Members of Maine's Appropriations and Financial Affairs
Committee are among the most powerful people in State government. This group of 13 individuals determines how
over $6 billion are spent by the State every two years.
This afternoon I used MaineOpenGov.org to look up members of the Appropriations Committee. What I found was a possible conflict of interest among two key members; Reps. Emily Cain (D-Orono), who serves as the House Chair of the Committee, and John Martin (D-Eagle Lake), who has served in the legislature for over 40 years.
According to MaineOpenGov.org data, both these politicians receive salaries and benefits from the University of Maine system. In pay year 2007, Rep. Cain, Coordinator of Advancement for U Maine, earned $29,994 in wages and benefits, while Rep. Martin, Executive Assistant to the President at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, earned a combined $71,867 in wages and benefits.
As members of the Appropriation Committee, these two play a major role in taxpayer funding of higher education in Maine. In fiscal year 2008, higher education comprised 8.36 percent of the $6.2 billion general fund budget--the fourth largest state expenditure. Yikes!
Should two individuals whose bread is buttered by the University of Maine be in a position to direct over $518 million to higher education; the very hand that feeds them? I don't think so either...
This is not just a conflict of interest relative to the Appropriations committee. They can also can lobby other legislators on behalf of the University without current rules preventing them from such activities. It would be interesting to read their job descriptions as UM employees or consultants.
It is possible to fail in many ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way.