When voters go to the polls this Nov. 8 to vote for the next president, Maine residents will also be asked to cast their ballot on six referendum questions ranging from the legalization of marijuana to increasing gun registrations.
The following is a look at each of the referendum questions.
Question 1: Legalize marijuana
“Do you want to allow the possession and use of marijuana under state law by persons who are at least 21 years of age, and allow the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance?”
According to the Office of Fiscal and Program Review in Augusta, this citizen initiative legalizes recreational marijuana and assesses a sales tax of 10 percent. If approved the law would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2018.
The initiative designates the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (ACF) as the state licensing authority for retail marijuana. The ACF would collect fees from each marijuana store license, cultivation facility, retail testing facility and social club.
The Department of the Attorney General, the Judicial Department, the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services and the Department of Corrections will experience a decrease in the number of marijuana-related offenses. A savings generated from the reduction in the number of civil and criminal cases is expected, however, some of that savings may be offset by increased legal costs related to the licensing process and the regulation of the legalized marijuana industry, as well as police enforcement for driving under the influence.
A “Yes” vote is to enact the initiated legislation. A “No” vote opposes the initiated legislation.
Question 2: Funding for education
“Do you want to add a 3 percent tax on individual Maine taxable income above $200,000 to create a state fund that would provide direct support for student learning in kindergarten through 12th grade public education?”
From the Attorney General’s Office, this citizen-initiated legislation would establish a new state fund to support K-12 public education, with revenue generated by a 3 percent tax on individual Maine taxable income above $200,000. The 3 percent tax would apply in tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017. The tax would apply only to that portion of an individual taxpayer’s Maine taxable income that exceeds $200,000. Maine taxable income means an individual’s adjusted gross income under federal tax law, with modifications, personal exemptions and deductions as provided by Maine tax law.
All of the revenue generated by this tax would go into a new state fund, called the “Fund to Advance Public Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education” (the “Fund”), to be administered by the Maine Department of Education. Necessary expenses incurred by the Department in administering the Fund could be paid from the Fund.
The intent of this initiative is that the fund would be used to supplement (not supplant) the state’s General Fund appropriation when that appropriation falls short of the 55 percent annual target. It would be used to pay only for “direct support for student learning.” School administration and clerical staff may not be funded with this money.
If approved, this citizen initiated legislation would take effect 30 days after the Governor proclaims the official results of the election. A “Yes” vote is to enact the initiated legislation. A “No” vote opposes the initiated legislation.
Question 3: Background checks for firearms
“Do you want to require background checks prior to the sale or transfer of firearms between individuals not licensed as firearms dealers, with failure to do so punishable by law, and with some exceptions for family members, hunting, self-defense, lawful competitions, and shooting range activity?”
This initiated bill requires a background check before a firearm sale or transfer between individuals not licensed as firearm dealers. If neither party to a sale or transfer has a federal firearms license, the parties meet at a licensed firearm dealer, who conducts a background check on the transferee and completes the sale or transfer as though selling or transferring from the dealer’s own inventory.
Exceptions to the background check requirement are made for transfers between family members, while the parties are hunting or sport shooting, for emergency self-defense, in the presence of the transferor and in other circumstances.
From the Office of the Attorney General, transfer under this initiative means “to sell, furnish, give, lend, deliver or otherwise provide with or without consideration.” Thus “transfer” includes sales and giving or loaning a firearm to another person without payment of any kind.
Federal law requires licensed firearms dealers to conduct background checks before selling firearms, but the federal law does not apply to private sales or transfers.
The proposal would make it a crime for a person to knowingly deliver or receive a firearm without complying with the requirements of this law. A first conviction would be classified as a Class D crime, while any subsequent conviction would be a Class C crime. If approved, this citizen initiated legislation would take effect 30 days after the Governor proclaims the official results of the election.
A “Yes” vote is to enact the initiated legislation. A “No” vote opposes the initiated legislation.
Question 4: Minimum wage
“Do you want to raise the minimum hourly wage of $7.50 to $9 in 2017, with annual $1 increases up to $12 in 2020, and annual cost-of-living increases thereafter; and do you want to raise the direct wage for service workers who receive tips from half the minimum wage to $5 in 2017, with annual $1 increases until it reaches the adjusted minimum wage?”
This initiated bill raises the minimum wage to $9 per hour in 2017 and by $1 per hour each year after that until it is $12 per hour in 2020. The minimum wage then increases at the same rate as the cost of living. The minimum wage for workers who receive tips increases to $5 per hour in 2017 and then by $1 per hour each year until it matches the minimum wage for all other workers, which occurs no sooner than 2024.
If approved, this citizen initiated legislation would take effect 30 days after the Governor proclaims the official results of the election. A “Yes” vote is to enact the initiated legislation. A “No” vote opposes the initiated legislation.
Question 5: Ranked-choice voting
“Do you want to allow voters to rank their choices of candidates in elections for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, State Senate, and State Representative, and to have ballots counted at the state level in multiple rounds in which last-place candidates are eliminated until a candidate wins by majority?”
This initiated bill provides ranked-choice voting for the offices of United States Senator, United States Representative to Congress, Governor, State Senator and State Representative for elections held on or after January 1, 2018.
Ranked-choice voting is a method of casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, tabulation proceeds in rounds in which last-place candidates are defeated and the candidate with the most votes in the final round is elected, according to information prepared by the Office of the Attorney General.
This citizen-initiated legislation would establish a new method of voting and counting votes in elections for the offices of United States Senator, Representative to Congress, Governor, State Senator and State Representative, and in primary elections to determine the nominees for those offices. Rather than choosing one candidate for each of these offices, voters would be allowed to rank all the candidates listed for each office, including up to one write-in candidate, in order of the voter’s preference.
Thus in a three-way race, instead of marking one vote on the ballot for candidate A, B or C, the voter could express preferences among all three candidates by ranking them as choice(s) No. 1, 2 or 3 on the same ballot.
A “Yes” vote is to enact the initiated legislation. A “No” vote opposes the initiated legislation.
Question 6: Bond Issue
“Do you favor a $100,000,000 bond issue for construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of highways and bridges and for facilities, equipment and property acquisition related to ports, harbors, marine transportation, freight and passenger railroads, aviation, transit and bicycle and pedestrian trails, to be used to match an estimated $137,000,000 in federal and other funds?
From the Office of the Attorney General, this act would authorize the state to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $100,000,000, to raise funds for a variety of projects. 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.
Proceeds from the sale of these bonds would be administered by the Department of Transportation for the purposes of highways, secondary roads and bridges ($80,000,000); repair secondary roads in partnership with municipalities pursuant to the existing Municipal Partnership Initiative program; and replace and rehabilitate bridges.
Municipalities are required to contribute 50 percent or more of the project costs under the Municipal Partnership Initiative program, which is described on the Department’s web site at http://maine.gov/mdot/planning/.
Highway and bridge projects are matched with federal funds on a ratio of 1.1 to 1 (federal to state) dollars. Accordingly, these bond proceeds are expected to leverage approximately $88,000,000 in federal and local matching funds. Multi-modal projects ($20,000,000) would be spent on a variety of projects, including facilities, equipment and acquisition of property related to ports, harbors, marine transportation, aviation, railroads (both passenger and freight), transit (public transportation) and bicycle and pedestrian trails. The intent is to fund projects that preserve public safety or otherwise demonstrate high economic value in terms of transportation.
If approved, the authorization of these bonds would take effect 30 days after the Governor’s proclamation of the vote. A “Yes” vote approves the issuance of up to one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in general obligation bonds to finance the activities described above. A “No” vote disapproves the bond issue in its entirety.
