Question 2: Transportation

Results

This measure passed.

The gist

Passing this question would allow the state to borrow $105 million, matched by $275 million in federal and other funds, for transportation improvements.

Ballot question

“Do you favor a $105,000,000 bond issue for improvement of highways and bridges statewide and for multimodal facilities or equipment related to transit, freight and passenger railroads, aviation, ports, harbors, marine transportation and active transportation projects, to be used to match an estimated $275,000,000 in federal and other funds?”¹

Yes means

I am in favor of issuing the $105 million bond to address infrastructure improvements.

No means

I do not want Maine to borrow $105 million to address infrastructure improvements.

Tell me more

Passing this question would allow the State of Maine to borrow $105 million for a variety of infrastructure improvements, including roads, bridges, railroads, airports, transit and ports.² The bulk of the money will go towards high priority highways and bridges.

This is a bond issue — if voters approve the bond, it means that the State of Maine is allowed to borrow money for the project described in the ballot question and has to pay it back over 10 years.³ Learn more about how bonds work.

Follow the money

Principal: $106,000,000
Interest: $29,150,000 (assumes 5.0% over 10 years)
Total cost: $135,150,000³

The money will be used to

$90 million for highways, bridges, and MaineDOT’s Municipal Partnership Initiative (MPI) ²
$15 million for multimodal facilities and equipment related to transit, freight and passenger railroads, aviation, ports, harbors, marine transportation, and active transportation projects ²

The money will be coming from

$105 million bond issued by the state and paid back through the budget and taxes over 10 years.²
$275million in matching funds from federal and other funds. ²

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.
Issuing the bond opens up matching funds.
Interest rates are currently low, making it a good time to invest.

Cons

The primary arguments against this referendum are:

Maine already has $1.43 in outstanding bond debt that this will add to and it could lead to increased taxes. ²

Who cares

Nobody has registered support or opposition to this bond.

References

Maine State Legislature. An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue for Infrastructure To Improve Transportation and Internet Connections. Accessed June 3, 2020. ↩
Ballotpedia State Desk. Maine Question 2, Transportation Infrastructure Bond Issue (July 2020). Ballotpedia. Accessed June 3, 2020. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Treasurer of State. Treasury Statement. Accessed June 10, 2020. ↩ ↩²