Maine education funding referendum, 2016
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The Maine education funding referendum is a citizen-initiated referendum question that has qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It seeks to increase state aid to public schools by instituting a surcharge of 3% on Maine income taxes for those with income above $200,000 a year. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it will appear on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, and various local elections.
Background
In 2003, Maine voters passed a referendum calling for the state to pay for 55% of the cost of operating public schools, as a way to reduce pressure on local property taxes. That percentage has never been met. [1] To attempt to reach that target, a group called Stand Up for Students announced that it would start a petition drive to implement a 3% surcharge on Maine income taxes paid on those with incomes above $200,000 a year, estimated to be the top 2% of earners in Maine. [2] It is estimated that such a tax surcharge would result in $110 million a year in revenue. [3]
The petition drive was carried out by some paid signature gatherers, but was largely done by volunteers from the Maine Education Association and the Maine People's Alliance, a liberal organizing group. MEA members were offered $25 Visa gift cards for every 100 signatures they gathered. [4] The office of Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap certified that the proposal qualified for the ballot on March 2, 2016, stating that 66,849 signatures were valid.[3]
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