At the Nov. 7 election, voters will choose four School Committee members and two members of the Town Council. Profiles of all candidates are on pages 8 and 9 of this issue. Absentee ballots are being sent to registered voters who request them and must be returned by 8 p.m. on election day.
Voters will be asked to approve or reject eight state referendum questions. Summaries of each are drawn from the Maine Secretary of State Election Guide, Maine Office of the Public Advocate: Pine Tree Power Fact Sheet, and articles from the Portland Press Herald.
Question 1: 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?
This would require approval from a state-wide referendum for Pine Tree Power Company (PTP) proposed by Question 3 to borrow more than $1B. It is estimated that the purchase price for Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant Power Company (VPC) would exceed $6 Billion.
Question 2: Do you want to ban foreign governments and entities that they own, control, or influence from making campaign contributions or financing communications for or against candidates or ballot questions?
If approved, foreign entities must be clearly identified and would be banned from funding public communication on state and national policy. This would apply to any foreign entity. CMP is owned by Avangrid, a Spanish company. VPC is owned by Enmax, a Canadian company. These two companies provide 97% of Maine’s electric power. This question is supported by the groups Maine Citizens for Clean Elections and Protect Maine Elections.
Question 3: Do you want to create a new power company governed by an elected board to acquire and operate existing for-profit electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Maine?
Pine Tree Power, the proposed new power company, would be a privately-operated, non-profit, consumer-owned utility controlled by a board of 13 voting members, seven of whom would be elected and six appointed by the board. This would be an independent organization with no affiliation with the state.
This board would contract with a non-governmental team to operate the facilities.
PTP would purchase the assets of CMP and VPC, which is estimated to cost somewhere between $6 Billion and $13 billion. If a purchase price is not agreed upon, the cost would be determined by the Maine State Court. This could take between 5-10 years. If the question passes, PTP would be required to provide a five-year plan approved by the Maine Public Utility Commission within 18 months of taking ownership.
Unlike CMP and VPC, PTP would pay no federal or state corporate income tax but would pay property taxes. PTP would be permitted to finance debt through tax-exempt bonds, which would mean lower debt costs than CMP and VPC. PTP would be an independent non-profit organization with no affiliation with the state and would be subject to rate making and oversight by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
PTP, like CMP and VPC, would be a distribution company that does not generate power or sell electricity. The assets would primarily be poles, wires, and equipment required to distribute electric power. PTP would be required to retain the CMP and VCP workforce.
Those who support Pine Tree Power and urge a YES vote on Question 3 cite that CMP has a record of poor customer service and electric reliability. They criticize CMP for billing errors that happened several years ago. They believe local control is preferable to ownership by foreign entities. The deputy manager for the PTP campaign said, “CMP and VPC last year took more profit than they paid for all the workforce.” Advocates argue that PTP will invest in renewable energy, increase reliability, and improve consumer service. They say Maine needs a new grid designed for connections to renewable power and that non-profits can raise the capital necessary to adapt to climate change by using tax-exempt status to borrow money cheaper. They would also have the potential to generate clean energy like wind power.
The Maine State Nurses Association supports Question 3 because Maine leads the nation in power outages. Power reliability, they say, “is a matter of public health.”
Those who support a NO vote on the referendum argue that there is uncertainty of the long-term benefits of PTP, as well as the initial cost. They also believe that because neither CMP nor VCP want to sell, there would be a long, eminent domain battle and the selling price could be as high as $13 billion. If PTP acquires the facilities, the cost of hiring a private company to run the operation would be $80 million and improvements to the existing grid would also be costly.
They say Maine’s outage record is affected by falling trees that cause 97% of outages, and that won’t change with new ownership. There is concern that because board members are elected, there could be political influence.
The AFL-CIO and the Brotherhood of Electric Workers are opposed to PTP because they are concerned about the debt the new company would incur. Although PTP would be required to hire them, workers are concerned that they might be considered public employees without the right to strike.
Governor Janet Mills does not support Question 3, citing uncertainty about the long-term benefits of PTP, as well as the initial cost. William Harwood, the non- partisan Maine Public Advocate, has refused to either endorse or oppose Question 3.
In a report available online, he concluded “It is not possible to predict with certainly whether the quality of utility service would improve or deteriorate” or that “a private third-party operator would provide better service compared to the existing utilities.” He said he could not predict with certainty that PTP and the operator they hired would be more responsible for meeting climate goals than CMP since energy generation would not be controlled by either.
He concluded that ownership by PTP would likely raise rates in the short-term due to financing, but that rates would be lower later due to lower financing costs and tax advantages.
Question 4: Do you want to require vehicle manufacturers to standardize on-board diagnostic systems and provide remote access to these systems and mechanical data to owners and independent repair facilities?
Known as “Right to Repair,” this bill affects independent automobile service facilities, including Carter’s Auto Service in Gorham, who believe there should be a standardized open-access platform that would provide independent technicians the information they need to service automobiles. Currently manufacturers use wireless data to transmit information that auto shops cannot access. If the bill passes, the state would establish an oversight board that would prohibit resetting security-related electronic elements. Estimates are that if approved, there could be years of legal battles over its provisions.
Those who support the bill fear manufacturers could communicate directly to vehicle owners and direct them only to dealers and other authorized repair shops. They say owners of newer model vehicles would have to get their service from a dealer. Automobile repair shops believe they would not have information necessary for serving their customers.
Those who oppose argue that agreements are already in place to provide vehicle owners with a competitive repair market. Information about a car is already sent to an authorized agent, who can tell the owner if the car needs service or not, although they believe new technology may be too sophisticated for some auto mechanics. They say that shutting out independent auto shops is not the purpose of their objection, but that the bill is too vague and could lead to security problems.
Questions 5, 6, 7, and 8
These four questions ask voters to approve Maine constitutional amendments. They have been proposed by two-thirds of the Legislature and have no opposition recorded with the Secretary of State.
Question 5 lengthens the time for judicial review of a written petition.
Question 6 requires all provisions of the Constitution be included in the Official Printing.
Question 7 removes the requirement for people circulating citizen’s initiative or people’s veto petitions to be registered Maine voters, a requirement ruled unconstitutional in federal court.
Question 8 approves an amendment to the Maine Constitution to allow persons under guardianship for mental illness to vote.