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LEGISLATING A RUN AROUND THE MAINE CONSTITUTION


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Administrative law is commonly defended as a new sort of power, a product of the 19th and the 20th centuries that developed to deal with the problems of modern society in all its complexity. From this perspective, the Framers of the Constitution could not have anticipated it and the Constitution could not have barred it. What I will suggest, in contrast, is that administrative power is actually very old. It revives what used to be called prerogative or absolute power, and it is thus something that the Constitution centrally prohibited. 
The History and Danger of  Administrative Law  Philip Hamburger, Columbia Law School

Jonathan Gruber, an architect of Obamacare bragged about how the United States legislature passed ObamaCare , turning over a sixth of the U.S. economy to the government, Gruber admitted that the Obama administration went through "tortuous" measures to keep the facts about the legislation from the American people, including covering up the redistribution of wealth.


The Architects of Obama Care don't have anything over the Maine Legislature which has likewise taken over massive portions of the Maine economy and in the process embedded a vast unconstitutional network of state corporations which redistributes the wealth of the people using equally manipulative ethics codified into statutory law.

5 out of 6 bonds recently voted in by the people of Maine will be distributed through the unconstitutional corporate state network. To avoid having to provide a fiscal statement with the bond questions, In 2013, the Maine legislature passed a statute that says, in effect- You can comply with the constitution- Or you cannot!

I just updated my timeline A Maine Citizen's Journey Through The Statutes of Transformation To Include the following : You can receive the entire timeline , which includes a targeted search of the 2013 legislative session by sending a contribution to mackenzie@andersenstudio.com via Paypal.It is well worth it to see the legislative session as a whole. the timeline includes many mini-timelines of incremental-ism which I show our state has been transformed from the State of Maine to the Corporation of Maine- 5 out of 6 bonds are destined to be processed by corporations chartered in violation of Article IV Part Third Section 14 of the Maine constitution, which I have written at length about on this blog and in my pre-election marathon!

LEGISLATING A RUN AROUND THE MAINE CONSTITUTION

2013 The Maine legislature amends the statute governing the ratification of bond issues. The constitution requires this information to accompany the bond question Article IX Section 14

  • the total amount of bonds of the State outstanding and unpaid,
  • the total amount of bonds of the State authorized and unissued,
  • and the total amount of bonds of the State contemplated to be issued if the enactment submitted to the electors be ratified.

    At this date ( Nov 11 2014) I have put in a request to legislative Law Library for a copy of how this statute read before it was amended in 2013. It appears that it probably stopped right before the word “or” in the last sentence. This deems that the constitutional words “accompanying the ballot” are satisfied by posting the information “outside the guardrail”. The guardrail which separates voters from the rest of the world. The only reason for doing this is to go against the constitutional intent by making the information less accessible to the voter than is stated in the constitution.

§152. Ratification of bond issue; signed statement

In accordance with the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, section 14, the Treasurer of State shall prepare a signed statement, called the Treasurer's Statement, to accompany any question submitted to the electors for ratification of a bond issue setting forth the total amount of bonds of the State outstanding and unpaid, the total amount of bonds of the State authorized and unissued and the total amount of bonds of the State contemplated to be issued if the enactment submitted to the electors should be ratified. The Treasurer of State shall also set forth in that statement an estimate of costs involved, including explanation of, based on such factors as interest rates that may vary, the interest cost contemplated to be paid on the amount to be issued, the total cost of principal and interest that will be paid at maturity and any other substantive explanatory information relating to the debt of the State as the Treasurer of State considers appropriate. To meet the requirement that the signed statement of the Treasurer of State accompany any ballot question for ratification of a bond issue, the statement may be printed on the ballot or it may be printed as a separate document that is made available to voters as provided in Title 21-A, sections 605-A and 651. [2013, c. 131, §1 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
1979, c. 534, §2 (NEW). 2007, c. 515, §1 (AMD). 2011, c. 342, §3 (AMD). 2013, c. 131, §1 (AMD).

This is what it says in Title 21-A, sections 651. .
2. Election materials distributed and posted.  At any time after the materials are received and before the polls are open, the clerk may open the packages or boxes of election materials, break the seals on the packages not marked "ballots," and use the materials for instructional purposes. On election day, the clerk or the election officials must post the voter instructional materials described in section 605-A, if applicable to the election, as follows:
A. In each voting booth: one voting instruction poster prepared under section 605-A; and [2011, c. 342, §22 (NEW).]
B. Outside the guardrail enclosure at each voting place:
(1) At least one voting instruction poster prepared under section 605-A;
(2) One set of sample ballots for each ballot style being used in that voting place;
(3) A list of any declared write-in candidates for that voting district, with the office sought, next to the sample ballots;
(4) One voting rights poster or notice prepared under section 605-A;
(5) One election penalty poster or notice prepared under section 605-A;
(6) One Treasurer's Statement prepared under Title 5, section 152;
(7) One citizen's guide to the referendum election prepared under section 605-A; and
(8) One copy of the Office of Fiscal and Program Review's estimate of the fiscal impact prepared under Title 1, section 353[2011, c. 342, §22(NEW).]
[ 2011, c. 342, §22 (AMD) .]

§353. Explanation of proposed amendments and statewide referenda

With the assistance of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General shall prepare a brief explanatory statement that must fairly describe the intent and content and what a "yes" vote favors and a "no" vote opposes for each direct initiative, bond issue, constitutional resolution or statewide referendum that may be presented to the people. The Office of Fiscal and Program Review shall prepare an estimate of the fiscal impact on state revenues, appropriations and allocations of each measure that may appear on the ballot, within the following time frames: for a direct initiative, within 15 business days after the applicant has given consent to the Secretary of State for the final language of the proposed law; and for a statewide referendum, bond issue or constitutional resolution, within 30 days after adjournment of the legislative session in which the measure was passed. The fiscal impact estimate must summarize the aggregate impact that the constitutional resolution, statewide referendum, direct initiative or bond issue will have on the General Fund, the Highway Fund, Other Special Revenue Funds and the amounts distributed by the State to local units of government. [2011, c. 342, §1 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY

1973, c. 625, §3 (AMD). 1979, c. 534, §1 (AMD). 1979, c. 541, §A2 (AMD). 1979, c. 663, §1 (AMD). 1991, c. 837, §A1 (AMD). 2005, c. 316, §1 (AMD). 2007, c. 695, Pt. A, §2 (AMD). 2009, c. 341, §1 (AMD). 2009, c. 462, Pt. D, §1 (AMD). 2009, c. 538, §1 (AMD). 2011, c. 342, §1 (AMD). 


Update Nov 12, 2014!  The link I originally referenced is here ,

THIS IS HOW THE LAW WAS WRITTEN IN 2011- showing the process of incrementalism at play


In this link  part of the sentence

below is struck out:


§152. Ratification of bond issue; signed statement

12 ....To meet the requirement that the signed statement of the Treasurer of State accompany any ballot question for ratification of a bond issue, the statement may be printed on the ballot or it may be printed as a separate document that is


WORDS STRUCK OUT
posted in each voting booth on election day and, in the case of absentee voting, the statement must be made available to each voter  who votes in the presence of the municipal clerk or provided along with the ballot to each absentee voter who does not vote in the presence of the municipal clerk voters as 


19 provided in Title 21-A, sections 605 and 651.

§605-A. Instructions

1. For election officials.  The Secretary of State shall provide the clerk, registrar and election officials of each municipality with printed instructions and information to assist them in performing the requirements of this Title.
2011c. 342, §15 (NEW) .]
2. For voters.  The Secretary of State shall prepare instructional materials and posters and provide them to each municipality to assist voters in registering to vote and in voting.
A. The voting instruction poster must include information on how to mark the ballot, including how to mark a write-in vote; how to replace the ballot if the voter makes a mistake; and how to receive assistance in marking the ballot. It may include other voting information. [2011c. 342, §15 (NEW).]
B. The voting rights poster or notice must contain information advising prospective registrants and voters of their voting rights. [2011c. 342, §15(NEW).]
C. The election penalty poster or notice must contain information regarding penalties for voting law violations. [2011c. 342, §15 (NEW).]
D. The Treasurer's Statement must be prepared according to Title 5, section 152 to accompany ballots containing any statewide bond issues. The Secretary of State shall supply written instructions to each municipality, which may be provided to an absentee voter to indicate where the voter may view the Treasurer's Statement on the Secretary of State's publicly accessible website. [2011c. 534, §13 (AMD).]
E. For each referendum ballot, a citizen's guide to the referendum election must be prepared and include the full text of each measure; the Attorney General's explanatory statement prepared under Title 1, section 353; the Treasurer's Statement prepared under Title 5, section 152; the Office of Fiscal and Program Review's estimate of the fiscal impact prepared under Title 1, section 353; and any public comment submitted pursuant to Title 1, section 354. The Secretary of State must post a citizen's guide to the referendum election on the Secretary of State's publicly accessible website and provide a printed copy to each municipality and to each public library in the State. [2011c. 342, §15 (NEW).]
Each municipality must post the voter instructional materials as described in section 651.

Later I found the same section as it is now published in the Maine Statutes:

§152. Ratification of bond issue; signed statement

In accordance with the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, section 14, the Treasurer of State shall prepare a signed statement, called the Treasurer's Statement, to accompany any question submitted to the electors for ratification of a bond issue setting forth the total amount of bonds of the State outstanding and unpaid, the total amount of bonds of the State authorized and unissued and the total amount of bonds of the State contemplated to be issued if the enactment submitted to the electors should be ratified. The Treasurer of State shall also set forth in that statement an estimate of costs involved, including explanation of, based on such factors as interest rates that may vary, the interest cost contemplated to be paid on the amount to be issued, the total cost of principal and interest that will be paid at maturity and any other substantive explanatory information relating to the debt of the State as the Treasurer of State considers appropriate. To meet the requirement that the signed statement of the Treasurer of State accompany any ballot question for ratification of a bond issue, the statement may be printed on the ballot or it may be printed as a separate document that is made available to voters as provided in Title 21-A, sections 605-A and 651. [2013, c. 131, §1 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
1979, c. 534, §2 (NEW). 2007, c. 515, §1 (AMD). 2011, c. 342, §3 (AMD). 2013, c. 131, §1 (AMD).
Who added the word "OR"  to Title 5, section 152 and when?



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