A constitutional amendment to give commercial fishermen a break on their taxes for waterfront land is on the ballot next month, and one-time opponents say they now back the plan.

That change of heart is giving a boost to supporters, who were prepared for a fight, but now don’t have an organized adversary.

The amendment, Question 7 on the Nov. 8 ballot, would authorize the Legislature to pass a bill allowing waterfront land used for commercial fishing to be assessed at its current use, rather than its potential value if developed into something else like high-end housing.

A similar but more expansive proposal was defeated in 2000 by just under 4,000 votes. The difference then, some say, was the Maine Municipal Association, representing local governments from across the state, opposed it, but now supports a pared-down version.

Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Hancock, a strong supporter of the amendment, said things have gotten so good on the campaign circuit a planned debate in Portland on the working waterfront question was cancelled.

“I was supposed to be on a TV show to debate this,” Damon said, “but there wasn’t anybody who wanted to argue against it.”

Supporters still aren’t taking anything for granted. They have hired political consultant Dennis Bailey and are trying to get the message out that commercial waterfront – the fisherman’s access to the sea – is about to disappear.

“It’s really at the crisis level,” said Rep. Leila Percy, D-Phippsburg, who worked hard to get the amendment on the ballot. “You have wharves where their valuation is just skyrocketing.”

Geoff Herman of the MMA said his group is supporting the amendment this time around because the definition of what property would be eligible for the tax break has been narrowed.

“We were opposed to the bill that was presented in the year 2000…because the definition was so broad,” Herman said, and could have included inland businesses with thin ties to commercial fishing. It also allowed for tax breaks on structures, not just land.

This time around the amendment refers to waterfront land adjacent to a water body – presumably salt water – and is seen as a small tool that is “better than nothing,” Herman said.

“Something needs to be done,” he said, to try and stop the “unrelenting market pressure on the coast.”

The amendment will force a shift in property taxes, from commercial fishing properties to other landowners, but the scope of that shift will be determined by the enabling legislation.

“Presumably it’s not huge expansive pieces of the shoreline, but rather targeted lots,” Herman said.

Damon said the message he wants to get out is this is not preferential treatment for commercial fishermen.

“We need to get the information out that it’s not going to somehow provide some status that isn’t already available to other types of property,” Damon said, notably farms, open space and tree growth land. All are eligible for tax breaks now.

Percy said she believes the work legislators from the coast have done with rural representatives and the Farm Bureau is paying off.

“The connection is helping inland Maine see how similar our challenges are. We have to have the land or the water to do our business,” Percy said.