Question 6: Transportation

Results

This measure passed.

The gist

This referendum would raise $100 million to pay for transportation upgrades and maintenance.

Ballot question

“Do you favor a $100,000,000 bond issue for construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of highways and bridges and for facilities, equipment and property acquisition related to ports, harbors, marine transportation, freight and passenger railroads, aviation, transit and bicycle and pedestrian trails, to be used to match an estimated $137,000,000 in federal and other funds?”¹

Tell me more

This referendum will allow the state to take advantage of $137 million in federal matching funds and complete construction and repairs related to transportation in the state. Municipalities who benefit from the work will also contribute 50% of the cost of projects.

Follow the money

Principal: $100 million¹
Interest: $33 million¹

The money will be used to

• 80% to build or repair highways, secondary roads, and bridges
• 20% to complete projects that relate to other types of transportation, such as ports, railroads, public transportation, bikes, and pedestrian trails.

The money will be coming from

• A bond issued by the state.
• $137 million in federal matching funds and 50% matching funds coming from municipalities who benefit from the work.

Pros

The primary arguments for this referendum are:

• Maine’s roads and infrastructure are deteriorating
• Makes up for some of the shortfall in gas taxes from fuel efficient vehicles that has left the funds for highway repairs insufficient

Cons

The primary arguments against this referendum are:

• Borrowing money for repairs decouples it from the amount of vehicles that are on the road

Further reading

• Full Text
• Ballotpedia Article

References

1. Dunlop, M. Maine Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election. Accessed October 7, 2016. ↩ ↩² ↩³