects that benefit the public. At a public hearing yesterday, the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee heard testimony on two such proposals, one by Senator President Libby Mitchell and one by Governor John Baldacci. Both propose to make substantial investments in Maine’s infrastructure and, in the process, create jobs.

MECEP estimates that Senator Mitchell’s proposal will create approximately 2,400 jobs. This number is in addition to the 750-1,000 jobs that the proposed purchase of a portion of the Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic Railway could save.

These 2,400 jobs represent important progress toward recovery of the approximately 31,800 Maine jobs lost from the start of the recession through December 2009.

To preserve and create jobs and to maintain and expand infrastructure essential to economic growth, Maine needs the robust investment that a significant bond package would provide.