Maine voters to decide on three bond issues in Nov., the first set of state general obligation bonds since 2021

By

Nicole Fisher

Maine voters will decide on three bond issues on Nov. 5, 2024, in addition to two other measures already on the ballot.

On April 22, Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed the three bond issues passed by the Maine State Legislature to place them on the ballot. For a bond issue to qualify for the ballot in Maine, it must pass each chamber of the state legislature by a two-thirds majority (66.67%) and then be signed by the governor.

The three bond issues will ask voters the following:

  • To authorize $30 million in general obligation bonds for the development and maintenance of outdoor trails.
  • To authorize $25 million in general obligation bonds to the Maine Technology Institute for research, development, and commercialization of Maine-based public and private institutions in support of technological innovation.
  • To authorize $10 million in general obligation bonds for the restoration of local community buildings.

For the bond measure authorizing $30 million for the development and maintenance of outdoor trails, Linda Brooks, the director of Parks and Recreation in Windham, said, “We get visitors that come here, and they help sustain our lifestyles. They help us with why we’ve chosen to live here, so I think we just need to embrace that opportunity to build upon Maine’s natural resources and what we already offer.”

Senator Jeff Timberlake voted against the trails bond measure, saying, “When you have hundreds of millions of dollars in surplus this year, it seems, in my mind, that we could have just taken the $30 million and paid for the bond.”

The last time Maine voters decided on a bond issue was in 2021, when voters approved $100 million in general obligation bonds for transportation infrastructure projects. Historically, Maine voters approved 96.4% of bond issues whenever they appeared on the ballot between 1985 and 2023. In this time frame, 81 bond issues were approved and three were defeated. The last bond measure to be rejected was Question 2 (2012), which would have authorized $11 million in bonds to expand the state’s community college system.