Question 1 - Citizen Initiative

Summary

Do you want to ban the construction of high-impact electric transmission lines in the Upper Kennebec Region and to require the Legislature to approve all other such projects anywhere in Maine, both retroactively to 2020, and to require the Legislature, retroactively to 2014, to approve by a two-thirds vote such projects using public land? This initiated bill requires the approval of the Legislature for the construction of highimpact electric transmission lines and provides that high-impact electric transmission lines crossing or utilizing public lands must be approved by 2/3 of all the members elected to each House of the Legislature. This initiated bill also prohibits the construction of highimpact electric transmission lines in the Upper Kennebec Region. These provisions apply retroactively to September 16, 2020, the date of filing of this initiative. This initiated bill also requires the approval of 2/3 of all the members elected to each House of the Legislature for any use of public lands for transmission lines and facilities and certain other projects. This provision applies retroactively to September 16, 2014.

A "YES" vote is to enact the initiated bill in its entirety.

A "NO" vote opposes the initiated bill in its entirety.

Arguments

"We believe the November referendum jeopardizes our future. If the ballot question passes, this will likely kill the project and take away all the jobs, customer savings, tax reductions, and other benefits that go along with it. But, what’s more, it puts politicians in charge of how you pay for and what electricity sources are available to Mainers. This could hamper the development of new electricity sources, including in-state wind and solar and keeps out low-cost energy solutions." - Hope Pollard, President of the Maine Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, in opposition to Question 1 (Learn more)

"Mainers know they’re being lied to by these two foreign corporations, and they know that this project will forever change our state’s character, environment and economy in ways that will not benefit us... It’s bad public policy and sets a bad precedent for our state if we take a project that has cleared every major regulatory milestone at the state and federal level, and then turn around and pull permits" - Former Sen. Tom Saviello, in support of Question 1 (Learn more)

"Vote ‘YES" on Question 1 to ban the Central Maine Power (CMP) New England Clean Energy Corridor and to provide legislative oversight for similar projects in the future. Question 1 finally gives the public a vote on this project while ensuring that we have a voice, through our local legislators, on major high-impact transmission line projects in the future. It protects our public lands by re-affirming the Maine Constitution, righting a wrong dating back to the first illegal public lands lease granted to CMP for their corridor project in 2014. Western Maine is home to the largest contiguous forest east of the Mississippi River. What we have here is unique and special. Let"s preserve the way life should be and search out real climate solutions. This destructive corridor will forever change western Maine. It will damage our environment, threaten heritage brook trout fisheries and do nothing to address climate change. It will cost Maine"s biomass, tourism, renewable energy and forestry industries hundreds of jobs. All of this to send power from Canada to Massachusetts. While this project has been promoted as a climate change solution, the only green involved is the profit this corridor would export to two foreign corporations. Hydro-Quebec, owned 100 percent by a foreign government, would make $41 million per month and CMP would make $5 million per month for the project duration while the benefit package in today"s dollars to Mainers averages just 11.5 cents per month. Mainers" voices, and the voices of their elected lawmakers, have been silenced by unelected bureaucrats and multiple administrations. It is time that we are heard. Join us in voting ‘YES" on Question 1 to reject the CMP corridor because it"s a bad deal for Maine." - Vivian Mikhail, Treasurer, Mainers for Local Power, in support of Question 1 (Learn more)

"Vote yes on 1 to protect the environment I am an outdoorsman who cares deeply about the environment. I would be behind the CMP corridor project if it was good for Maine and actually supported greenhouse gas reductions. It"s not. It"s an environmental scam designed to maximize profits for CMP. If you do the research, claims of climate solutions by this project are questionable at best. There are multiple sources to research the damaging impacts of Hydro-Quebec"s mega-dams. Dr. Brad Hager, PhD from MIT states, "Studies show that there"s an extremely wide range of greenhouse gas emissions from hydro, but six of Hydro Quebec"s reservoirs are among the top 25 percent of greenhouse gas emitters of hydro plants worldwide." Hager says their emissions, which come from decay of submerged trees and disturbed soils, range from that of a natural gas power plant to over twice those of coal power plants. Pair Hydro-Quebec"s emissions up with a permanent clearcutting of a massive swath of contiguous forest in western Maine, and it spells a recipe for environmental disaster. Perhaps that is why CMP sent 30 lobbyists to Augusta to fight a bill that would have studied this project"s greenhouse gas reduction claims. CMP obtained an illegal lease to cross our public lands and have repeatedly blocked the general public and our elected lawmakers from engaging in any sort of meaningful way on the permitting of this project. Allowing it to move forward sets a dangerous precedent that Maine is for sale, and that our laws are mere suggestions. That"s not how we do things here in Maine. Question 1 rights the wrongs of this project while ensuring transparency and accountability on similar high impact transmission line projects in the future. Protect Maine"s environment and preserve the way life should be by voting yes on Question 1." - Darryl Wood, Treasurer, No CMP Corridor, in support of Question 1 (Learn more)

"We have recently seen major renewable energy projects and policies established here in Maine, helping create clean energy infrastructure and jobs for the future. Question 1 would roll back this progress by writing new laws after-the-fact, to retroactively block energy infrastructure projects that have undergone exhaustive review. To be built in Maine, energy projects must undergo strict environmental and economic review by state and federal agencies. These reviews encourage participation by all interested parties, gathering information from them and from the general public. Facts are developed and applied to objective legal criteria to protect our environment, our economy, and the public good. Question 1 asks Mainers to support a law that provides no new guidance on how to protect our wildlife, our ecosystems, or our economy. Instead, the bill removes permitting decisions from impartial experts and hands them over to the partisan politics of the state legislature. People of good will can disagree over which infrastructure projects ought to be built here in Maine; but it would be reckless to dismantle the very process we have long and successfully used to learn the truth about these project proposals. This is no way to make good Maine law. Vote NO! on Question 1." - Richard Anderson & Richard Barringer, Former Commissioners of the Maine Department of Conservation, in opposition to Question 1 (Learn more)

"I"m voting NO on Question 1 and standing on the side of fairness for all Maine families, workers, and small businesses. Question 1 has plenty of words for Mainers to sift through, but there is really only one word that matters: "retroactively." Applying a law retroactively—which is at the heart of this ballot question—sets a terrible precedent for our state that could harm small businesses, renewable energy, manufacturing, and other vital Maine industries. It would open the floodgates for politicians who want to target Maine people and businesses by making new laws that apply to events that have already happened—all to suit personal political agendas. The principle that our laws should apply to the future and not the past is the foundation of any democracy that stands for the rule of law. Even in ancient times—as far back as the Romans— retroactive laws were banned. Even the framers of our founding documents put prohibitions on retroactive laws into the Constitution in multiple places, going so far as to say imposing them was "one of the hallmarks of tyranny." Stability and predictability are what Mainers rely on so we can keep our way of life. But if we start passing retroactive laws and head down this slippery slope, simple elements of our everyday life—owning a small business, running a campground, or simply building an addition on your house—could be targeted after the fact by someone with an axe to grind. The message we"d be sending to the businesses and workers we"re trying so hard to attract would be heard loud and clear: don"t come to Maine, don"t invest in Maine, and don"t hire Maine workers. Vote NO on Question 1, because Mainers already have to deal with the uncertainty of the future—they shouldn"t have to deal with uncertainty of the past, too." - Jonathan Breed, Principal Officer, Mainers for Fair Laws , in opposition to Question 1 (Learn more)

"I"m voting NO on Question 1 and standing on the side of the hundreds of Maine workers building the Clean Energy Corridor. If Question 1 passes, it will not only cost Mainers jobs and money by retroactively blocking the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), but it will also threaten potential future infrastructure projects. This project is already creating real jobs for real Mainers. In fact, over 400 Mainers are already employed by the project, making an average of $38 an hour with benefits, at a time when people need them most. The Clean Energy Corridor will also remove more than 3 million metric tons of carbon emissions every year. That"s the equivalent of removing 700,000 cars from the road in our region, helping Maine and New England meet its clean energy goals. The project will also save money for consumers and taxpayers. The Maine Department of Public Utilities concluded that the project could save Maine consumers $14-44 million every year in electricity costs. The project also includes $140 million in rate relief funds for Maine consumers, with another $50 million specifically for low-income consumers. Other direct financial benefits include: $18 million in tax revenue for host communities; 189 miles of new fiber optic cable and a $10 million fund for broadband expansion in rural communities; a $15 million fund for electric vehicle infrastructure; $15 million for heat pumps; and $6 million for scholarships for Maine students. Maine will also receive renewable energy directly from the line – enough to power 70,000 Maine homes or 10,000 Maine businesses. If we pass Question 1, all these benefits—clean energy, jobs, and money in Maine families" pockets--will be lost. Please join me in voting NO on Question 1 in November." - Thorn Dickenson, President, NECEC Transmission, LLC , in opposition to Question 1 (Learn more)

Measure Details