Something unexpected happened: A Democratically controlled Legislature just lowered the state's income tax rate.

And earlier in the session, Republicans joined the Democratic majority and passed the first budget in more than 30 years that was lower than the previous budget.

Mainers: The ground is shifting.

To be sure, the circumstances of a nation in deep recession forced lawmakers into the kind of budget cuts they haven't been able to stomach for decades. And even so, there was no true restructuring of state government and its mission, which is what is needed in this era of diminished resources.

But the tax reform passed last week and signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci did lower the tax rate from 8.5 percent for most Mainers to 6.5 percent and broadened the sales tax in ways that would shift a good portion of it to out-of-staters. The tax revisions are revenue-neutral, which mean their combination of cuts and shifts will raise the same amount of money the previous tax system raised.

While we would have preferred a scheme that ensured that any future budget surpluses be applied to further tax relief, the measure that passed represents real -- if limited -- progress on renovating Maine's punitive tax code.

And after many years of abortive attempts at tax reform, the two accomplishments together represent a substantive shift in how government works. Democratic Rep. John Piotti deserves a good deal of credit for his vision and persistence in pressing his tax reform proposal over two legislative sessions, as do the Republican and Democratic members of the taxation committee who supported the measure.

The tax reform that passed on a largely party-line vote on Thursday, however, wasn't precisely Piotti's proposal. Baldacci wouldn't sign that one, being overly sensitive to its increased real-estate tax provision on high-end homes and overly sensitive about broadened sales taxes. On the other hand, the governor had legitimate concerns over the measure's effect on tourism, since much of the sales tax expansion targeted visitors from out of state. And he wanted to take a little more tax money out of top wage earners -- those earning over $250,000 -- and give a little more back at the bottom, in the form of a refundable earned income tax credit to low- and middle-income filers.

So Baldacci's version of the Legislature's tax reform was what passed, leaving the central components of Piotti's bill intact while shaving the legislation down some around the edges. Altogether, the compromises were necessary to bring the governor on board, and we believe that one-quarter of a loaf is better than no loaf at all.

The Republicans in the House and Senate spent much of this week griping that the tax reform bill was the wrong thing at the wrong time. Presumably, had they been in charge of things at the Statehouse and in the position to take credit for tax reform, a similar bill would have been the right thing at the right time.

Maine just lowered its income tax in the middle of a recession. That's an accomplishment and while the amount of the tax reduction is modest, it recognizes the damage of a high income-tax rate on working people. Somebody had to bust through the logjam of institutional and political resistance to such reform. That's been done and it's a good thing.

Editorials represent the opinion of the Editorial Board of this newspaper: Publisher John Christie, Executive Editor Eric Conrad and Opinion Page Editor Naomi Schalit.