An Act To Validate Certain Proceedings Authorizing the Issuance of Bonds and Notes of Regional School Unit No. 5 (AFTER DEADLINE)
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1528
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: CARSON, GIDEON

Legislative Document
No. 1528
S.P. 534
In Senate, April 25, 2017
An Act To Validate Certain Proceedings Authorizing the Issuance of 
Bonds and Notes of Regional School Unit No. 5
(AFTER 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.
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator CARSON of Cumberland.
Cosponsored by Speaker GIDEON of Freeport.
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, sections 1490 and 1501 to 
1505, a regional school unit is authorized to issue general obligation bonds and notes for 
school construction projects and minor capital costs; and 
Whereas, following a public hearing held on December 7, 2016, at a referendum 
held January 10, 2017, the voters of Regional School Unit No. 5 approved 2 articles that 
authorize the regional school unit to construct a synthetic track and field project at an 
aggregate cost of up to $4,395,124 and to pay a portion of the project costs by acceptance 
of over $2,250,000 in gifts, with the balance of project costs to be derived from other 
funds, including the issuance of bonds or notes; and 
Whereas, the track and field project has been put out to bid for construction; and 
Whereas, pursuant to the referendum vote, Regional School Unit No. 5 plans to 
issue up to $1,538,065 in new general obligation bonds to finance the balance of the 
project not funded by gifts or other available funds; and 
Whereas, the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 1502, subsection 1, 
paragraph C requires a regional school unit to hold a public hearing before a referendum 
election and to give notification of the public hearing by posting a notice at least 7 days 
prior to the date of the public hearing; and 
Whereas, following the referendum held for the track and field project, Regional 
School Unit No. 5 discovered that the notice for the public hearing had been inadvertently  
posted for only 6 days prior to the hearing; and 
Whereas, the untimely posting of the public hearing notice has created a legal 
technicality that affects the marketability of the bonds that Regional School Unit No. 5 
voters have approved for issuance; 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, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  Validation and authorization.  Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, the Regional School Unit No. 5 referendum votes conducted on January 10, 2017 
and any proceedings related to those referendum votes, including the December 7, 2016 
public hearing, are validated and made effective. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill validates the referendum votes of Regional School Unit No. 5 conducted on 
January 10, 2017 to authorize gifts and other funding sources, including bonds, for a track 
and field project.  Regional School Unit No. 5 conducted a public hearing on December 
7, 2016, prior to that referendum.  The regional school unit provided notification of the 
public hearing by posting a notice of public hearing in each town for 6 days prior to the 
hearing, instead of 7 days prior to the public hearing as required by law, which created a 
legal technicality that affects the marketability of the bonds to be issued for the track and 
field project in Regional School Unit No. 5.