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By Rep. Patsy Crockett
October 15, 2009
On Nov. 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. As a member of the Taxation Committee, I had the opportunity to enact Tabor II and excise tax referendums exactly as they will appear on the ballot. I voted no. I voted to send them out to voters because I feel both questions, if enacted as they are, would hurt Maine cities and towns and delay our economic recovery. Below is a summary of referendum questions prepared by the Secretary of State’s office with additional information from the House Majority Office. 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. You can call city hall to find out how to obtain an absentee ballot. You can also go to city hall during any normal business hours and request an absentee ballot and vote right then and there.
An Act To End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?”
Question 1 asks whether Maine voters want to reject amendments to the state’s marriage laws that were enacted 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. It would continue to allow individuals who are authorized to perform marriages to refuse to perform a marriage for any couple for any reason. 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.
A YES vote means you want to repeal the marriage equality law.
A NO vote means that you want to keep the law as passed by the Legislature earlier this year.
An Act to Decrease the Automobile Excise Tax and Promote Energy
“Do you want to cut the rate of the municipal excise tax by an average of 55% on motor vehicles less than six years old and exempt hybrid and other alternative-energy and highly fuel-efficient motor vehicles from sales tax and three years of excise tax?”
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 lives. The towns then use the money from the excise tax to build and maintain the local roads.
A YES vote means that you favor the proposal.
A NO vote means you want to leave the excise tax as it is currently.
An Act to Repeal the School District Consolidation Laws “Do you want to repeal the 2007 law on school district consolidation and restore the laws previously in effect?”
Question 3 is a citizen initiative that would repeal the school district consolidation law that was passed in June 2007, and subsequently amended in 2008 and 2009, and would re-enact the laws governing school administrative units in Maine that were in effect prior to June 2007.
A YES vote on this question means that you want to repeal the consolidation law.
A NO vote means you want to keep the school consolidation intact as passed by the Legislature in 2007.
An Act to Provide Tax Relief “Do you want to change the existing formulas that limit state and local government spending and require voter approval by referendum for spending over those limits and for increases in state taxes?”
Question 4 is initiated legislation that seeks to change existing law with regard to limits on spending by state, county and municipal governments, and state tax increases. The initiative repeals the existing caps on spending of state General Funds and replaces 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 changes 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.
A YES vote means that you want to adopt the new funding formula.
A NO vote means that you want to keep the existing caps on state and local spending.
An Act to Establish the Maine Medical Marijuana Act “Do you want to change the medical marijuana laws to allow treatment of more medical conditions and to create a regulated system of distribution?”
Question 5 repeals 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.
A YES vote means you favor expanding the list of medical conditions that may be treated using marijuana.
A NO vote means you favor leaving the medical marijuana laws as they are currently.
“Do you favor a $71,250,000 bond issue for improvements to highways and bridges, airports, public transit facilities, ferry and port facilities, including port and harbor structures, as well as funds for the LifeFlight Foundation that will make the State eligible for over $148,000,000 in federal and other matching funds?”
Question 6 would authorize the State to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $71,250,000 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. The Department of Transportation would expend $69,750,000 of the bond proceeds for the following types of projects:
AYES vote means that you want the state to borrow this money in order to invest in the projects listed.
A NO vote means you no do not want the state to borrow this money for the projects listed.
“Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to increase the amount of time that local officials have to certify the signatures on direct initiative petitions?”
The final item, Question 7, would authorize an amendment to the Constitution of Maine to change time frames in the direct initiative and people’s veto referendum process. The amendment would increase, from 5 days to 10 days, the time period for officials of towns to complete their review of petitions for a direct initiative in order to certify which signatures are those of registered voters within their towns.
A YES vote means you favor giving municipal officials adequate time to verify signatures.
A NO vote means you want to leave the time frames for verifying signatures as they are currently.
To learn more about the seven referendum questions, you can visit the Maine Secretary of State’s Web site.
Rep. Patsy Crockett is serving her second term in the Maine House of Representatives representing part of Augusta.