Committee approves $85M bond package
The Legislature's appropriations committee voted 8-5 yesterday over strong Republican opposition in favor of an $85 million bond package.
The bulk of the bond package, nearly $70 million, is slated for roads and railroads, with the rest going for water and wastewater projects, rural dental care and wind projects, according to the Kennebec Journal. The bond also includes funding to purchase Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway's 241 miles of track in Aroostook County, and $7 million to help the city of Portland create a deep-water megaberth at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal.
The committee rejected all other bond proposals, including a $99 million package supported by Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro. The June ballot already includes three bond questions approved by lawmakers last year: $25 million for economic development, $10.25 million for water and wastewater improvements; and $33.5 million for weatherization and energy efficiency projects and for the creation of a fund to develop one or more ocean wind energy demonstration sites.
The bond package needs a two-thirds majority vote from the Legislature.
Go to the article from the Kennebec Journal >>
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