Big Questions Facing Voters this November 7
Maine citizens should begin the process of educating themselves on the 8 referendum ballot questions that will be decided in little over a month
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This is Rep. Kim Pomerleau of Standish with the weekly Republican address.?
Sometimes in an off-year, there is very little on the fall ballot to draw Maine voters to the polls. That is not the case this year, with no less than eight Referendum Ballot Questions that need to be decided by voters on November 7.
The eight questions are contained in the transcript of this address. I have also included a link to the Maine Citizen?s Guide to the Referendum Election to get you started: https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/pdf/citizensguide23.pdf
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QUESTION 1:? Do you want to bar some quasi-governmental entities and all consumer-owned electric utilities from taking on more than $1 billion in debt unless they get statewide voter approval?
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QUESTION 2:? Do you want to ban foreign governments and entities that they own, control, or influence from making campaign contributions or financing communications for or against candidates or ballot questions?
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QUESTION 3:??Do you want to create a new power company governed by an elected board to acquire and operate existing for-profit electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Maine?
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QUESTION 4:? Do you want to require vehicle manufacturers to standardize on-board diagnostic systems and provide remote access to those systems and mechanical data to owners and independent repair facilities?
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QUESTION 5:??Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to change the time period for judicial review of the validity of written petitions from within 100 days from the date of filing to within 100 business days from the date of filing of a written petition in the office of the Secretary of State, with an exception for petitions filed within 30 calendar days before or after a general election?
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QUESTION 6:? Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to require that all of the provisions of the Constitution be included in the official printed copies of the Constitution prepared by the Secretary of State?
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QUESTION 7:??Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision requiring a circulator of a citizen's initiative or people's veto petition to be a resident of Maine and a registered voter in Maine, requirements that have been ruled unconstitutional in federal court?
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QUESTION 8:? Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision prohibiting a person under guardianship for reasons of mental illness from voting for Governor, Senators and Representatives, which the United States District Court for the District of Maine found violates the United States Constitution and federal law?
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There is plenty of time for listeners to research these eight Referendum Questions.
I will say that I am deeply concerned about one question in particular, Question 3, An Act to Create the Pine Tree Power Company.
That proposal will forcibly buy out existing private power companies, spending up to $13.5 billion dollars in the process. The current State of Maine budget is $10.3 billion.
The forced seizure of private assets will take up to 10 years to complete.
It would replace an already questionable electric utility structure with one that is even worse.
Worse because:
- The proposal has no plan to improve reliability or service.
- The huge debt incurred will result in higher taxes and/or electric bills, and
- It would be a government controlled power authority run by elected politicians.
Ask yourself if politicians actually lower costs and do things more efficiently?
They usually drive up prices, raise taxes, and then redistribute money from hard-working people to favored voting constituencies in the form of handouts.
Maine House Republicans are opposed to that!
The last thing we need is another bloated, government-run enterprise that grows larger at the expense of family budgets and our quality of life.
This has been Rep. Kim Pomerleau with the Weekly Republican Radio Address.
I?d like to thank you for listening, subscribing, sharing and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Rep. Kimberly Pomerleau
is serving her first term representing House District 85, part of Standish. She currently serves the 131st Legislature?s Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government.
Rep. Pomerleau is a small businesswoman and the former owner of Maine-ly Heating Oil. She currently owns Roadway Utility Transfers MFG of Standish.?
Kimberly and her husband, Phil, have two children, seven grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.? In their spare time they enjoy hiking and doing volunteer work in their hometown. Kimberly is an avid cyclist and has participated in the Trek Across Maine.
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