Nearly 60 percent of Portland voters supported a measure Tuesday allowing local emergency wage provisions to go into effect only when a state of emergency is declared by the City, as opposed to when one is called by state, as is currently the case.
In addition to this, 67 percent of voters also approved changes to the City’s registration requirements for short-term rental units that are now set to go into effect on September 1, 2025.
The petition behind the emergency wage amendment was sent to City in May of this year by a group of citizens, officially constituting the “Petitioners’ Committee.” Shortly thereafter, a Ballot Question Committee (BQC) by the name of Keep It Local Portland was registered in support of the proposal under the same address.
BQCs are official organizations that spend or receive over $5,000 to affect a local referendum and must file reports on their financial activities.
Whenever Portland’s emergency wage provisions are triggered, the minimum wage is increased by 1.5 times the normal rate.
According to the Keep It Local Portland website, “the impact of [a state-level declaration] where Portland has no input is that many small businesses shut down, and a whole bunch of workers are out of work.”
Opposing the amendment was the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which had previously been responsible for bringing a hazard pay ordinance to voters in 2020.
The Portland Press Herald reported that former mayor and DSA member Ethan Strimling had previously framed the amendment as “an attempt to gut hazard pay,” reportedly spending about $2,000 opposing the proposal.
“Many workers here don’t live in Portland and have to commute from Saco or Brunswick or Fryeburg. People come a long way to work in Portland,” Strimling told the outlet. “If flooding is impacting nearby communities, it is impacting Portland workers.”
[RELATED: These Two Questions Are On the Ballot in Portland This November]
The second question on the ballot asked voters if they wanted to amend the City’s registration requirements for short-term rental units, which are defined in Portland as units available to rent for a period of less than thirty days.
Owner-occupied rentals will now need to provide both a form of identification and proof of homestead exemption, as opposed to one or the other as is currently required. If the owner is not eligible for the homestead exemption, a copy of the owner’s most recent tax return with financial information redacted must be provided instead.
The proposal will also require short term rentals on Peaks Island to specify and verify whether the unit is seasonal or year-round.
According to the note at the end of the proposed ordinance, the City Council will have the authority — “notwithstanding the limitation on the repeal or amendment of ordinances set forth in Portland City Code” — to amend or repeal the ordinance without approval at the ballot box from residents.
Although these two questions were the only ones to make the final cut and appear on the version of the City’s ballot given to voters this election cycle, these were not the only proposals under consideration in the months leading up to Tuesday’s vote.
Earlier this year, members of the Portland City Council voted against including two additional wage-related proposals on the 2024 ballot. The first would have raised the city’s minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2028, while the other would have eliminated the tip credit.
[RELATED: Minimum Wage Hike, Tip Credit Elimination Will Not Appear on the Ballot in Portland]
The second of these two propositions was already rejected by 61 percent of Portland voters at the ballot box just two years ago.
The tip credit is a policy that allows businesses to pay employees below minimum wage so long as they make enough in tips to at least close the gap.
Makes sense since with the crime, shooting, drugs and general lawless every day could be considered an emergency in Portland.