CQE UPDATE

The Defeat of TABOR II: A Victory for Maine's Public Schools and Vital Services

MAINE — On November 4, 2009, Maine citizens soundly rejected a referendum initiative known as "An Act to Promote Tax Relief" (TABOR II), by a vote of 60 to 40. Had it passed, the restrictive spending limits imposed by TABOR II would have harmed Maine's public schools and other vital services, and impeded the state's ability to recover from the economic recession.

Proponents of TABOR II tried to pass similar measures in 2004 and 2006 with no success. TABOR II was the third attempt to rein in what proponents viewed as excessive government spending by placing strict limits on state expenditures for public services and schools. If passed, TABOR II would have completely hamstringed the state's ability to raise revenues, and would have required statewide referendums to approve all future state spending.

Due to the economic recession, Maine's 2009 budget already included $27 million in cuts to the state's public schools, and more cuts are scheduled for the coming fiscal year. TABOR II would have prevented the state from providing adequate funding for public schools and would have harmed Maine students' ability to achieve academic success and eventually enter the state's workforce.

To ensure that Maine students and families continued to have access to the services they depend on, Citizens Unified for Maine's Future, a coalition of over 100 Maine school boards, cities, towns, and concerned citizens from across the state launched the "No on Question 4 No On TABOR II" campaign in the summer of 2009. Through extensive grassroots advocacy and media outreach the campaign succeeded in mobilizing voters to defeat the measure, and to prevent tough times from getting tougher for thousands of Maine citizens and communities.

RELATED ARTICLES

TABOR, excise tax questions soundly defeated, The Bangor Daily News

TABOR goes down to defeat again, Portland Press Herald