As the Legislature returns to the State House and the people’s work begins to be done, we’d like to offer our sincere wishes for a productive and thoughtfully bipartisan session. We’d also like the Legislature to consider, or reconsider, a few important things.

1. Expanding MaineCare so that no one is without health insurance in Maine. The cost to do so is quite low; the benefits to the recipient, the hospitals, and the entire healthcare industry in Maine is enormous. At one stroke, the Legislature could create 3,000 good-paying jobs that would pay taxes and bring the standard of living up in some of the most economically disadvantaged parts of our state.

2. Offshore wind power. It should be obvious that in this economy, the University of Maine cannot afford to establish an offshore wind program on its own. We’d like to see the Legislature court companies who have done this work in the past and are willing to invest in the Gulf of Maine. Offshore wind would light the entire Eastern Seaboard easily, and after the initial investment, cheaply.

3. Support our students. The cost of a college education in Maine is far too expensive. We’d like to see the Legislature consider a program not unlike the one put forth by Eliot Cutler during the election, in which students can attend a state university tuition free and pay the fund back with a small percentage of their future income over 20 years. Combine the university system and the state college system, and consolidate some of their functions, getting rid of unnecessary layers of administration so that faculty, staff, and students benefit.

4. And while we’re at it, make universal early childhood education a reality in every town and city in Maine. The funding for early childhood education has been shown to offset later costs in prisons and jails, as well as drug abuse treatment programs.

5. Make our health care, dental care, and mental health care systems the envy of the country. Too many Mainers have little or no access to needed services, and no way to pay for them. Develop a model in which hospitals put together primary health clinics, urgent care clinics, dental clinics, eye clinics, and mental health clinics, and get paid for health care through these clinics like any other office visit.

6. Really, truly, work out a system to help seniors age in place. That means real transportation options. Ask any group of seniors, and they will tell you their greatest fear is losing mobility in a state that has very little in the way of public transit. It’s time, not only for the benefit of the aging population, but for the poor, the disabled, the young, and those without licenses for whatever reason, to have a way to get around reliably and cheaply. The beautiful thing is that the federal government pays for a lot of this work if it’s done in conjunction with a transportation project. Intercity travel is a particular problem, one that can often be dealt with by light rail.

7. Address energy costs in the short and long term. Maine is over-reliant on natural gas, and there are not enough pipelines to get the gas to our energy plants. In the long term, we should be moving firmly toward renewables; in the short term, we should be considering other energies, including possibly thorium reactors, biomass, and hydro from Canada and from our own rivers. Use bonding to help pay for transmission lines and other infrastructure over a long term, rather than increasing rates.

8. Make a ten-year plan to deal with the worst of Maine’s roads and bridges, and work together to force the governor’s hand in releasing bonds to pay for it. Maine is dependent on tourism, and tourists don’t come if they can’t drive the roads without losing their undercarriage.

9. Work cooperatively with the Maritimes to solve certain fishery problems and develop after-market processing plants that both countries can use without difficulty.

10. Finally, we are hoping for a fair and sane tax system that will allow people to stay in their homes, afford their necessities, and put money back into the local economies. That means those in the bottom brackets must have more of their money to keep as a percentage of their income — all taxation sources — than those at the top, since the poor and middle classes spend nearly every dime, thus stimulating the economy.

Ladies and gentlemen, we wish you good luck and godspeed. This won’t be an easy session, but with goodwill and the best interests of the state of Maine at heart, you will do us proud.