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Michael Cianchette is a Navy reservist who served in Afghanistan. He is in-house counsel to a number of businesses in southern Maine and was a chief counsel to former Gov. Paul LePage.
Unhappiness with taxes is baked into our national DNA.
Schoolchildren learn the revolutionary cry of “no taxation without representation.” British taxes led to the Boston Tea Party, which led to the Intolerable Acts, which led to the “shot heard ‘round the world.”
That cultural displeasure has motivated generations of Americans since. Including Mainers.
Two decades ago, property taxes were a major political football. Towns were increasing taxes left and right while Augusta was facing down a “structural deficit” left for Gov. John Baldacci by outgoing Gov. Angus King.
Baldacci had three options. One was to raise taxes. Two was to cut services. Or, number three, find creative ways to raise cash. The latter was what led to the attempt to sell off Maine’s state-owned liquor monopoly.
For municipalities, the well of state funding was dry but spending desires were not. So they pulled the only lever they had: ask property owners to pay more.
In true American fashion, a protest emerged. Legislation was written, signatures were gathered, and a citizen initiative made its way onto the November 2004 ballot. It would have placed limits on the ability of municipalities to raise property taxes.
The referendum failed. Yet, rather than double-down with new intolerable laws like the British did after the Boston Tea Party, Augusta took heed. The premiere legislation of each legislature is often symbolically the first bill: LD 1.
LD 1 of the 122nd Maine Legislature was sponsored by the Democratic House Speaker and Democratic Senate President. They entitled it “An Act To Increase the State Share of Education Costs, Reduce Property Taxes and Reduce Government Spending at All Levels.”
On Jan. 21, 2005, mere weeks after the Legislature was sworn in, it was signed into law by Gov. Baldacci. Because Maine is one big small town, then-state Reps. Janet Mills and Troy Jackson voted in favor of the bill.
That brings us to today.
Earlier this week, LD 2102 of the 131st Legislature was enacted. It was only introduced in January of this year, as an alleged “emergency” facing our state. What does this bill do?
It repeals the limits on property taxes that were enacted by LD 1 back in 2005.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing about this new Intolerable Act. A Google search shows that, except for one brief mid-March reference on Spectrum Local News, only the right-leaning “Maine Wire” covered the story.
There is a lot happening in the Legislature right now and reporting capacity is limited. Things like Democrats passing the National Popular Vote by a single vote, fights over abortion bills, and new gun control laws generate a lot more excitement and attention than boring minutiae about municipal revenues.
Yet property taxes matter to every homeowner, business, and renter in the state. The limits imposed in 2005 were fairly soft and could be overridden in a wide variety of circumstances. For many towns, they have continually sought annual overrides to ignore the limits and have generally received them.
The argument in favor of repeal is that 2005’s LD1 was “well-intentioned” but no longer applicable because it is hard, complex, and towns have been overriding the caps for years. That may be true.
But if the underlying policy and intentions are good, then the law needs reform, not repeal.
With LD 2102 now on Gov. Janet Mills’ desk, we will see whether it becomes law. And if it does, Republicans can loudly campaign on the fact that Democrats deemed it an “emergency” to repeal a two-decade old limit on municipal property tax hikes.
Because unhappiness with taxes remains part of our national DNA.
