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An Act To Revise the Municipal Consolidation Referendum Process
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §2152, sub-§1-A  is enacted to read:
 
1-A.  Referendum on forming joint charter commission.     If a petition is filed pursuant to subsection 1, the municipal officers shall call and conduct a referendum to determine the willingness of the voters of the municipality to form a joint charter commission with the municipality or municipalities named in the petition. The referendum must be held at the next scheduled regular election. The question to be voted on at the referendum must be in substantially the following form: "Do you favor forming a joint charter commission to draft a consolidation agreement for the purpose of consolidating with ..................................................... (municipality or municipalities named in the petition)?"
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:
 
2. Joint charter commission.   If a petition is filed as required under subsection 1 and a majority of those casting ballots pursuant to subsection 1-A approve the referendum question in each municipality, the 3 members of a joint charter commission shallmust be elected at the next special or regular election in the manner provided for the election of municipal officers. The election of members by 2 or more municipalities authorizes the commission to draft the consolidation agreement. If a municipality does not elect members, it may not participate in the consolidation.
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 310 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.