An Act To Revise the Municipal Consolidation Referendum Process

Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §2152, sub-§1-A  is enacted to read:

Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §2152, sub-§2,  as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read:

Sec. 3. 30-A MRSA §2155,  as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read:

§ 2155. Limitation

If the voters of a municipality reject a consolidation agreement, that municipality may not be a party to any consolidation agreement for 3 10 years after the date of the rejection, except when 30% of the qualified voters have requested an agreement by signing a petition under section 2152, subsection 1 or when a majority of the municipal officers in each municipality proposed for consolidation in the rejected consolidation agreement vote to form a joint charter commission to draft a consolidation agreement.

SUMMARY

This bill provides that if a municipality receives a petition proposing to form a joint charter commission for the purpose of consolidating with one or more municipalities, the municipal officers must hold a referendum to determine the willingness of the voters of the municipality to form a joint charter commission. If the referendum question is approved by a majority of voters in each municipality, a joint charter commission must be formed. It also provides that a municipality may not be a party to a consolidation agreement for 10 years, instead of 3 years as in current law, after the date a consolidation agreement is rejected. It also adds an exception to that 10-year period for when a majority of the municipal officers in each municipality subject to the rejected consolidation agreement vote to form a joint charter commission.