Maine voters approved a $105 million bond to pay for statewide transportation system repairs and improvements and passed a state constitution amendment allowing a change in the state’s pension fund.
With 67 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday, 163,355 people, or 72 percent, voted in support of the transportation bond and 63,368, or 28 percent, voted against it.
On Question 4, which would reduce the volatility in state pension funding, 137,778 people or 63 percent voted for it while 80,993 or 37 percent voted against the amendment.
The bond and constitutional amendment attracted far less interest than the first two questions on the state ballot, and there was no organized opposition to either proposal.
Question 3 on the state ballot sought approval for a $105 million bond to fund repairs and improvements to the state’s transportation infrastructure. The bulk of the money would be directed to repair priority roads and bridges. Dollars would also be allocated for the state’s sea and air ports, freight and passenger railroads and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.
Question 4 was a proposed constitutional amendment dealing with amortization of pension losses. The pension system to support retired state employees and teachers is in the state’s Constitution, so any changes require a constitutional amendment approved by referendum.
Currently, the state has 10 years to pay back any unfunded liability that was created by investment losses. Question 4 would increase that timeline to 20 years, which the state says would insulate the system from shifts in the economy.
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