"Do you favor a $30,000,000 bond issue to purchase public lands and easements statewide from willing sellers for conservation, water access, outdoor recreation, fish and wildlife habitat and farmland preservation, to be matched by $25,000,000 in private contributions?"

The legal voters of each city, town and plantation shall vote by ballot on this question and designate their choice by a cross or check mark placed within a corresponding square below the word "Yes" or "No." The ballots must be received, sorted, counted and declared in open ward, town and plantation meetings and returns made to the Secretary of State in the same manner as votes for members of the Legislature. The Governor shall review the returns and, if a majority of the legal votes are cast in favor of the Part, the Governor shall proclaim the result without delay, and this Part becomes effective 30 days after the date of the proclamation.

The Secretary of State shall prepare and furnish to each city, town and plantation all ballots, returns and copies of this Part necessary to carry out the purpose of this referendum.

PART B

Sec. B-1. 5 MRSA §6208-A is enacted to read:

§6208-A.__Unorganized territory; county approval

1.__Approval.__Approval by the county commissioners is required if land proposed to be acquired under a bond issue within unorganized territory in a county constitutes more than 1% of the state valuation within the county.

2.__Transactions.__Any acquisition of land within an unorganized territory by eminent domain funded by the board, when the land exceeds either 50 acres or $100,000 in assessed value, must be approved by the county in which the land is located.__ That approval may be obtained either from the county commissioners or, if they do not approve, by referendum of the legal voters within the county.

FISCAL NOTE