2016 Maine Question 4

Last updated

Question 4: Citizen Initiative
An Act to Raise the Minimum Wage
Results
Choice
Votes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svgYes420,89255.50%
Light brown x.svgNo337,48644.50%
Valid votes758,37898.27%
Invalid or blank votes13,3301.73%
Total votes771,708100.00%
2016 Maine Question 4 results.svg

Maine Question 4, formally An Act to Raise the Minimum Wage, [1] is a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to increase Maine's minimum wage from $7.50 per hour to $12 an hour by 2020, as well as increasing the minimum wage for tipped employees gradually to the same level by 2024. It would also index increases after 2024 to inflation. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections. Efforts to place a competing, more moderate proposal alongside the citizen-initiated bill were unsuccessful.

Contents

The proposal was enacted by voters, with 55% in favor. The changes to the tip credit were later reversed by the Legislature.

Background

Efforts to increase Maine's $7.50 minimum wage have been stymied at the Maine State House by Republican Governor Paul LePage, who vetoed a proposal to increase the wage to $9.50 over three years in 2013. [2] Legislative Republicans sustained the veto, [2] despite indications an increase has broad support from Mainers. One poll indicated that support for raising the federal minimum wage was at 75% of Mainers, including 59% of Republicans. [3]

Campaign

The Maine AFL–CIO and Maine People's Alliance launched a petition drive on April 16, 2015 seeking to collect upwards of the roughly 60,000 signatures needed to place a question on the ballot. [2] The Maine Secretary of State's Office announced on February 16, 2016 that organizers had submitted over 75,000 valid signatures to place the question on the ballot. The bill went before the Legislature, which could have passed it and sent it to Governor LePage for his signature or rejection, or simply allowed it to go to the ballot. It also could have placed its own measure dealing with the minimum wage alongside the proposal as a competing measure. Business groups, including the Retail Association of Maine and the Maine Chamber of Commerce, considered a competing proposal to put before the Legislature to place on the ballot. The Chamber cited national polling indicating 6 in 10 Americans support a $12 per hour wage an indication that the referendum would likely pass, and is seeking to mitigate what it sees as harm to businesses. [4]

Competing measures

The Bangor Chamber of Commerce announced their competing proposal on February 26, which is to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour by 2020, starting with a $1 increase and then 50¢ a year thereafter until reaching $10. It would also maintain the tip credit towards the minimum wage, unlike the referendum. State Rep. Stacey Guerin (R-Glenburn) said she would sponsor the bill. [5] Gov. LePage announced that he would support the competing proposal as he viewed it as less harmful to businesses, largely due to maintaining the tip credit. [6]

The idea of a competing proposal does not have universal support among opponents of the referendum, with some like State Rep. Heather Sirocki (R-Scarborough) stating that they oppose any increase in the minimum wage and would rather focus on defeating the referendum than passing a more moderate proposal. House Majority Leader Jeff McCabe also indicated a more moderate proposal would face difficulty in the House, stating that "we had this opportunity last year" and that it was now too late for a compromise. [7] One attempt by House Republicans to place a competing measure on the ballot was rejected by a 78–67 vote. The GOP-led Senate was able to vote on the proposal but without House support the effort failed. [8] Competing proposals with citizen initiatives are rare in Maine. The previous one was in 2003. One in 1996, involving forest clearcutting, generated significant confusion for voters. [5]

Minority House Republicans have said they will oppose efforts to allocate a $55 million revenue surplus to certain programs and the budget stabilization fund(also known as the rainy day fund) unless Democrats agree to permit the competing proposal to go to the ballot. [9]

Governor LePage has also stated he will not consider any additional spending unless a competing measure is placed on the ballot. He submitted his own proposal for one on April 5, 2016 at the request of Senate Majority Leader Andre Cushing, which is similar to others that were already rejected by the House. LePage has claimed an increase will hurt elderly Social Security recipients and young people, who would be unable to get jobs due to more experienced people being unemployed as a result of the wage increase. House Majority Leader Jeff McCabe stated that while he expects further attempts at a competing proposal, they would likely be rejected. [10] [11]

A last-ditch effort by Republicans to pass an emergency bill to immediately institute a gradual increase to a $10 minimum wage, starting with an increase to $9 on July 1, 2016, cleared the Senate by a 22–10 vote but failed to get the necessary 2/3 vote required to enact an emergency measure. Republicans stated that the bill, submitted by Governor LePage, was made an emergency measure to avoid being considered a competing measure that would be required to appear on the ballot. [12]

Question wording

On June 16, 2016, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce filed its objection to the proposed wording of the question that appears on the ballot. They criticized Secretary Dunlap for not including information about the indexing of the minimum wage to inflation after 2024 as well as the elimination of the tip credit. They proposed their own wording of the question which did contain those aspects of the question, which they claimed would be clearer and reflect the true intent of the referendum. Referendum supporters criticized the MSCC's proposed wording as "long, complex and byzantine", noting that Maine state statutes require referendum questions to be simple, concise, clear and direct. They called the proposal an effort to confuse voters. [13]

Dunlap released the final wording of the question on June 23, which will read as "Do you want to raise the minimum hourly wage of $7.50 to $9 in 2017, with annual $1 increases up to $12 in 2020, and annual cost-of-living increases thereafter; and do you want to raise the direct wage for service workers who receive tips from half the minimum wage to $5 in 2017, with annual $1 increases until it reaches the adjusted minimum wage?" [14]

Notable endorsements

Supporters

Opponents

Polling

Date of opinion pollConducted by Sample size
(likely voters)		YesNoUndecidedMargin of error
October 20–25, 2016 [22] University of New Hampshire76157%35%8%±3.6%
September 15–20, 2016 [23] University of New Hampshire50660%12%28%±4.3%

Results

Question 4 Results [24]
CountyYesVotesNoVotes
Androscoggin 50.9%28,79549.1%27,735
Aroostook 53.7%19,01046.3%16,378
Cumberland 61.2%106,32538.8%67,431
Franklin 51.9%8,74048.1%8,108
Hancock 55.4%18,03744.6%14,499
Kennebec 51.4%34,51948.6%32,589
Knox 60.4%14,16939.6%9,294
Lincoln 56.2%12,29743.8%9,567
Oxford 53.2%16,95746.8%14,919
Penobscot 46.9%38,24753.1%43,383
Piscataquis 45%4,21455%5,150
Sagadahoc 56.5%12,44643.5%9,588
Somerset 46.9%12,41453.1%14,036
Waldo 54.2%12,48445.8%10,532
Washington 54.1%9,05045.9%7,688
York 60.5%70,20339.5%45,840
UOCAVA 79.5%2,98520.5%769
Total55.5%420,89245.5%337,486

Tip credit restoration

After passage of the referendum, some restaurant servers were concerned that loss of the tip credit would mean they would actually get less money than they did with the tip credit, though such a view was not universal among those workers. Restaurant owners were also concerned that their costs would go up, forcing them to reduce hours for workers or raise menu prices. [25] State Sen. Roger Katz stated that voters supporting the referendum did not intend to drive down wages for any group of workers. [26] A public hearing on a bill to restore the tip credit was one of the most heavily attended legislative hearings in all of 2017, with advocates on both sides of the issue testifying. [25] The bill was passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. LePage on June 27, 2017 to restore the tip credit, though the minimum wage itself was unchanged. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Baldacci</span> American politician (born 1955)

John Elias Baldacci is an American politician who served as the 73rd Governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network is a network of public television and radio stations located in the U.S. state of Maine. It is operated by the Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation, which holds the licenses for all the PBS and NPR stations licensed in the state. MPBN has studios and offices in Portland, Lewiston and Bangor.

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Maine since December 29, 2012. A bill for the legalization of same-sex marriages was approved by voters, 53–47 percent, on November 6, 2012, as Maine, Maryland and Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote. Election results were certified by the Maine Secretary of State's office and the Governor of Maine, Paul LePage, on November 29. Maine was the eighth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul LePage</span> Governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019

Paul Richard LePage is American businessman and politician who served as the 74th governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the mayor of Waterville, Maine, from 2004 to 2011 and as a city councilor for Waterville from 1998 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Maine Question 1</span> Referendum on same-sex marriage

Maine Question 1 was a voter referendum conducted in Maine in the United States in 2009 that rejected a law legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. The measure passed 53–47% on November 3, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Maine Question 1</span> Referendum on same-sex marriage

Maine Question 1 was a voter referendum on an initiated state statute that occurred on November 6, 2012. The referendum was held to determine whether or not to legalize same-sex marriage. The referendum passed with a 53-47% vote legalizing same-sex marriage in Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Maine Question 1</span>

Maine Question 1 (MQ1), "An Act To Prohibit the Use of Dogs, Bait or Traps When Hunting Bears Except under Certain Circumstances", was a citizen-initiated referendum measure in Maine, which was voted on in the general election of November 4, 2014. As the Maine Legislature declined to act on the proposed statute, it was automatically placed on the ballot. The proposal was defeated by 320,873 "No" votes to 279,617 "Yes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Maine Question 1</span>

Maine Question 1, "An Act To Strengthen the Maine Clean Election Act, Improve Disclosure and Make Other Changes to the Campaign Finance Laws", was a citizen-initiated referendum measure in Maine, which appeared on the November 3, 2015 statewide ballot. As the Maine Legislature did not exercise its ability to pass the bill on its own, it was placed on the ballot and approved by Maine voters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June 2018 Maine Question 1</span>

Maine Question 1 was a people's veto referendum that appeared on the June 12, 2018 statewide ballot. It sought to reject a law passed by the Maine Legislature that suspended the implementation of ranked-choice voting, authorized by Maine voters in a previous referendum, for use in Maine elections until and if an amendment to the Maine Constitution is passed to expressly permit it; failing that, the law would be automatically repealed in 2021. It qualified because supporters of the original referendum collected the necessary number of signatures from registered Maine voters. This vote coincided with primary elections in which party nominees for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and the Maine Legislature were chosen through RCV to run in general elections on November 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Maine Question 5</span> Referendum on instant-runoff voting

Maine Question 5, formally An Act to Establish Ranked-Choice Voting, is a citizen-initiated referendum question that qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It was approved by a vote of 52% in favor, 48% opposed. It sought to change how most Maine elections will be conducted from plurality voting to instant-runoff voting. It appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the legislature, five other ballot questions, and various local elections. The referendum was successful, making Maine the first state to use ranked choice voting for its federal elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Maine Question 1</span> Referendum

Maine Question 1, "Do you want to reject the section of Chapter 399 of the Public Laws of 2011 that requires new voters to register to vote at least two business days prior to an election?", was a 2011 people's veto referendum that rejected a bill repealing Election Day voter registration in Maine. The vote was held on November 8, 2011 after being placed on the ballot due to supporters collecting the necessary number of signatures. The veto effort was successful, with 237,024 votes in favor of repeal to 155,156 against repeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Maine Question 3</span> Citizen-initiated referendum on gun background checks

Maine Question 3, formally An Act to Require Background Checks for Gun Sales, was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to require a background check for virtually all gun transfers in Maine, with some exceptions. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two United States House seats, the Maine Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Maine Question 2</span>

Maine Question 2, formally An Act to Establish The Fund to Advance Public Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education, was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought 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 declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Maine Question 1</span> Citizen-initiated referendum to legalize marijuana

Maine Question 1, formally An Act to Legalize Marijuana, is a citizen-initiated referendum question that qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It was qualified for the ballot after a Maine Superior Court judge ordered that petitions rejected by the Maine Secretary of State be reconsidered. The proposal sought to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Maine for those over the age of 21, and institute a 10 percent tax on its sale. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Maine referendums</span>

Five referendums were held in Maine, United States on November 8, 2016 alongside state and national elections. All are citizen-initiated proposals, which cover:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Maine Question 2</span>

Maine Question 2, formally entitled "An Act To Enhance Access to Affordable Health Care", was a citizen-initiated ballot measure that appeared on the November 7, 2017 statewide ballot in the State of Maine. Maine Question 2 sought to expand Medicaid eligibility under the terms of the Affordable Care Act. The measure passed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Maine Question 1</span> Referendum on allowing casinos in York County

Maine Question 1, formally An Act To Allow Slot Machines or a Casino in York County, was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the November 7, 2017, statewide ballot in Maine. It sought to award a license for the construction and operation of a casino in York County, Maine by a qualified entity as spelled out in the proposed law, with tax revenue generated by the casino to go to specific programs. The wording of the proposed law effectively permitted only one company, Capital 7, to be awarded the license. The ballot measure was defeated, with 83% of voters opposing it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairness Project</span> Charitable organization in the U.S.

The Fairness Project is a United States 501(c)(4) charitable organization created in October 2015. They promote general economic and social justice throughout the US by the use of ballot measures to circumvent deadlocks in law changes by the legislative and executive branches of government. They act as a national body by supporting state organizations and campaigns with targeted funding rather than by direct campaigning. They support the gathering of signatures to meet the variable requirements to trigger ballots in states and then aid the campaigns with early financial backing, strategic advice, and various campaign tools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">November 2018 Maine Question 1</span>

Maine Question 1 is a citizen-initiated referendum that appeared on the November 6, 2018 statewide ballot. It sought to implement a tax on higher incomes in Maine to fund in-home health care services for elderly and disabled Mainers, as well as to create a government board to administer the funds. The vote coincided with general elections for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, the Maine Legislature, and other local elections. It qualified for the ballot due to supporters collecting signatures from registered Maine voters. It was defeated 62.86% to 37.14%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Luchini</span> American politician and long-distance runner

Louis Luchini is an American Democratic politician and former professional long-distance runner from Maine. Luchini served in the Maine Senate representing District 7, Hancock County from 2018 to 2022. Luchini was born and raised in Ellsworth, Maine and began running competitively in middle school. He was a state champion runner at Ellsworth High School and continued to Stanford University where he earned a degree in human biology and was an all-American runner. Luchini graduated from Stanford in 2004 and signed a contract with Nike to run professionally, also participating in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2004 and 2008. He returned to Maine in 2009, joined the cross-country coaching staff at Ellsworth High School and ran for the Maine House of Representatives in 2010. Luchini served four terms in the Maine House before running successfully for the Senate in 2018. In 2020, Luchini was re-elected to Senate District 7 for a second two-year term. In January 2022, he resigned from the Senate to accept a job in the U.S. Small Business Administration.

References

  1. ↑ "Maine Citizen's Guide to the Referendum Election" (PDF). State of Maine Office of the Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  2. 1 2 3 "Referendum launched for $12 Maine minimum wage by 2020". 16 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Increase in minimum wage favored in Maine poll". 29 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Business Coalition Drafting Competing Minimum Wage Measure". 25 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Bangor Chamber backs $10 statewide minimum wage alternative". Bangor Daily News. 26 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "LePage Backs Alternative Minimum Wage Proposal". MPBN. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Maine business groups pitch smaller wage hike to GOP lawmakers". 25 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "House Democrats reject competing Maine minimum wage effort". Bangor Daily News . March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Maine GOP: No new spending unless lower wage hike option makes ballot". Bangor Daily News . March 30, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "LePage Submits His Own Competing Minimum Wage Measure". MPBN. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  11. ↑ "LePage: Republicans 'caving every time the Democrats ask them to'". Bangor Daily News . April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Last-minute minimum wage increase attempt by LePage falls short in Senate". Bangor Daily News . April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Innkeepers, Restaurant Owners Oppose Minimum Wage Ballot Question Wording". MPBN. June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Maine secretary of state revises wording of all five November ballot questions". Bangor Daily News. June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  15. 1 2 "Baldacci brothers to host minimum-wage event in Augusta". Kennebec Journal. April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  16. ↑ http://www.centralmaine.com/.../our-opinion-vote-yes-on-question-4-to-raise-the- minimum-wage/
  17. ↑ "Election 2016 | EqualityMaine". Archived from the original on 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  18. ↑ "A higher minimum wage will make a difference for those who work hard, still struggle". 18 October 2016.
  19. ↑ "Gov. Paul LePage turns awards lunch into political speech". Lewiston Sun-Journal. March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Unintended Consequences: How the minimum wage increase in Question 4 would kill jobs". 29 September 2016.
  21. ↑ "Minimum wage increase: Great appeal, great cost". 22 September 2016.
  22. ↑ "Leads shrink for 4 of the 6 Maine ballot issues, poll indicates". Portland Press Herald. 31 October 2016.
  23. ↑ "Poll shows 6 out of 10 Mainers back $12 minimum wage by 2020". Portland Press Herald. 28 September 2016.
  24. ↑ "Tabulations for Elections held in 2016". Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions. Maine Department of the Secretary of State. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  25. 1 2 "Maine's restaurant industry weighs in on minimum wage, 'tip credit'". WGME.com. WGME. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  26. ↑ "Maine Senate votes to change voter-approved wage law by restoring tip credit". Portland Press Herald. June 7, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  27. ↑ "LePage signs bill into law to restore tip credit". Bangor Daily News. June 27, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.