Voters to weigh in on electric utilities, other referendum questions

Maine voters will have eight referendum questions to consider at the polls on Tuesday, November 7. Questions 1 and 3 should be considered together as they both have to do with the state's electric utilities. Question 1 would prohibit certain entities, including particular types of electric utilities, from incurring more than $1 billion in debt without a statewide vote. Question 3 would approve the creation of a publicly owned utility, the nonprofit Pine Tree Power Company, to replace Maine's two investor owned transmission and distribution utilities, Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant Power.
Of particular interest to area voters may be Question 6, which seeks to restore to the official printed version of the Maine Constitution certain provisions from the early 1800s that are prohibited from being printed because of an 1876 constitutional amendment. Included in the omitted sections is language about the state's treaty obligations to the Wabanaki people. Voters would not necessarily know of this omission because the text of Question 6 does not mention the treaty obligations language, nor does the Citizen's Guide to Referendums provided by the secretary of state.

Questions 1 and 3 explained
Question 1 would prohibit quasi independent state entities, municipal electric districts, consumer owned transmission and distribution utilities, cooperatives and rural electrification cooperatives from borrowing money, incurring debt or issuing bonds that would cause total outstanding debt to exceed $1 billion unless the amount was approved by the state's voters at a general election. The Maine Office of the Public Advocate notes that Question 1 was advanced by opponents of Question 3.
Our Power Maine, the coalition of entities behind the proposed electric utility Pine Tree Power and Question 3, states on its website, "Maine has a history of locally owned electric, water and telephone utilities. Currently part or all of 98 of Maine's 488 communities are served by consumer owned electric utilities." Eastern Maine Electric Coop, based out of Calais, is one such utility. "Ratepayers pay less, on average, to consumer owned utilities than to CMP or Versant. As of 2021, residential delivery rates for Maine investor-owned utilities [Versant and CMP] were 49% higher than for Maine consumer-owned utilities."
Governor Janet Mills is opposed to Question 3, believing that it would end up in court with lengthy litigation. The Our Power Maine coalition includes the Maine Small Business Coalition, the Institute for Local Self Reliance, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners (MOFGA), the Penobscot Indian Nation and many more. The Natural Resources Council of Maine supports Question 3 for its restoration of local accountability, saving money on grid build out and aligning incentives for innovation in the utility sector.
The citizen's guide to Question 1 states that the $1 billion threshold suggests that the number of times such borrowing would need to go to state vote "is expected to be quite small." However, if voters were to approve Question 3, and the Pine Tree Power Company were to proceed with purchasing the transmission and distribution resources of CMP and Versant, the company's need to issue bonds could mean putting it out to state vote.
Lucy Hochschartner, deputy campaign manager and spokesperson for Pine Tree Power, states, "Pine Tree Power isn't concerned about Question 1 because we don't believe it will impact Mainers' decision to vote out CMP and Versant." The language in the policy section of Question 3 states the following, "Notwithstanding any other provision of law enacted on or before the date upon which this chapter is enacted, if this chapter is approved by voters of the state at a statewide election, debt or liability of the company is not subject to additional voter approval." She adds, "Therefore, the enactment date would be the same for both measures, and the effective date will be the same for both measures since the voters vote on both at the same time and the results will be certified at the same time. This means that the language in Question 3 will be applied, and no additional vote on debt should be required."
The Maine Office of the Public Advocate has a different opinion from Hochschartner's. Maine Public Advocate William Harwood says of the two referendums, "The two proposals appear to be inconsistent on this question. If they both pass, it will likely need to be resolved by a court ruling. There are a few guiding principles that courts use to resolve conflicts between inconsistent laws, but it is hard to predict on how a court would rule on this particular question." The public advocate's primary responsibility is to represent the interest of Maine's utility consumers.

Prohibiting foreign influence
Question 2 would prohibit expenditures by foreign governments or foreign government influenced entities to influence the nomination or election of a candidate or initiation of a referendum in Maine. Violations would be a Class C crime with fines and prison time. Media and Internet platforms would be required to create policies to ensure that they did not disseminate communications illegally financed by foreign government influenced entities, and if they discover that they have done so, to immediately remove the communications and notify the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Elections Practices.

Standardization of vehicle diagnostics
Question 4 would require vehicle manufacturers to standardize on board diagnostic systems and provide remote access to those systems to owners and independent repair facilities. It is known as a "right to repair" law that ensures that vehicles can be repaired at a facility of the owner's choice.
Maine would be the second state to enact such legislation. Massachusetts was the first starting in 2020 but has been involved in legal challenges with its law. Massachusetts was told in 2023 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that access to long distance transmission of computerized information vehicle data "conflicts with and therefore is preempted" by federal law. The federal administration states in its letter, "Open access to vehicle manufacturers' telematics offerings with the ability to remotely send commands allows for manipulation of systems on a vehicle, including safety critical functions such as steering, acceleration or braking, as well as equipment required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards such as air bags and electronic stability control. A malicious actor here or abroad could utilize such open access to remotely command vehicles to operate dangerously, including attacking multiple vehicles concurrently." The letter adds that disabling the telematic function poses its own dangers to vehicle safety.

Referendum timing amendment
Question 5 would amend the Maine Constitution to allow the Department of the Secretary of State and the judicial branch more time to review whether petitions for citizens' initiatives and people's vetoes have enough valid signatures to meet constitutional requirements. It would change from 100 calendar days to 100 business days, adding about 40 calendar days to the timeline.

Treaty obligations to Wabanaki people
Question 6 would amend the Maine Constitution to require that all of its provisions be included in the official printed copies prepared by the secretary of state. Currently, a number of provisions are prohibited from being included in the official printing, in particular language about the state's treaty obligations to the Wabanaki people.
The Maine Indian Tribal State Commission (MITSC) explains on its website urging a 'yes' vote that an 1876 amendment to the Maine Constitution prevented sections from being printed, including the language pertaining to Maine's treaty obligations to the Wabanaki people. MITSC states that in 1820 when Maine separated from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and became a state, its new constitution included Article X, Section 5 that said, in part: "The new state shall, as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made for that purpose, assume and perform all the duties and obligations of this commonwealth, towards the Indians within said District of Maine, whether the same arise from treaties, or otherwise." MITSC adds, "This is the only section of Maine's Constitution that mentions the 'duties and obligations' Maine inherited as regards the Wabanaki people within its borders."

Aligning with federal law
Question 7 would remove a provision in the Maine Constitution that can no longer be enforced because of an injunction issued by a federal court. The Maine Constitution currently requires that individuals who gather signatures for petitions for citizens' initiatives or people's vetoes must be Maine residents registered to vote in their town of residence. The amendment would remove the residency and registration requirements as they are non enforceable.

Guardianship voting
Question 8 would remove a provision that a federal court determined violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Currently the Maine Constitution states that persons who are "under guardianship for reasons of mental illness" are not qualified to vote. The state no longer enforces the restriction.