Intent and Content
Prepared by the Office of the Attorney General

This Act would authorize the State to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $71,250,000 to raise funds for a variety of projects, as described below. The bonds would run for a period not longer than 10 years from the date of issue and would be backed by the full faith and credit of the State. Fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) of the bond proceeds would be placed in the Highway Fund and the remainder would be in the General Fund.

The Department of Transportation would expend $69,750,000 of the bond proceeds for the following types of projects:

$55,000,000 for highway and bridge improvement projects statewide;

$ 5,750,000 for improvements to the ports at Eastport and Searsport;

$ 4,000,000 for improvements to state-owned rail lines and investments in the Industrial Rail Access Program and the Critical Rail Corridors Program;

$ 2,000,000 for improvements to publicly owned airports;

$ 1,000,000 for ferry facilities;

$ 1,000,000 for the LifeFlight Foundation, a non-profit foundation that supports a statewide medical helicopter service used to transport critically ill and injured patients to hospitals;

$ 400,000 to continue development of the Acadia Gateway Intermodal Center in Trenton;

$ 400,000 for improvements to island airports; and

$ 200,000 for upgrades to the Augusta airport.

The Department of Economic and Community Development would expend the remaining $1,500,000 of the proceeds of sale of the bonds to rebuild a bulkhead and wharf at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland.

If approved, the bond authorization would take effect 30 days after the Governor's proclamation of the vote.

A statement of the Treasurer describing the financial considerations of this bond issue is published together with this statement.

A "YES" vote favors authorizing the $71,250,000 bond issue to finance all of the above activities.

A "NO" vote opposes the bond issue in its entirety.

Debt Service
Prepared by the Office of the Treasurer

Total estimated life time cost is $90,843,750 representing $71,250,000 in principal and $19,593,750 in interest (assuming interest at 5% over 10 years).