Question 2: Transportation

The gist

Passing this question would allow the state to borrow $100 million, matched by $253 million in federal and other funds, for transportation improvements.

Ballot question

“Do you favor a $100,000,000 bond issue to build or improve roads, bridges, railroads, airports, transit facilities and ports and make other transportation investments, to be used to leverage an estimated $253,000,000 in federal and other funds?”¹

Yes means

I am in favor of issuing the $100 million bond to address infrastructure improvements.

No means

I do not want Maine to borrow $100 million to address infrastructure improvements.

Tell me more

Passing this question would allow the State of Maine to borrow $100 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. Learn more about how bonds work.

Follow the money

Principal: $100,000,000
Interest: $27,500,000
Total cost: $127,500,000³

The money will be used to

$85 million for highways and bridges²
$15 million for rail, aviation, ports, and active transportation.²

The money will be coming from

$100 million bond issued by the state and paid back through the budget and taxes over 10 years.²
$253 million in matching funds from the federal government and other sources.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 have 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 $110.53 million in outstanding bond debt that this will add to and it could lead to increased taxes.³

Who cares

Nobody has registered support or opposition to this bond.

References

Maine State Legislature. An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Improve Transportation. Accessed September 19, 2021. ↩
Ballotpedia State Desk. Maine Question 2, Transportation Infrastructure Bond Issue (2021). Ballotpedia. Accessed September 19, 2021. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Bellows, Shenna. Maine Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election. Accessed October 2, 2021. ↩ ↩²