Remember February? Back then, it seemed Gov. John Lynch's bleak budget proposal had left no constituency - from labor unions to retired state employees to insured doctors to smokers to the catastrophically ill - off the list of the alienated (the word Lynch used in a meeting with the Monitor editorial board). It all seemed pretty grim at the time.

Now we know that we didn't know from grim. House budget-writers backed two taxes on the wealthy, an estate tax and a capital-gains tax, on top of keeping most of Lynch's cuts in place (while adding back a few social programs, like cancer prevention).

The worst part: Even then, the budget still didn't balance, leading budget-writers to call for an additional 1.25 percent across-the-board cut, leaving agencies to decide where to find the money. (The Republican alternative budget did more than that, including a 13 percent across-the-board cut at many state agencies.)

There's a missing piece here. House budget-writers are working off bleaker revenue projections crafted by the House Ways and Means Committee that expect regular state revenue to fall $140 million below what Lynch assumed. Lynch's budget expected revenue to be flat over the next two years; House crystal ball-gazers (aka Ways and Means Committee members) expect it to fall off significantly.

Finance Committee Chairwoman Marjorie Smith made clear that she wasn't in love with the budget her committee produced and that she would be glad to see the Senate come up with its own version. But she didn't have any specific suggestions of what corner of the rug to look under for the solutions.

"Fresh heads looking at this with additional information as time passes might be able to come up with new ideas," she said.

First, the matter will go to a House vote on Wednesday.

Another try

The House will re-fight at least one social issue from the culture wars of last month: The transgender-rights bill or the bathroom bill, whatever you prefer to call it, will be re-fought on the House floor first thing Wednesday morning. Democratic Rep. Kathleen Taylor of Franconia filed for reconsideration.

Sponsor Ed Butler sounded hopeful last week that the second vote may be different than the first, which followed the House's votes on gay marriage, medicinal marijuana and the death penalty.

"The vote came at the end of three long days of discussion and deliberation and voting, and

a lot of people could not stay at the end of Thursday's debates, so there were a few votes made with many representatives not present," said Butler, a Democrat from Hart's Location.

He doubts that a lot of debate will be needed. "I think people will have thought about the issue and decided whether or not they're going to change their vote," he said. He added: "The real issue is that people weren't there."

Talkin' 'bout 'my guy'

Republican Rep. Fran Wendelboe of New Hampton turned to an unexpected role model in pushing for cuts to the budget: Lynch.

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