AUGUSTA  — On Friday, proponents of a bill that would provide home care for the elderly and those with disabilities submitted the necessary signatures to the Department of the Secretary of State to get the proposal on the November ballot.

The department’s Elections Division has until Feb. 26 to certify the signatures and determine if there are enough valid signatures to qualify the question to appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.

If passed, the proposal would establish the Universal Homecare Program to provide to people with disabilities and those 65 years or older who require help with daily living in-home care and support services without regard to income 

The program would be funded by a new tax of 3.8 percent on income and wages that exceed the maximum wages subject to Social Security employment taxes. “Right now, if someone makes more than $127,000 a year, they don’t have to pay the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax on that extra income.

This referendum will tax income above that amount at 1.9 percent in order to fully fund home care for everyone who needs it in Maine,” Miri Lyons of Boothbay Harbor said on Friday at an event at the State House. She was among the group that gathered to announce they had submitted more than 67,000 signatures supporting getting the homecare bill on the ballot.

 “We all know the problem,” said Lyons, a former homecare worker and a family caregiver for a child with a disability, who was the lead speaker at the event. “In our rapidly-aging state, too many seniors are being forced from their homes and too many people with disabilities can’t get the care they need. Home care for all will fix that. It’s a guarantee that if you need help staying in your home, you can get it.”

The proposal also includes measures to assist family caregivers and make homecare a more attractive career, including higher wages and greater professionalization, according to a press release on the issue.

“I work full time and make eleven dollars and fifty cents an hour. Starting pay at my company is minimum wage. I rely on food stamps and Section Eight to keep my son fed and housed,” said Maddie Hart, a home care worker from Auburn. “My work is challenging, dangerous, and skilled. Homecare workers deserve to be paid enough to support our families. This referendum will help get us there.”

A Biddeford woman spoke on Friday to say why she supported the proposal.

“My husband Roland was diagnosed six years ago with Alzheimer’s at the age of 57. That one cruel twist of fate has changed the path of our lives forever,” said Debbie Bourque.

“From the very beginning, I knew in my heart that I wanted to keep Roland home with me until he succumbed to the disease,” she said. “But I could never have imagined how difficult this journey would be.”

She is looking for options for long term care for her husband because it is too difficult to care for him, Bourque said.

“To have someone come into my home to be with Roland while I work and do errands would be wonderful,” she said. “It would mean he gets the care he needs and allows me to continue to work and contribute as well.”

A senior from Limington supports the proposal and gathered signatures for the initiative. “I will always be grateful to the caregivers who helped me to care for my mother in the last years of her life,” said Bonnie Laughlin. “We need more caregivers and more options for Maine seniors to get their care at home.”

If the Department of the Secretary of State validates the signatures, the initiative would go before the Legislature. Legislators may choose to adopt it as law or send it to a public vote.

— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324, or dmendros@journaltribune.com.