As noted in the Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel
The vote is so close in the Senate, some are saying that it will be best to send it directly to voters without requiring lawmakers to take a position on the bill.
Unfortunately, if that happens it could be DejaVu, California-style, all over again:
And, judging by a recent poll, it would be a very close vote.
Earlier this week, a poll released by Pan Atlantic SMS Group of Portland showed 49.5 percent oppose changing state law to allow "any two persons regardless of sex" to be married. There were 47.3 percent who supported it and 3.3 percent who were undecided.
That's too close to call, but if California is any guide (where the polling at the end was neck-and-neck), without a very strong get-out-the-vote campaign Maine, like California, could well reject equal marriage rights by a slim margin.
The article strongly implies that the Maine Legislature has the option to send the issue directly to a referendum without voting on it. I can't find anything in the Maine Constitution that supports this directly.
It is true that if the bill was sent to the Legislature by the people of Maine (something they are allowed to do following procedures set forth in their Constitution) and if the Legislature votes it down or amends it in any way, then the people get to vote on the bill in a referendum.
So it could be that this bill was in fact received by the Legislature in this manner, although I thought it had been introduced by a member of the Legislature, as per this article from three days ago
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A public hearing on allowing gay marriage in Maine has opened with a standing ovation for the bill's sponsor.
Sen. Dennis Damon received a roar of approval at a crowded hearing Wednesday when he said the time has come to recognize same-sex marriages.
It is also true that any bill passed by the Maine Legislature is subject to a people's veto, and again I quote from the Sentinal:
Sen. Peter Mills, R-Cornville, said he would prefer letting voters decide the issue. He said if it passes, it will likely be put on a ballot by a people's veto, so it would be better to send it directly to voters.
A people's veto means that if enough signatures are collected (10% of those who voted in the last Gubernatorial election) opposing a law the Legislature has passed, it's effect would be rendered inoperative until it was voted on in a referendum.
If a vote does take place in the legislature, when will it happen?
House Speaker Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, a co-sponsor of the bill, said she expects the legislation to follow the normal course that any bill would take. That means that after Tuesday's committee vote, it will take about a week for it to get to the Senate.
After that, votes would likely be taken in both chambers by mid-May, she said.
If a vote takes place in the Legislature and if fails, it's not clear to me whether the issue would be put to the people of Maine. But if a vote does not take place, or equal marriage rights succeeds, then it seems clear that a referendum will take place in the not-too-distant future.