AUGUSTA — Maine may soon borrow money again to maintain roads, bridges and sewers.

Whether the governor and the Legislature are ready to borrow again for research, conservation and other initiatives is less certain.

Key lawmakers in both parties say they plan to develop a bond package to send to Maine voters for approval in June or November.

And they expect Gov. Paul LePage to support some level of borrowing this year.

“There seems to be openness all around,” said Senate President Kevin Raye, R-Perry. But, he said, “We don’t want to go hog wild.”

LePage, who criticized state borrowing during his 2010 election campaign, said “no” to any bond package last year. The Republican-led Legislature went along with his wishes, and for the first time in at least two decades lawmakers did not approve a borrowing proposal in the first year of their two-year term.

Proposals to borrow $50 million to $100 million for various projects were carried over from last year to this year and will be part of the negotiations during the next several months.

While lawmakers say the LePage administration has signaled a willingness to take on new debt, the governor would not commit his support when asked to comment Wednesday.

“At the present time, the governor believes the structural problems within the budget need to be fixed before he looks at any bond package,” said Adrienne Bennett, his spokeswoman.

Democrats and other advocates say the timing is ideal for substantial borrowing to repair roads and bridges, invest in research and finance land conservation, among others things. Interest rates are low and struggling contractors are eager for work, which would drive down costs, they say.

“People want to see something from their government to help put people back to work,” said Assistant Senate Minority Leader Justin Alfond, D-Portland.

The decision not to borrow last year “left jobs on the table,” said House Minority Leader Emily Cain, D-Orono. “There’s still an opportunity to get some of those jobs back.”

Republicans say periodic state investments in roads and bridges are needed and can help put people to work. But they say the state has to be careful about borrowing on behalf of taxpayers when the economy is struggling and revenues to support existing services are uncertain or falling.

“We still are cautious about what the state’s debt tolerance is in these uncertain times,” said Assistant House Majority Leader Andre Cushing, R-Hampden.

On the other hand, he said, “If you don’t do certain things with roads and bridges, you’ll pay more later.”

Maine’s tax-supported debt per capita is $865, according to the state Treasurer’s Office. The national median is $1,066.

Debt as a percentage of personal income is 2.4 percent in Maine, compared with 2.8 percent nationally, it says.

Republican leaders said roads and other transportation projects would be core pieces of any bond package this year. There also is bipartisan support for sewer and water projects and some research and development.

Land conservation, education and other initiatives will have a more difficult time getting into a bond package, said Republicans.

The contents of any bond package will be negotiated after lawmakers tackle more immediate problems, including the $221 million shortfall in the health and human services budget for the next 18 months.

A final borrowing proposal won’t be settled until spring.

Among those watching and waiting are road construction companies and businesses that rely on Maine’s road network, said Maria Fuentes, executive director of the Maine Better Transportation Association. The group represents members of the transportation construction industry, as well as users of Maine’s highways and bridges.

A decline in other state and federal funding, and the lack of a bond last year, have made it harder to maintain roads and harder to keep some contractors working, she said.

“We have aging infrastructure. For us (in Maine) it’s worse because we have so many miles of roads and not as many people paying for them,” Fuentes said. “The number of miles the state has actually been able to repair has been going down.”

MaineToday Media State House Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 620-7016 or at:

jrichardson@mainetoday.com