Tax relief question far from decided Despite 1A win, issue faces another vote

AUGUSTA – Clawing its way to the top of the heap, the Question 1A property tax relief plan received the most votes on Election Day, but its future was anything but certain Wednesday as both critics and supporters pondered an array of strategies.

Among the possibilities being discussed are:

. A second stand-alone vote in February.

. A second stand-alone vote in June.

. A second vote next November that could potentially be placed on the ballot with another property tax cap question.

. An agreement by lawmakers and proponents to achieve most of the plan’s goals during the next legislative session.

With all 649 voting precincts reported, unofficial results tabulated by the Bangor Daily News show Question 1A with 37.8 percent of the vote; Question 1B, a competing measure, with 35 percent of the vote; and Question 1C, which rejects both 1A and 1B, with 27. 2 percent.

Gov. John Baldacci, who campaigned for 1B, said Wednesday the failure of any of the choices to attain a majority reflected a certain reticence among Maine voters.

“My interpretation of what the people said was that they’re not sure about which direction to travel and they want more time to examine it,” the governor said.

Conceived by the Maine Municipal Association, Question 1A requires the Legislature to identify funding sources to raise the state’s share of local education costs to 55 percent. The legislation urges lawmakers to achieve that goal without raising new taxes.

The state currently funds education costs at about 41.4 percent. The additional revenue needed to fund 1A is estimated in excess of $250 million and would have to be distributed to Maine communities in the fiscal budget year that begins July 1, 2004.

Supported by the Mainers For Responsible Property Tax Relief political action committee, Question 1B became a competing measure to counter 1A crafted by Baldacci and amended by the Legislature. The revised proposal would have phased in additional education funds over a five-year period until the 55 percent goal was reached. The plan also provided an additional $40 million through June 30, 2005, to enhance property tax relief currently available under the state’s “circuit-breaker” and Homestead Exemption programs.

Launched in reaction to both campaigns, the Common Sense for Maine Taxpayers PAC sought support for 1C, which allowed voters to reject both the citizen initiative and the competing measure.

Under state law, if neither Question 1A or 1B received a majority of the vote, the option receiving the greatest number of ballots would be considered in a run-off election as an unopposed question as long as it received at least 33 percent of the total number of votes cast.

Question 1A appeared to have secured the run-off slot by winning about 3 percent more of the vote than 1B. Although officials with the Maine Secretary of State’s Office have consistently maintained that a June vote seems appropriate for the run-off election, Baldacci disagreed Wednesday.

Maine law stipulates the second vote cannot be held any sooner than 60 days after Tuesday’s election and no later than the first statewide election, which most election officials have acknowledged as the June primary. The Maine Constitution also allows the Legislature to set a date for a special run-off election any time after the 60-day waiting period.

Because so much of Question 1A’s legislation pivots on timetables that begin in March and become effective July 1, 2004, the proponents would like to have a special election in February. But Baldacci insisted Wednesday that option would not be happening and that he preferred a November election to ensure a larger turnout.

“[Because of party primaries] not everybody votes in June,” the governor said. “In November, we’ll have a new Legislature and it seems to me it goes in sync together. But whether its June or November, it certainly gives us the time we need initially to be able to address property taxes.”

Since shortly after assuming office in January, Baldacci has voiced his plans to make tax reform the central focus of his second year in office and to develop proposals for the Legislature to consider in January. The governor said he will continue with those plans despite the results of Tuesday’s election, and hoped to convince members of the Maine Education Association, who endorsed 1A to join his reform effort. The governor still harbored some disappointment that the 1A supporters went forward this year with their referendum.

“Rather than wait until we could get our arms around [the issue] in a better way, people wanted to run out and have their initiative on the ballot,” he said. “Now I think the people have said, ‘Well, we’re not ready for it. We want you to spend a little more time on it.”

That’s not how Mike Starn at the MMA perceives Tuesday’s vote. Starn said he and other proponents of 1A are interpreting the combined totals of 1A and 1B as a 72 percent endorsement of the proposition that tax reform is needed. Starn hoped there would be “an openness” to engage in discussions with the Legislature over the pursuit of a tax reform “dialogue” next year. He said he remained hopeful that the Legislature would consider a February vote, given the parameters of 1A’s legislation.

“The start-up date within the initiative is Fiscal Year 2005 [which starts July 1, 2004], and so we just felt that June would be pushing that start-up date,” Starn said. “Obviously, November would just throw it out the window entirely.”