One week after legislative Democrats unveiled their $99 million jobs bond package, Gov. John Baldacci advanced his own bond package that he says is $20 million dollars leaner, but will be equally effective at putting thousands of Mainers back to work. About $60 million in the governor's plan is directed toward highway, port and rail projects -- including $17 million to preserve 240-miles of rail lines in northern Maine's Aroostook County.

The tens of millions of dollars that Gov. John Baldacci wants to borrow is an investment that he says Maine taxpayers can't afford to ignore. "This is not a long laundry list of ideas, but instead it's focused on investments to build Maine's economic capacity into the future, while creating jobs today," he said today as he unveiled the package at a State House news conference.

Baldacci's $79 million bond package -- leaner than the $99 million plan offered last week by majority Democrats in the Legislature -- leans heavily on transportation projects, ranging from $28 million for highway reconstruction to create an estimated 750 jobs to $17 million to preserve the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway that he says is a lifeline for as many as 1,000 heavy industry jobs northern Maine.

The governor says his jobs bond will offer real relief to workers in Maine -- even as the state Department of Labor reported that unemployment ticked upward slightly in January to 8.2 percent. That compares to 7.3 percent a year ago.

"Today I'm proposing a job creation package that will put Mainers back to work," Baldacci said. "A targeted investment package that puts people back to work immediately, combined with a balanced budget, is the right prescription for economic growth. Today, I'm presenting the details of my proposal to put people back to work. The plan focuses heavily on transportation, including roads, rails and ports, and has been developed with an eye towards projects that will create jobs within 12 months."

Like all bond packages, the governor's recommendations and those of majority Democrats will be weighed by the Legislature, which can only send them on to Maine voters with two-thirds approval in the House and Senate.

Republicans are already signaling some concern about the size of both packages in the current economy, arguing that no one can borrow their way into prosperity. Baldacci sees it differently.

"I know that some people are concerned about borrowing," he acknowledged. "But we can't sit around and wait and hope for the economy to improve, we've got to be doing our part, and these projects are sorely needed and will put people back to work, make our roads, make our drinking water, make our communities safer and more economically vibrant. We have an opportunity to do that and to make those critical investments, and now is the time to act and to invest in new jobs and to get our people back to work."

"I'm very supportive of the idea of a bond package," says House Majority Leader John Piotti. "I think Maine needs it at this point, certainly the Democrats in the Legislature see that, the governor sees that, I'm very hopeful we can pull something together."

Piotti, a Unity Democrat, says he hopes both parties can unite around a borrowing proposal that will help more Mainers get back into the work force. But Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Kevin Ray, of Perry, remain cautious.

"I think there's still significant concern among Republicans about our ability to do any level of borrowing and remaining fiscally responsible," Raye says. "So we're going to have to take a look at it, go through it with a fine-tooth comb and balance it."

"Our concern is Maine taxpayers are drowning in a mountain of taxpayer-supported debt already," says Tarren Bragdon, chief executive officer of the conservative think tank, the Maine Heritage Policy Center.

Bragdon knows that no bond package can go to the voters without the support of some GOP lawmakers and he wants them to take a longer view of what they're being asked to approve.

"We're seeing an increase in the obligation that Maine taxpayers are on the hook for of 32 percent from 2006 through the end of last year," Bragdon says. "So adding on top of that just means we're burdening current and future taxpayers with this incredible obligation at a time when our economy's stagnant and we're struggling to get people back to work."

Baldacci says his bond proposal is no greater than five-to-six percent of the state's overall revenue-to-debt profile and well below the national average with respect to debt-per-capita ratings.