Gov. Paul LePage has again vowed to shut down state government if the Legislature votes for an increase in the lodging tax, which the governor himself proposed in February and which was resurrected Wednesday by Senate Republicans.

That proposal drew fire from LePage on Thursday, who accused Senate President Mike Thibodeau, R-Winterport, of just wanting to “go home” at any expense to the state budget.

With about 40 hours left now before the end of Maine’s fiscal year, LePage’s statement casts an even darker cloud, if that’s possible, over a situation where there is a path to the enactment of a state budget in time to avoid a shutdown, but it’s narrow and fraught with obstacles.

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans came to the table with some new concessions, including more education funding than their previous proposal, funding for direct-care workers and a partial restoration of property tax relief programs. To help fund some of those items, they proposed raising the state’s lodging tax from 9 percent to 10 percent — but remain firm on repealing the education surtax enacted by voters in 2016.

It’s not clear what level of acceptance there is for those provisions among legislative Democrats and House Republicans, but it’s clear where LePage stands: He’ll cause a government shutdown by holding the budget for the 10 days the law gives him to make a decision about whether to sign or veto bills.

“If they put in a tax increase, get ready for a shutdown. End of story,” said LePage Thursday morning during a radio interview on WGAN. “If you increase taxes without lowering the income tax, I will take my 10 days.”

For the second time this week, LePage framed budget negotiations as a game of chicken between himself and the Legislature.

“They’re playing chicken at 100 miles per hour,” he said. “If you want to play chicken, let’s play chicken.”

LePage said he is open to increasing education funding by $200 million over what is being spent in the current biennium but only under very rigid circumstances: Repeal the surtax, enact education reform proposals that have already been rejected by the Legislature, such as administration consolidation and a statewide teacher contract, and wait to see if those proposals generate new savings.

“If we don’t reach the goal of the $200 million [between now and July of 2018], then we’ll put in a supplemental budget for the funding that you need,” said LePage.

Democrats, who have already agreed to reduce the education surtax, which in current law would generate an estimated $320 million for schools over the next two years, are unlikely to bow to LePage’s demands based on a promise. Regardless, the only hope of avoiding a shutdown at this point is for a deal to be struck today, a budget to garner two-thirds support in both the House and Senate on Friday, and for LePage to either sign or veto the budget immediately.

Even in that latest scenario, the Legislature would have to convene on Saturday to override the veto with the government shut down around them.

Meanwhile, the governor further torched his relationship with Thibodeau, which has been troubled for years, over the Senate Republicans’ proposal for a lodging tax increase. Thibodeau has advocated against tax increases throughout negotiations — until Wednesday, arguing that concessions are necessary to break the impasse and that the lodging tax hits mostly out-of-staters.

“Mike Thibodeau, I’ll be very honest, he tells me one thing and the next morning, I wake up and it’s totally different,” said LePage, who proposed raising the lodging tax to 10 percent in his original proposal. “I don’t know. He assured me there was not going to be any tax increases and now, I’m going to work this morning and there’s going to be a tax increase.”

Asked for a reaction Thursday morning, Thibodeau said only, “we are reluctantly capitulating to the governor’s original budget proposal to raise the lodging tax.”

Leaders clashing like this during negotiations usually indicates a long road ahead. That could prove very true in this instance, even though the end of the road to a shutdown is less than two days away. 

Maine Gov. Paul LePage pauses during a meeting to discuss the state’s efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, Wednesday, May 10, 2017, at the State House in Augusta.

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