An Act To Validate Certain Proceedings Authorizing the Issuance of Bonds and Notes by the Calais School District (AFfER DEADLINE)
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1953
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: PERRY, SHOREY

Legislative Document 
No. 1953 
H.P.1452 
House of Representati ves, April 1, 2004 
An Act To Validate Certain Proceedings Authorizing the Issuance of 
Bonds and Notes by the Calais School District 
(AFfER DEADLINE) 
(EMERGENCY) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
205. 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative PERRY of Calais. 
Cosponsored by Senator SHOREY of Washington. 
Printed on recycled paper 
!7l~/h.11l~~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, Acts of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted 
as emergencies: and 
Whereas, 
the 
buildings located 
School District, 
management 
and 
control 
of 
public 
school 
Calais are vested in the Calais 
the territory of the City of 
in the Ci ty of 
which includes 
Calais: and 
Whereas, the State Board of Education has granted concept 
approval 
and 
design 
and 
funding 
approval 
for 
a 
school 
construction project to construct and equip additions 
and 
do 
renovations to Calais Elementary School and Calais High School; 
and 
Whereas, at a first referendum held on May 29, 
2002, 
the 
voters of the City of Calais voted to authorize the Board of 
Trustees of the Calais School District to expend an amount not to 
exceed $8,824,585 for the project, to issue bonds or notes in the 
name 
of 
the 
Calais 
School 
District 
for 
school 
construction 
purposes in an amount not to exceed $7,208,212 
and to issue 
additional bonds or notes or other evidences of indebtedness in 
an amount not to exceed $1,616,373 for zero-interest loans from 
the State's School Revolving Renovation Fund; and 
Whereas, at a 
2nd referendum held on June 24, 
2003, 
the 
voters of the City of Calais voted to exercise the total project 
cost to an amount not to exceed $9,383,367 and to authorize the 
Board 
of 
Trustees 
of 
the 
Calais 
School 
District 
to 
issue 
addi tional bonds or notes for school construction purposes for 
the project in an amount not to exceed $558,783; and 
Whereas, the Calais School District now intends to issue 
additional bonds or notes for the project; and 
Whereas, the warrants for the 2nd referendum relating to the 
project were posted on June 18, 2003, 
days prior to the June 
24, 2003 referendum, rather than 7 days prior to the referendum 
as required by the Maine Revised Statutes; and 
Whereas, the failure to post the warrant 7 days in advance 
of the 2nd referendum has created a legal technicality that could 
prevent the issuance of additional bonds or notes by the Calais 
School District for the project; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts 
create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of 
Maine 
and 
require 
the 
following 
legislation 
as 
immediately 
necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and 
safety: now, therefore, 
Page l-LR2870 (l) 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 
1. 
Validation and authorization. 
Notwithstanding 
any 
provision of the Maine Revised Statutes to the contrary, the 
school construction referendum conducted by the City of Calais on 
June 24, 2003 and the proceedings related to that referendum are 
validated and made effective. 
The Calais School District is 
authorized to expend up to $9,383,367 for the Calais High School 
and Calais Elementary School construction and renovation project 
and to issue bonds or notes that have been approved by the State 
Board of Education for 
purposes 
of calculating state school 
construction subsidies in an amount not to exceed $7,726,994, to 
issue local only bonds or notes for the project without state 
subsidy in an amount not to exceed $40,000 and to issue bonds or 
notes or other evidences of indebtedness for the project in an 
amount not to exceed $1,616,373 for zero-interest loans from the 
State's School Revolving Renovation Fund. 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the 
preamble, this Act takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill validates a 
referendum vote on the Calais High 
School and Calais Elementary School construction and renovation 
project conducted on June 
24, 
2003 
and authorizes the Calais 
School District to issue bonds, 
notes and other evidences of 
indebtedness in connection with that project. 
The bill is needed 
to resolve a legal technicality that could prevent the issuance 
of additional bonds for the project in that the warrant for the 
2nd referendum vote on the project was posted 6 days before the 
referendum rather than 
days before the 
referendum vote as 
required by the Maine Revised Statutes.