MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • October 10, 2021
The first of the Maine initiatives on next month’s ballot would “ban the construction of high-impact electric transmission lines in the Upper Kennebec Region.” This proposal is clear and straightforward. But the second part of the proposal, “to require the Legislature, retroactively to 2014, to approve by a two-thirds vote such projects using public land,” is ambiguous and confusing. Requiring a retroactive review by the Legislature is one thing, but requiring a retroactive supermajority approval is something quite different. This problem arises from carelessness in drafting the citizen’s initiative. Is there a way that it can be resolved, perhaps by a clarification to voters and an interpretation by the attorney general prior to the Nov. 2 vote? ~ Michael Mertaugh, Portland