Voters wait in line in the gymnasium at Brunswick Junior High School to receive their ballots for the mid-term election, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Brunswick, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
PORTLAND (AP) — Mainers on Tuesday rejected a proposal to raise taxes to provide universal home care.
The first-of-its-kind home health care referendum called for a 3.8 percent tax increase to provide home care for all Maine seniors and individuals with disabilities regardless of income.
The proposal drew strong criticism from home care agencies, health care and business associations, and all three gubernatorial candidates. Critics said the referendum’s language would mean higher taxes for all families earning over $128,400.
Also on the ballot were four bond initiatives totaling $200 million that would mitigate wastewater pollution, upgrade transportation infrastructure and fund improvements at colleges and universities.
A transportation bond would spend $106 million for maintenance of the state’s roads and bridges. The bulk of the money, $80 million, would be directed to busy roadways in greatest need of repair.
The other bonds would provide $30 million for wastewater projects, $49 million to the University of Maine System and $15 million for Maine community colleges.
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