Maine Question 1, Voter Approval of Borrowing Above $1 Billion by State Entities and Electric Cooperatives Initiative (2023)

Maine Question 1
Election date November 7, 2023
Topic Direct democracy measures and Energy
Status a Approved
Type State statute	Origin Citizens

Maine Question 1, the Voter Approval of Borrowing Above $1 Billion by State Entities and Electric Cooperatives Initiative, was on the ballot in Maine as an indirect initiated state statute on November 7, 2023. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported requiring voter approval for certain state entities, municipal electric districts, electrification cooperatives, or consumer-owned transmission utilities to incur a total outstanding debt that exceeds $1 billion.

A "no" vote opposed requiring voter approval for certain state entities, municipal electric districts, electrification cooperatives, or consumer-owned transmission utilities to incur a total outstanding debt that exceeds $1 billion.

Election results

Maine Question 1
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		260,670	65.47%
No		137,478	34.53%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this amendment do?

See also: Measure design

This ballot measure required voter approval for certain state entities, municipal electric districts, electrification cooperatives, or consumer-owned transmission utilities to incur a total outstanding debt that exceeds $1 billion, and required a statement by the state treasurer to accompany the ballot question regarding the estimated cost of the increased debt.

What did this measure have to do with the Pine Tree Power Company Initiative?

See also: History behind the Pine Tree Power Company Initiative

Question 3, another initiative for the November 7, 2023, Maine ballot, was designed to create the Pine Tree Power Company, a municipal consumer-owned electric transmission and distribution utility. This measure was designed to replace CMP and Versant, two investor-owned utilities that service the majority of Maine residents.

The No Blank Checks campaign said of the Pine Tree Power Company Initiative, "A proposal is being circulated that would authorize seizing the state’s electric utilities, creating billions of dollars in debt we would all have to pay off through our electric bills. The people pushing this proposal can’t say exactly how much it would cost, and they are asking us to write a blank check. Voters should know the price tag and get a chance to vote on that debt first."

Previously, the Pine Tree Power Company proposal was introduced to the Maine House of Representatives by State Rep. Seth Berry (D-55) on May 13, 2021. The proposal, LD 1708, was approved by both chambers of the Maine state legislature on June 30, 2021, but was vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills (D) on July 13, 2021. Gov. Mills said in a press conference, "LD 1708 (was) hastily drafted and hastily amended several times. In recent weeks without robust public participation, seems to be a patchwork of political promises rather than a methodical reformation of Maine's complicated electricity transmission and distribution systems."

Pine Tree Power estimated that acquiring CMP and Versant would cost an estimated $5 billion, while the No Blank Checks campaign projected the cost could be $13.5 billion.

Who were the campaigns surrounding this ballot measure?

See also: Campaigns

No Blank Checks and Maine Affordable Energy both led the campaign in support of the initiative. The Maine Affordable Energy Coalition also opposed the Creation of Pine Tree Power Company Initiative, an initiative which proposed creating the Pine Tree Power Company.

As of October 24, 2023, No Blank Checks and Maine Affordable Energy collectively reported $23 million in contributions and $21.6 million in expenditures.

Measure design

The initiative was designed to prohibit quasi-independent state entities, reporting entities, municipal electric districts, consumer-owned transmission and distribution utilities, cooperatives or rural electrification cooperatives from incurring a total outstanding debt that exceeded $1 billion unless approved by voters at a general election.

The initiative required the treasurer of state, with the assistance of the secretary of state, to prepare a signed statement to accompany any question posed to voters. The statement needed to include an estimate of costs of the increased debt and other relevant information.

Entities exempt from the voter approval requirement for borrowing over $1 billion under this measure included the Maine Public Employees Retirement System, the Finance Authority of Maine, the Maine Health and Higher Education Facilities Authority, the Department of Transportation, the Maine Turnpike Authority, municipalities and counties and the Maine Municipal Bond Bank and for certain education-related programs.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

QUESTION 1: An Act to Require Voter Approval of Certain Borrowing by Government-controlled Entities and Utilities and to Provide Voters More Information Regarding That Borrowing. Do you want to bar some quasi-governmental entities and all consumer-owned electric utilities from taking on more than $1 billion in debt unless they get statewide voter approval?

”

Ballot summary

The official ballot summary was as follows:

“

This initiated bill prohibits a quasi-independent state entity, reporting entity, municipal electric district, consumer-owned transmission and distribution utility, cooperative or rural electrification cooperative from borrowing money, incurring debt, whether general obligation debt or revenue obligation debt, or issuing bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness that would cause its total debt outstanding at any time to exceed $1,000,000,000 unless the action that would cause the total debt outstanding to exceed $1,000,000,000 is approved by the voters at a general election. This initiated bill requires the Treasurer of State, with the assistance of the Secretary of State, to prepare a statement to accompany the question presented to the voters regarding the estimated costs of the increased debt and any other issues the Treasurer of State considers relevant. Exemptions are provided for debt issued by the Maine Public Employees Retirement System, the Finance Authority of Maine, the Maine Health and Higher Education Facilities Authority, the Department of Transportation, the Maine Turnpike Authority, municipalities and counties and the Maine Municipal Bond Bank and for certain education-related programs.

”

Fiscal impact statement

The official fiscal impact statement was as follows:

“

This citizen initiative prohibits certain entities from borrowing money, incurring debt or issuing bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness that cause their individual debt outstanding at any one time to exceed $1,000,000,000 unless such borrowing is approved by the voters at a general election. As is already required under current law for general obligation bonds issued by the State, the Treasurer of State is required to provide certain principal and interest cost information to the Secretary of State to be printed on the ballot or printed as a separate document and the Secretary of State must also include it in the citizen's guide to the referendum. The large dollar threshold, along with language that exempts certain major debt-issuing entities from the requirement for voter approval, means that the number of times such a borrowing will need to be voted on is expected to be quite small. The Secretary of State's budget normally includes sufficient funds to accommodate one ballot of average length for a general election in November. If the number or size of the referendum questions requires production and delivery of a second ballot, an additional appropriation of $266,000 may be required for the Secretary of State. Whether this initiative will necessitate a second ballot will depend on what else is on the ballot at each particular general election when a borrowing appears. Any additional costs to the Treasurer of State to prepare the required information is expected to be insignificant. If a proposed future borrowing is approved by the voters, there would be no additional fiscal impact from enactment of this initiative apart from possible ballot costs. If a future borrowing is rejected by the voters, there is the possibility of additional fiscal impact, but it would be contingent on the nature of the specific borrowing rejected and no estimate of fiscal impact can be made at this time on what might not occur because of this initiative.

”

Full text

The full text of the ballot initiative is below:

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2023

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The secretary of state wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 17, and the FRE is 21. The word count for the ballot title is 54.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 30, and the FRE is -19. The word count for the ballot summary is 175.

Support

No Blank Checks (Maine Affordable Energy) led the campaign in support of the initiative.

Supporters

Corporations

• Avangrid Inc.

Organizations

• Maine State Chamber of Commerce
• Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine

Arguments

• Willy Ritch, executive director of No Blank Checks: "No Blank Checks is about as commonsense as it gets. If we are going to be on the hook for billions of dollars in government debt, voters should get the final say on whether to take that on."

Opposition

Opponents

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Arguments

• Al Cleveland, campaign manager of Our Power: "Question 1 is another way that the utilities are trying to scare people from the possibilities and savings of Pine Tree Power. Those numbers that CMP and Versant are telling voters it's going to cost aren't based in any independent economic analysis, are not based on any nonpartisan information."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Maine ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recently scheduled reports processed by Ballotpedia, which covered through October 24, 2023. The deadline for the next scheduled reports was December 19, 2023.

The No Blank Checks PAC and the Maine Affordable Energy PAC led the campaign in support of the initiative. The committees collectively reported $23 million in contributions and $21.6 million in expenditures.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$24,670,400.00	$273,429.08	$24,943,829.08	$24,300,819.50	$24,574,248.58
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Question 1
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Maine Affordable Energy	$23,437,420.00	$271,549.08	$23,708,969.08	$23,074,281.06	$23,345,830.14
No Blank Checks	$1,232,980.00	$1,880.00	$1,234,860.00	$1,226,538.44	$1,228,418.44
Total	$24,670,400.00	$273,429.08	$24,943,829.08	$24,300,819.50	$24,574,248.58

Donors

The following were the top donors who contributed to the support committees.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Avangrid Management Company	$24,130,400.00	$202,967.08	$24,333,367.08
Clean Energy Matters	$500,000.00	$0.00	$500,000.00
Maine Affordable Energy	$191,580.00	$0.00	$191,580.00
Central Maine Power Company	$0.00	$25,000.00	$25,000.00

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Media editorials

See also: 2023 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

Ballotpedia did not locate media editorial boards in support of the ballot measure.

Opposition

The following media editorial boards published an editorial opposing the ballot measure:

• BDN Editorial Board: "Question 1 is a direct response to Question 3 and, we think, a fairly cynical one. CMP quickly got the question on the ballot in case the Pine Tree Power referendum passes. Essentially, the question would require a public vote to approve the borrowing necessary to acquire CMP and Versant if Question 3 passes. This basically would give CMP a second opportunity to stop a utility takeover in case voters support it this November. We don’t have objections to a public vote on so much public borrowing – bonds to pay for transportation, water quality improvements and other large public works already require such votes. But, we do object to the reason this question is on the ballot."

Polls

See also: 2023 ballot measure polls

Are you aware of a poll on this ballot measure that should be included below? You can share ballot measure polls, along with source links, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Maine Question 1, Voter Approval of Borrowing Above $1 Billion by State Entities and Electric Cooperatives Initiative (2023)
Poll	Dates	Sample size	Margin of error	Support	Oppose	Undecided

University of New Hampshire	10/19/23-10/23/23	2750 LV	± 3.5%	59%	16%	25%
	Question: "If the 2023 Maine Referendum Election were held today, how would you vote on the following ballot questions Question 1: An Act to Require Voter Approval of Certain Borrowing by Government controlled Entities and Utilities and to Provide Voters More Information Regarding That Borrowing"
Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.

Background

Creation of Pine Tree Power Company Initiative

The website of the No Blank Checks campaign cited the initiative by the Our Power campaign, which, if approved, would have created a municipal consumer-owned electric transmission and distribution utility called the Pine Tree Power Company. The No Blank Checks campaign said, “A proposal is being circulated that would authorize seizing the state’s electric utilities, creating billions of dollars in debt we would all have to pay off through our electric bills. The people pushing this proposal can’t say exactly how much it would cost, and they are asking us to write a blank check. Voters should know the price tag and get a chance to vote on that debt first."

The Pine Tree Power Company initiative was designed to replace Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant, two electric companies that provided electricity to most of the state.

On May 13, 2021, the Pine Tree Power Company Measure was introduced to the Maine House of Representatives by State Rep. Seth Berry (D-55). On June 17, 2021, the Maine House of Representatives approved LD 1708, but the Maine State Senate rejected LD 1708 by 17-18 on June 18. On June 30, the House voted 77-68 to approve an amended version of the bill. The Senate passed the revised legislation on June 30 by 18-14.

On July 13, 2021, Gov. Janet Mills (D) vetoed the measure. Gov Mills said in a press conference, "LD 1708 (was) hastily drafted and hastily amended several times. In recent weeks without robust public participation, seems to be a patchwork of political promises rather than a methodical reformation of Maine's complicated electricity transmission and distribution systems."

A citizen initiative designed to create the Pine Tree Power company was approved for signature gathering on October 22, 2021. On October 31, 2022, the Our Power campaign, the campaign registered in support of the initiative, submitted more than 80,000 signatures to the secretary of state. On November 30, 2022, the secretary of state confirmed that the Our Power campaign submitted 69,735 valid signatures, and certified the measure to the legislature.

Electricity in Maine

As of 2023, 96.4% of Maine's residents were serviced by CMP or Versant. In addition, Maine had nine consumer-owned utilities that served 97 towns. Both CMP and Versant were owned by investors, whereas the proposed Pine Tree Power Company would be consumer-owned.

As of July 1, 2023, CMP served 80% of Maine's residents, while Versant served 16.4% of Maine's residents. The nine consumer-owned utilities served 3.6% of Maine's residents.

Public power utilities nationwide

According to the American Public Power Association, 10% of electricity generated in the United States came from public power facilities, and 40% of this electricity was generated from non-carbon emitting sources, as of 2023. The American Public Power Association also said that one in seven (14.2%) Americans were served by a public power utility, and that more than 2,000 communities in 49 states and 5 U.S. territories had a public power utility.

A 2017 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that 1,958 electric utilities were publicly owned, 812 were cooperatives, and 168 were investor-owned. Investor-owned utilities are large electric distributors that issue stock owned by shareholders, while cooperatives are not-for-profit member-owned utilities, and publicly owned utilities are utilities that residents vote into existence that operate independently of city or country government. According to the 2017 report, 110 million customers were serviced by an investor-owned electric utility, 20 million customers were serviced by a cooperative, and 24 million customers were serviced by a publicly owned utility.

Path to the ballot

Process in Maine

In Maine, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirect initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Petitions can be circulated for up to 18 months, but signatures must be no more than one year old to be valid. Signatures must be filed with the secretary by the 50th day of the first regular legislative session or the 25th day of the second regular session. Maine's initiative process is indirect, which means sufficient initiative petitions first go to the legislature and only go to the ballot if the legislature rejects or does not act on the initiative.

The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2023 ballot:

• Signatures: 67,682 valid signatures were required.
• Deadline: January 26, 2023

Each petition signature is certified by the local registrar of voters. The signatures are then submitted to the secretary of state. If enough signatures are verified, the initiatives are sent to the legislature. If the legislature approves the initiative, it becomes law. If the legislature does not act on the initiative or rejects it, the initiative goes on the ballot. The legislature may submit "any amended form, substitute, or recommendation" to the people alongside the initiative; this alternative is treated as a competing measure.

Stages of this initiative

• William Ritch-Smith filed the ballot initiative, which was approved for signature gathering on Dec. 7, 2021. The ballot initiative was allowed to circulate until June 7, 2023.
• On Dec. 27, 2022, proponents of the initiative filed 93,837 signatures with the secretary of state.
• On Jan. 26, 2023, the secretary of state announced that 68,807 signatures were found to be valid. The measure was certified to the state legislature.
• Secretary of State Shenna Bellows drafted the ballot question: Do you want to create a new quasi-governmental power company governed by an elected board to acquire and operate existing for-profit electricity, transmission and distribution facilities in Maine? The Our Power campaign objected to this wording, saying that the term quasi-governmental could be misleading to voters. On March 10, 2023, Judge MaryGay Kennedy of the Maine Superior Court ordered Maine officials to reword the ballot question.
• On March 31, 2023, Secretary of State Bellows approved the wording for the ballot question, which read: Do you want to bar some quasi-government entities and all consumer-owned utilities from taking on more than $1 billion in debt unless they get statewide voter approval?
• On April 10, 2023, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ordered the ballot question to be reworded.
• On April 25, 2023, the secretary of state sent the initiative to the Maine State Legislature as LD 1772.
• On May 11, 2023, the Maine House of Representatives approved a joint order seeking clarity from a high court on whether or not initiatives that have been certified to the legislature were automatically sent to the November ballot after the state legislature adjourned.
• On June 9, 2023, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state legislature may enact any ballot measures which have qualified for the November 7, 2023, ballot.
• The Legislature adjourned on July 6, 2023. Because the legislature did not take action on the initiative, it was certified for the ballot.

Signature gathering cost

See also: Ballot measures cost per required signatures analysis

Sponsors of the measure hired Second Street Associates to collect signatures for the petition to qualify this measure for the ballot. A total of $905,000.00 was spent to collect the 67,682 valid signatures required to put this measure before voters, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $13.37.

Lawsuit

Lawsuit overview
Issue: Out of the 68,807 signatures validated by the secretary of state, are some of the approved signatures invalid?
Court: Maine Superior Court
Ruling: There was no evidence that signatures were gathered improperly, and if there is evidence of signatures being gathered incorrectly, that must be deferred to the secretary of state.
Plaintiff(s): Bill Dunn	Defendant(s): Secretary of State Shenna Bellows

  Source: Press Herald

On February 6, 2023, Bill Dunn, with the Our Power campaign, filed a lawsuit asking a judge to reverse the secretary of state's certification of the measure. The lawsuit argued that 3,200 of the approved signatures were invalid.

On March 2, 2023, Superior Court Judge Michaela Murphy rejected the lawsuit, saying that the lawsuit failed to prove that the signatures were gathered improperly. Murphy also said that if the evidence of whether or not the signatures were gathered correctly was found to be inconclusive, it had to be deferred to the secretary of state to decide.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Maine

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Maine.

How to cast a vote in Maine

Poll times In Maine, municipalities with a population of 500 or more open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., while municipalities with a population of less than 500 open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. All polls close at 8:00 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration Check your voter registration status here. To register to vote in Maine, one must be "a United States citizen, at least 16 years of age to pre-register to vote, and have established a fixed principal home in Maine. To vote in a Referendum or General Election, you must be registered in the community where you reside, and be at least 18 years of age. A 17 year old may vote in a Primary Election, if that person will be 18 by the General Election." Voters can return completed registration cards in person or by mail to their town office or city hall, any Motor Vehicle branch office, most state & federal social service agencies, or a voter registration drive. There is no deadline for voter registration if completed in person. If registering by mail, the deadline is 21 days prior to the election. When registering for the first time in Maine, voters must provide documents verifying their identity and residence. The following documents are acceptable identification for the purpose of registering to vote: Government ID with a photo (i.e. driver’s license, State ID, valid U.S. Passport, military ID, ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe) Government ID without photo (i.e. certified birth certificate or signed Social Security card) Other official document showing the name and address of voter (i.e. eligibility for public benefits, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck) Student photo ID from a state-approved public or private school or institute of higher education in Maine Maine driver’s license number or last four digits of Social Security Number Automatic registration On June 19, 2019, Gov. Janet Mills signed an automatic voter registration bill into law that was scheduled for implementation in 2022. The law registers voters through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Maine does not permit online voter registration. Governor Janet T. Mills (D) signed L.D. 126 into law on July 9, 2021, allowing online voter registration in Maine. This legislation went into effect on November 1, 2023. Same-day registration Maine allows same-day voter registration. Residency requirements To register to vote in Maine, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Maine does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Voter ID requirements Maine does not require voters to present identification while voting. If a voter registers to vote on Election Day, he or she must provide identification and proof of residence.

See also

2023 measures

• 2023 ballot measures
• Energy on the ballot
• Direct democracy measures on the ballot
• Bond issues on the ballot
• 2023 legislative sessions

Maine

• Maine ballot measures
• Maine ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls