2016 Maine Question 4
[2] The Maine Secretary of State's Office announced on February 16, 2016 that organizers had submitted over 75,000 valid signatures to place the question on the ballot.[4] The Bangor Chamber of Commerce announced their competing proposal on February 26, which is to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour by 2020, starting with a $1 increase and then 50¢ a year thereafter until reaching $10.LePage announced that he would support the competing proposal as he viewed it as less harmful to businesses, largely due to maintaining the tip credit.He submitted his own proposal for one on April 5, 2016 at the request of Senate Majority Leader Andre Cushing, which is similar to others that were already rejected by the House.[12] On June 16, 2016, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce filed its objection to the proposed wording of the question that appears on the ballot.They criticized Secretary Dunlap for not including information about the indexing of the minimum wage to inflation after 2024 as well as the elimination of the tip credit.Restaurant owners were also concerned that their costs would go up, forcing them to reduce hours for workers or raise menu prices.