Amid a pandemic and an economic downturn, lawmakers will return to Augusta in January with a list of priorities that span topics such as healthcare, climate change and the power of the executive branch. And while Democrats and Republicans have different goals, they agree on two primary items – balancing the state’s budget, which has a $150 million deficit, and agreeing on a new two-year spending plan. This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor. The Maine Monitor, formerly known as Pine Tree Watch, is a local journalism product published by The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civic news organization based in Augusta.