9. Provide appropriate assistance, such as finding and state regulation application assistance, to expedite the dredging of the Penobscot River for the purpose of improving the navigable channel;

10. Establish an intermodal passenger system for Bangor International Airport by linking a terminal on airport grounds with rail and road access, including access to the state-owned Brewer-to-Calais railroad from the airport and Northern Maine Junction. Airport terminal access by road would be improved through the appropriation of funds and matching federal funds to reroute Maine Avenue;

11. Require the Department of Transportation to develop and implement a strategy to provide, where practical, connections from each state-owned or state-leased rail line to multiple railroad common carriers in order that Maine businesses and the public have affordable and unhampered access to the national rail transportation system;

12. Provide tax-exempt status to the sale or lease of an aircraft based in this State and regularly engaged in air commerce, or the replacement or repair parts for such an aircraft;

13. Eliminate permits for 53-foot truck trailers;

14. Exempt diesel fuel used while on the Maine Turnpike from the diesel fuel tax;

15. Provide to lessees of trucking equipment, such as a truck or trailer, used in interstate commerce the same sales tax exemption that is currently provided to owners of trucking equipment that is used in interstate commerce. Alternatively, a $600 maximum would be placed on the sales tax imposed on any such equipment;

16. Require the Department of Environmental Protection to change the regulatory process from an instruction-based approach to a contractual, performance-based approach, thereby rewarding companies and businesses that meet or exceed the environmental objectives established by the department; and

17. Attract high-tech and high-wage jobs. This would be partially accomplished through the appropriation of $300,000 each to Eastern Maine Technical College and Kennebec Valley Technical College to expand technical education programs in industries needing technically skilled workers.