AUGUSTA, Maine — The Democrat-led House of Representatives voted unanimously on Thursday to override Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill to reduce taxes and fees on for-hire vehicles that install equipment to serve people with disabilities.
LePage vetoed the bill — LD 48, by Rep. Arthur Verrow, D-Brewer — on Tuesday, saying he would not approve any tax-related bills before the Legislature considers the comprehensive tax overhaul plan in his two-year budget proposal.
“I do not believe it would be appropriate to support targeted exemptions on an isolated basis before the Legislature has acted comprehensively to address the future of all taxes in Maine,” LePage wrote in a memo to legislators.
But the 146 lawmakers who voted to overturn his veto Thursday, including all the members of LePage’s Republican Party, disagreed.
“Things can be added or removed from the budget bill very easily,” said Rep. Stedman Seavey, R-Kennebunkport, on the House floor. “We thought this merited a standalone bill, and it does.”
The bill would cut the state vehicle registration fee in half for for-hire vehicles that install equipment to help them serve people in wheelchairs or with other disabilities. It also allows the owners of those vehicles to subtract the cost of the adaptive equipment from the vehicle’s value when calculating excise tax.
The bill was sent to the Republican-controlled Senate, which will take its own vote on whether to override LePage’s veto on Tuesday.
A two-thirds vote is required to override a governor’s veto. Democrats fell short of that margin on a second veto override vote, which failed 89-57.
That veto was for LD 64, also by Verrow, which would have reduced the length of time to appeal a tax lien foreclosure. Verrow said the bill would have allowed municipalities to more quickly act to sell vacant, dilapidated properties, but LePage nixed the move, saying it unnecessarily limited the rights of individuals to appeal government action.
Follow Mario Moretto on Twitter at @riocarmine.
