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Maine Question 5, Community Colleges Bond Issue (2018)
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 16, or Nov. 6 (in-person)
- Early voting: When ballots become available through Nov. 1
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Voter ID: No
- Poll times: 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
| Maine Question 5 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Bond issues and Education | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Bond issue | Origin State Legislature |
Maine Question 5, the Community Colleges Bond Issue, was on the ballot in Maine as a legislatively referred bond question on November 6, 2018. The measure was approved.
| A "yes" vote supported authorizing $15 million in general obligation bonds for for the renovation and expansion of instructional laboratories, information technology infrastructure, and heating and ventilating systems at Maine's seven community colleges. |
| A "no" vote opposed authorizing $15 million in general obligation bonds for for the renovation and expansion of instructional laboratories, information technology infrastructure, and heating and ventilating systems at Maine's seven community colleges. |
Election results
|
Maine Question 5 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
410,288 | 64.89% | ||
| No | 221,947 | 35.11% | ||
Overview
What was Question 5 bond money intended for?
Question 5 authorized $15 million in general obligation bonds for the renovation and expansion of instructional laboratories, information technology infrastructure, and heating and ventilating systems at Maine's seven community colleges. Revenue from the bonds was to be distributed to the colleges as follows:[1]
| Maine Question 5, Community Colleges Bond Issue (2018) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| School | Amount | Purpose | |
| Southern Maine Community College | $4,275,100 | Facility repairs, energy efficiencies, space for student support and remediation, information technology system, and instructional and library services | |
| Central Maine Community College | $2,503,755 | Instructional laboratories, information technology infrastructure, and heating and ventilating systems | |
| Eastern Maine Community College | $2,233,082 | Information technology systems, natural gas heating systems, and other campus-wide energy efficiencies | |
| Kennebec Valley Community College | $2,190,731 | Equipment for new program in millwrighting and industrial mechanics, information technology infrastructure, instructional and library technologies, and window insulation | |
| York County Community College | $1,746,360 | Information technology system and development of the Industrial Trades Center | |
| Northern Maine Community College | $1,165,119 | Diesel hydraulics program laboratory, information technology infrastructure, heating and ventilation systems, energy efficiencies, and classroom renovations | |
| Washington County Community College | $885,853 | Instructional laboratories, information technology systems, and instructional technologies | |
What were recent bond measures on the ballot in Maine?
Voters of Maine cast ballots on 33 bond issues, totaling $1.12 billion in value, between January 1, 2007, and January 1, 2018. All but one bond issue question was approved. This 2018 bond measure was designed to issue bonds related to higher education. There were five other bond issues addressing transportation on the ballot during the 11 previous years. Four of the five measures were approved, issuing a combined total of $94.00 million in bonds.
How much debt did Maine have from voter-approved bonds?
As of June 30, 2017, Maine had $460.24 million in debt from voter-issued bonds. The June 2017 debt from general obligation bonds was higher than the June 2016 debt, which was $380.99 million. During the period between January 1, 2007, and January 1, 2018, debt from general obligation bonds peaked at $529.99 million in 2009 and was at a $369.73 million low in 2013.
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Do you favor a $15,000,000 bond issue to improve educational programs by upgrading facilities at all 7 of Maine's community colleges in order to provide Maine people with access to high-skill, low-cost technical and career education?[2] |
” |
Readability score
- See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018
| 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.
In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here. |
Campaign finance
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $0.00 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
No ballot question committees registered to support or oppose the bond measure.[3]
Background
Bond issues on the ballot in Maine
- See also: Bond issues on the ballot
Voters of Maine cast ballots on 34 bond issues, totaling $1,122,925,000 in value, from January 1, 2007, through January 1, 2018. All but one bond issue, an $11 million bond to expand the state's community college system, was approved. This means that Mainers approved 97 percent of bond issues on the ballot between 2007 and 2017.
Prior to the election on November 6, 2018, the most recent bond issue that citizens voted on was a $105 million transportation bond titled Question 3.
The following table contains information on the 34 bond issues that appeared on the ballot in Maine between 2007 and 2018:
| Year | Measure | Amount | Primary purpose | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 (June) | Question 1 | $112,975,000 | Transportation projects | |
| 2007 (June) | Question 2 | $18,300,000 | Water facilities | |
| 2007 | Question 2 | $55,000,000 | Economic development | |
| 2007 | Question 3 | $43,500,000 | Higher education | |
| 2007 | Question 4 | $35,500,000 | Environmental conservation and recreation | |
| 2008 (June) | Question 1 | $29,725,000 | Water facilities and transportation projects | |
| 2008 | Question 3 | $3,400,000 | Water facilities | |
| 2009 | Question 6 | $71,250,000 | Transportation projects | |
| 2010 (June) | Question 2 | $26,500,000 | Energy projects and higher education | |
| 2010 (June) | Question 3 | $47,800,000 | Transportation projects | |
| 2010 (June) | Question 4 | $23,750,000 | Economic development | |
| 2010 (June) | Question 5 | $10,250,000 | Water facilities | |
| 2010 | Question 2 | $5,000,000 | Healthcare services | |
| 2010 | Question 3 | $9,750,000 | Environmental conservation and recreation | |
| 2012 | Question 2 | $11,300,000 | Higher education |  |
| 2012 | Question 3 | $5,000,000 | Environmental conservation and recreation | |
| 2012 | Question 4 | $51,500,000 | Transportation projects | |
| 2012 | Question 5 | $7,925,000 | Water facilities | |
| 2013 | Question 1 | $14,000,000 | Military facilities | |
| 2013 | Question 2 | $15,500,000 | Higher education | |
| 2013 | Question 3 | $100,000,000 | Transportation projects | |
| 2013 | Question 4 | $4,500,000 | Higher education | |
| 2013 | Question 5 | $15,500,000 | Higher education | |
| 2014 | Question 2 | $8,000,000 | Agricultural research | |
| 2014 | Question 3 | $12,000,000 | Economic development | |
| 2014 | Question 4 | $10,000,000 | Healthcare research | |
| 2014 | Question 5 | $3,000,000 | Healthcare research | |
| 2014 | Question 6 | $10,000,000 | Water facilities and environmental conservation | |
| 2014 | Question 7 | $7,000,000 | Economic development | |
| 2015 | Question 2 | $15,000,000 | Housing projects | |
| 2015 | Question 3 | $85,000,000 | Transportation projects | |
| 2016 | Question 6 | $100,000,000 | Transportation projects | |
| 2017 | Question 1 | $50,000,000 | Economic development | |
| 2017 | Question 3 | $105,000,000 | Transportation projects | |
Debt from voter-approved bonds
The Maine state treasurer provides an overview of the state’s debt resulting from general obligation bonds, which include all voter-approved bonds.[4] A general obligation bond constitutes public debt and is paid for through state funds. Section 14 of Article IX of the Maine Constitution requires that general obligation bonds exceeding $2 million be referred to the ballot for voter approval.
According to the state treasurer's overview on June 30, 2017, Maine had $460.24 million in debt from general obligation bonds. An additional $85.21 million had been approved by voters at the ballot box but not yet issued.[5] The June 2017 debt from general obligation bonds was higher than the June 2016 debt, which was $380.99 million with an additional $49.88 million in unissued bonds.[6] The graph below provides an illustration of state debt from general obligation bonds and the annual amount of unissued bonds in millions of dollars between June 30, 2005, and June 30, 2017:
Path to the ballot
- See also: Legislatively-referred state statute
Section 14 of Article IX of the Maine Constitution requires that state general obligation bonds exceeding $2 million be referred to the ballot for voter approval. A two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Maine State Legislature is required to put bond issues before voters.
The bond issue was introduced into the Maine State Legislature as Legislative Document 836 (LD 836).[7]
On June 26, 2018, the Maine State Senate approved the bill (no roll-call available). On July 9, 2018, the Maine House of Representatives voted 135 to eight, with eight members absent, to approve LD 836.[7]
Gov. Paul LePage (R) signed LD 836 on July 10, 2018, certifying the bond measure to appear on the ballot.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maine State Legislature, "LD 836," accessed July 12, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Maine Commission of Governmental Ethics & Election Practices, "Ballot Question Committees," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ Maine State Treasurer, "Bonds on the Ballot," accessed January 12, 2017
- ↑ Maine State Treasurer, "Maine's Debt Snapshot - 6/30/17," June 30, 2017
- ↑ Maine State Treasurer, "Maine's Debt Snapshot - 6/30/16," June 30, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Maine State Legislature, "LD 836 Overview," accessed July 12, 2018
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