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By Rep. Leila Jane Percy
October 8, 2009
On November 3, voters statewide will decide a number of important issues such as whether to approve the marriage equality bill, whether to approve the “Tabor II” anti-tax initiative and whether to change the excise tax. I hope this summary will help you to make an informed decision about the seven issues on this November’s ballot.
Any registered voter can vote absentee on the referendum as of a few weeks ago. One can call the town office at 833-5771 to find out how to obtain an absentee ballot. One can also go to the town office during any normal business hours and request an absentee ballot and vote right then and there.
Initiated by a people’s veto, Question 1 asks whether Maine voters want to reject or accept amendments to the state’s marriage laws that were enacted by the Legislature and approved by the Governor in May 2009. The new law would allow same-sex couples to marry in Maine. It also would recognize such marriages lawfully performed in other states. Individuals who are authorized to perform marriages to continue to be allowed to refuse to perform a marriage for any couple. Finally, the law does not allow any court or governmental body to compel, prevent or interfere in any way with a religious institution’s doctrines, policies, teaching or practices regarding marriage.
Question 2 is a citizen initiative that, if approved, would reduce the rate of the excise tax on motor vehicles less than 6 years old. This is the tax that owners of vehicles pay each year in order to register their vehicles. The excise tax is collected and retained by the city or town where the owner of the vehicle resides. If the vehicle owner lives in the unorganized territory, the tax is deposited in the unorganized territory fund in the county where the owner resides.
Question 3 is a citizen initiative that would repeal the school district consolidation law that was enacted by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in June 2007, and subsequently amended in 2008 and 2009. It would re-enact the laws governing school administrative units in Maine that were in effect prior to June 2007.
Question 4 is initiated legislation that would change existing law with regard to limits on spending by state, county and municipal governments, and state tax increases. The initiative would repeal the existing caps on spending of state general funds and replace it with a new formula that limits growth in spending for all state funds to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the most recent calendar year plus the percentage increase in state population for the three most recent years. The initiated legislation also would change the existing spending limits for county and municipal governments to add that the growth in spending allowed cannot exceed the percentage change in personal income in Maine, averaged over the previous 10 years, plus the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index forecast for the next two calendar years.
Question 5 would repeal Maine’s existing statutes regarding the medical use of marijuana and replaces them with a new law, entitled the Maine Medical Marijuana Act. This initiated legislation expands the list of medical conditions for which marijuana may be prescribed.
Question 6 would authorize the state to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $71.25 million to raise funds for a variety of projects, as described below. The bonds would run for a period not longer than 10 years from the date of issue and would be backed by the full faith and credit of the state. Fifty million dollars of the bond proceeds would be placed in the Highway Fund and the remainder would be in the General Fund.
The Department of Transportation would expend $69.75 million of the bond proceeds for the following types of projects:
The final item, Question 7, would authorize an amendment to the Constitution of Maine to change timeframes in the direct initiative and people’s veto referendum process. The amendment would increase, from five days to 10 days, the time period for officials of towns to complete their reviews of petitions for direct initiatives in order to certify which signatures are those of registered voters within their towns.
Whether you’re voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on any issue, I encourage you to exercise your right to vote on Nov. 3. I hope that this will give you a little insight into November’s ballot.
With so many issues, there is a lot to consider. To learn more about the seven referendum questions, you can visit the Maine Secretary of State’s Web site.
As always you can contact me at 207-389-2133/e-mail: Rep. Percy
Stay well, Rep. Leila J. Percy