Fate of $50 million R&D bond unclear
The outcome of the statewide referendum on a $50 million bond to boost the state’s investment in research and development wasn’t known this morning, in part because results of Tuesday’s election from smaller rural towns hadn’t been fully reported.
The Portland Press Herald reported the proposal was supported in Portland 80% to 20%, in South Portland 74% to 26% and in Biddeford 65% to 35%. The Bangor Daily News, which often posts unofficial statewide results, did not do so for the R&D bond this morning in its roundup of statewide results.
Mike Saxl, managing principal of Maine Street Solution and a spokesman for the $50 million R&D bond campaign, said he was told by the Maine Secretary of State’s Office that the official tally for the bond might not be known for as much as three days.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” he told Mainebiz in a phone interview this morning. “We don’t have any official results, but we’re hopeful we’re on the right track given the overwhelmingly favorable results reported in some of the major cities.”
If the bond is approved, $45 million would go into the Maine Technology Asset Fund managed by the Maine Technology Institute. The remaining $5 million would go to the Maine Venture Fund, a 20-year-old revolving state venture fund intended to support early-stage companies with the potential to scale and significantly contribute to Maine’s prosperity, according to the MVF website. The fund is administered by the Finance Authority of Maine and the investments that are made would also need to be matched at least 1:1 by other funding sources, though MVF's experience has been an almost 9:1 match.
The bond had wide support in the Legislature, passing 138-10 in the House of Representatives, and almost unanimously in the Senate after testimony from a wide swath of workers and corporate, academic and non-profit institutions, MVF reported.
Gov. Paul LePage signed it into law contingent on the June 13 election.
Saxl said investing in R&D was crucial to Maine’s future prosperity, saying, “It’s how the jobs for Maine’s future will be developed.”
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