Maine

Decision instrument

State general obligation bonds above $2 million need two-thirds of both houses and a majority of electors voting on the question.

What public act authorizes the borrowing, and where is the purpose and the first-year cost written down? Maine Constitution, Article IX, Section 14. The ballot must show bonds outstanding, bonds authorized and unissued, and the amount this question would add. Bonds not issued within five years of ratification may not be issued after that, unless the Legislature extends the period. A town question submitted to voters must carry the treasurer’s signed statement of debt already outstanding, debt authorized and unissued, and the estimated interest cost (30-A M.R.S. § 5772). The vote fraction that carries a town general obligation bond is not in that section.

Debt statement

No Annual Debt Statement of the New Jersey kind.

What yearly filing states gross debt, deductions, and how close the issuer is to its limit? The state’s debt is in the annual report and on the Treasurer’s debt snapshot. When a town bond question goes to the voters, the treasurer’s statement is the local debt record attached to that question. County dollar rows are not attached.

Debt limit

A municipality’s ordinary debt may not exceed 7.5% of its last full state valuation. All debt together may not exceed 15%.

What cap binds a county or a city, and is the state's own ceiling a different rule? 30-A M.R.S. § 5702. School debt has its own 10% cap. Storm or sanitary sewer debt has a 7.5% cap. Airport and special-district debt has a 3% cap. A town may set a lower cap. The state’s own ceiling is different: $2 million unless the constitutional vote is taken. That $2 million is not a cap on voter-approved bonds.

Conflict rule

A municipal, county, or quasi-municipal official is deemed to have a pecuniary interest at 10% ownership of the business.

Which ethics statute covers local officers, what counts as an interest, and who is left out? 30-A M.R.S. § 2605. A vote is voidable if an official with a direct or indirect pecuniary interest votes. Absent fraud, ownership below 10% is not deemed that interest. Disclosure and abstention keep the vote from being voidable. Legislators file a different statement: income of $2,000 or more, and more than 5% of a business that took in $2,000 or more. That legislative rule is not the local rule.

Geography

Sixteen counties.

What is the county-equivalent, and which cities, schools, and authorities must not be pasted onto that row? FIPS 23001 through 23031. Cities, towns, plantations, and school units are not county rows. County dollars are blank.

Primary money record

$360.5 million general obligation bonds.

Which audited report is the state's own number, and as of what date? Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, year ended June 30, 2025. General-fund general obligation principal: $360,515,000. Unamortized premium on those bonds: $52,538,000. The Treasurer’s snapshot uses the same principal, $360.52 million, and calls it full faith, credit, and taxing power. No new general obligation bonds were issued. Principal was reduced by $93.8 million. Authorized and unissued general obligation bonds: $65 million.

Who pays the coupon

Full faith, credit, and taxing power. Fiscal 2026 debt service due on these bonds is $101.2 million.

Which fund, tax, or rate is actually pledged — not which new store might show up later? Principal due in fiscal 2026 is $83.5 million and interest is $17.7 million. That is the schedule from June 30, 2025, not cash paid in fiscal 2025. The series in the note are general-fund bonds. Remaining interest to maturity on the $360.5 million is $56.5 million. That lifetime interest is not a second pile of principal.

Other obligors

Maine Governmental Facilities Authority revenue bonds: $440.1 million. Do not add them to the $360.5 million.

Which authorities and districts borrow beside the state and must not be added to its total? The annual report includes them as other financing arrangements and says they are not a debt of the State and the full faith and credit is not pledged. Payment depends on later appropriations. The Treasurer lists $439.7 million of them inside a $1,346.8 million tax-supported total that also mixes certificates of participation, leases, highway grant-anticipation bonds, and transfer-tax bonds. That $1,346.8 million is not general obligation debt. The Maine Municipal Bond Bank has $1.314 billion of its own bonds outstanding. That is not the state’s general obligation stock either.

Book-entry wall

Cede & Co., at the Depository Trust Company.

Who is the registered owner on ordinary public paper? Series-level confirmation still waits on that official statement. Beneficial owners stay unnamed.