Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1235
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: CRESSEY, SNOWE-MELLO, ANNIS, CEBRA, COLLINS, DAIGLE, DUPREY, HAMPER, LEWIN, HASTINGS

Legislative Document 
No. 1235 
H.P.853 
House of Representatives, March 10,2005 
RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of 
Maine To Require That a Citizen-initiated Measure That Imposes a 
New or Increased Tax or Fee Be Approved by the Legislature and 
Signed by the Governor 
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed. 
1J1~ 
/J7. 7I/u;;~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative CRESSEY of Cornish. 
Cosponsored by Senator SNOWE-MELLO of Androscoggin and 
Representatives: ANNIS of Dover-Foxcroft, CEBRA of Naples, COLLINS of Wells, DAIGLE 
of Arundel, DUPREY of Hampden, HAMPER of Oxford, LEWIN of Eliot, Senator: 
HASTINGS of Oxford. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Constitutional amendment. 
Resolved: 
Two 
thirds 
of 
each 
branch 
of 
the 
Legislature 
concurring, 
that 
the 
following 
amendment to the Constitution of Maine be proposed: 
Constitution, Art. IV, Pt. Third, §19 is amended to read: 
Section 19. 
Effective date of measures approved by people; 
veto pover limited. -ABY Except as provided in Section 19-A, any 
measure referred to the people and approved by a majority of the 
votes given thereon shall, unless a later date is specified in 
said measure, take effect and become a law in 30 days after the 
Governor has made public proclamation of the result of the vote 
on said measure, which the Governor shall do within 10 days after 
the vote thereon has been canvassed and determined; provided, 
however, that any such measure which entails expenditure in an 
amount in excess of available and unappropriated state funds 
shall remain inoperative until 45 days after the next convening 
of 
the 
Legislature 
in 
regular 
session, 
unless 
the 
measure 
provides for raising new revenues adequate for its operation. 
~Re Except as provided in Section 19-A, the veto power of the 
Governor shall not extend to any measure approved by vote of the 
people, and any measure initiated by the people and passed by the 
Legislature without change, if vetoed by the Governor and if the 
veto is sustained by the Legislature shall be referred to the 
people 
to 
be 
voted 
on 
at 
the 
next 
general 
election. 
The 
Legislature may enact measures expressly conditioned upon the 
people's ratification by a referendum vote. 
Constitution, Art. IV, Pt. Third, §19-A is enacted to read: 
Section 19-A. 
Effective date of measures imposing tax or:: 
fee that are APProved by people. 
Any measure initiated by the 
people that imposes 
a 
new or increased tax or 
fee that is 
.14 
referred to the people and approved by a majority of the votes 
given thereon must be resubmitted to the Legislature for approval 
and submitted to the Governor for signature. 
If the Legislature 
approves the measure and the Governor signs the measure, unless a 
later date is specified in the measure, the measure takes effect 
and becomes a law immediately; provided, however, that any such 
measure that entails expenditure 
in an 
amount 
in excess 
of 
available 
and 
unappropriated state 
funds 
remains 
inoperative 
until 45 days after the next convening of the Legislature 
~n 
regular session, unless the measure provides for raising new 
revenues adequate for its operation. 
If the Legislature fails to 
approve the measure or the Governor declines to sign the measure, 
the measure does not take effect and does not become law. 
If the 
Legislature passes the measure without change and the Governor 
vetoes the measure and the veto is sustained by the Legislature, 
the measure does not take effect and does not become law. 
Page l-LR1644(1} 
• 
'40 
Constitution, Art. IV, Pt. Third, §20 is amended to read: 
Section 20. 
Meaning of 1fords "electors," "people," "recess 
of Legislature, .. 
"state1fide election, .. 
"measure, " "circulator, " 
and 
"1fritten petition"; 1fritten petitions for people' s 
veto; 
1fritten petitions for direct initiative. 
As used in any of the 
~- 1 preceding sections or in this section the words "electors" 
and "people" mean the electors of the State qualified to vote for 
Governor; 
"recess of 
the 
Legislature" 
means 
the 
adjournment 
without day of a session of the Legislature; "statewide election" 
means any election held throughout the State on a particular day; 
"measure" means an Act, bill, resolve or resolution proposed by 
the people, or 2 or more such, or part or parts of such, as the 
case may be; "circulator" means a person who solicits signatures 
for written petitions, and who must be a resident of this State 
and whose name must appear on the voting list of the city, town 
or plantation of the circulator's residence as qualified to vote 
for Governor; 
"written petition" means 
one or more petitions 
written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, with 
the original signatures of the petitioners attached, verified as 
to 
the 
authenticity of 
the 
signatures 
by 
the 
oath of 
the 
circulator that all of the signatures to the petition were made 
in the presence of the circulator and that to the best of the 
circulator's knowledge and belief each signature is the signature 
of the person whose name it purports to be, and accompanied by 
the certificate of the official authorized by law to maintain the 
voting list of 
the 
city, 
town 
or plantation in which 
the 
petitioners reside that their names appear on the voting list of 
the city, town or plantation of the official as qualified to vote 
for Governor. 
The oath of the circulator must be sworn to in the 
presence of 
a 
person authorized by 
law to administer oaths. 
Written petitions for a people's veto pursuant to Article IV, 
Part Third, 
Section 17 
must be 
submitted to the appropriate 
officials of cities, towns or plantations for determination of 
whether the petitioners are qualified voters by the hour of 5:00 
p.m., on the 5th day before the petition must be filed in the 
office of the Secretary of State, or, if such 5th day is a 
Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday, by 5:00 p.m., on the next 
day which is not 
a 
Saturday, 
a 
Sunday or 
a 
legal holiday. 
Written petitions for a direct initiative pursuant to Article IV, 
Part Third, 
Section 18 must 
be 
submitted to the appropriate 
officials of cities, towns or plantations for determination of 
whether the petitioners are qualified voters by the hour of 5:00 
p.m., on the 10th day before the petition must be filed in the 
office of the Secretary of State, or, if such 10th day is a 
Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday, by 5:00 p.m., on the next 
day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday. 
Such 
officials must complete the certification of such petitions and 
must return them to the circulators or their agents within 2 days 
for 
a petition for 
a people's veto and within 5 days for 
a 
peti tion for a direct ini tiati ve, Saturdays, Sundays and legal 
holidays excepted, 
of the date on which such petitions were 
submitted to them. 
The petition shall set forth the full text of 
the measure 
requested or proposed. 
Petition forms 
shall 
be 
furnished or approved by the Secretary of State upon written 
application signed in the office of the Secretary of State by a 
resident of this State whose name must appear on the voting list 
of the city, town or plantation of that resident as qualified to 
vote for Governor. 
The full text of a measure submitted to a 
vote of the people under the provisions of the Constitution need 
not be printed on the official ballots, but, until otherwise 
provided by the Legislature, the Secretary of State shall prepare 
the ballots in such form as to present the question or questions 
concisely and intelligibly. 
and be it further 
Constitutional referendum procedure: form of question: effective 
date. Resolved: 
That the municipal officers of this State shall 
notify the inhabitants of their respective cities, 
towns 
and 
plantations to meet, in the manner prescribed by law for holding 
a statewide election, at a statewide election, on the Tuesday 
following the first Monday of November following the passage of 
this resolution, to vote upon the ratification of the amendment 
proposed in this resolution by voting upon the following question: 
.12 
"Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to require 
that, in order to become law, 
a ci tizen-ini tiated measure 
that imposes a new or increased tax or fee must be approved 
by the Legislature and signed by the Governor?" 
The legal voters of each city, town and plantation shall 
vote by ballot on this question and designate their choice by a 
cross or check mark placed within the corresponding square below 
the word "Yes" or "No." 
The ballots must be received, sorted, 
counted and declared in open ward, town and plantation meetings 
and returns made to the Secretary of State in the same manner as 
votes for members of the Legislature. 
The Governor shall review 
the returns and, if it appears that a majority of the legal votes 
are cast in favor of the amendment, the Governor shall proclaim 
that fact without delay and the amendment becomes part of the 
Consti tution of Maine on the date of the proclamation; and be it 
further 
Secretary of State shall prepare ballots. Resolved: 
That 
the 
Secretary of State shall prepare 
and 
furnish 
to 
each city, 
• 
town and plantation all ballots, 
returns and copies of this 
resolution necessary to carry out the purposes of this referendum. 
SUMMARY 
This bill proposes amending the Constitution of Maine to 
require that, in order to become law, a citizen-initiated measure 
that imposes a new or increased tax or fee must be approved by 
the Legislature and signed by the Governor .