A final push for a $45 million agriculture bond was still not quite enough to get the legislation past the finish line and on the November ballot. Instead, the bond is stuck between chambers as the Maine Legislature ends the session.

The proposal to invest in agriculture, farming and forestry programs has failed numerous attempts to get enough lawmakers on board to put the question to voters. 

Supporters tried a late maneuver Tuesday afternoon, attaching the language to another bill, LD 299, originally written for separate funding for agriculture programs. Ultimately, the Senate was able to reach the necessary two-thirds majority late Tuesday night, but the House of Representatives again voted down enactment. 

That leaves the bond in limbo, likely to fail, unless lawmakers decide to take it up April 29, during so-called “veto day,” when the Legislature reconvenes to vote on whether to sustain or override the governor’s vetoes after statutory adjournment.

“We can stand on principle unhappiness with the legislative process, money being spent elsewhere,” said Sen. Rick Bennett (I-Oxford) before the Senate vote. “We can stand on that and say no, or we can trust the people of Maine to make that decision. We can give them the opportunity to weigh in, to consider the stakes and to say yes to investing in their communities, their economy and their future.”

The bill passed in the Senate with bipartisan support in a 29-6 vote, the strongest roll call in support of the bond in recent weeks. 

But it faced an uphill battle in the House.

“This has become a franken-bond,” said Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor). “It keeps gaining new life, like a zombie.”

Rep. Bill Pleucker (I-Warren), the bill sponsor, again emphasized to his colleagues in the House how many farms in Maine are on the brink of failure. Explaining why he was continuing to push for the bond, he said such stubbornness is part of farming.

“It’s absurd to watch day after day, trust in the fact you’re putting a seed in the earth that’s going to grow and nourish you and your family and your community and somehow build prosperity for this state,” he said. “And that’s what’s absurd, and that’s what happens when you come out here and you elect a farmer to fight for farmers. We do absurd things, and we don’t give up and we bring the bill back again, and that’s what we’re facing.” 

And while the bill got initial passage with an 87-53 roll call, it failed to reach a two-thirds majority for enactment, falling short with a 90-55 roll call just before 10 p.m.

It’s not clear if the Legislature would return to the bond at the end of the month. The Senate could also return to the original bond bill, LD 2094, which is currently sitting in unfinished business. 

If the bond is able to get the needed two-thirds in the House for enactment, it would then go before voters in November for approval.