AUGUSTA - The citizens' initiative petition effort to legalize and tax marijuana does not have enough valid signatures of Maine voters to qualify for the 2016 ballot, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said in a news release March 2.

The petitions for "An Act To Legalize Marijuana," which was combined with a similar citizens' initiative effort to legalize marijuana, had been in circulation since April 28, 2015. On Feb. 1, the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions received 20,671 petitions with 99,229 total signatures of those who support the initiative.

The decision can be viewed here: http://www.maine.gov/sos/news/2016/Legalize%20Marijauana%20Decision.pdf

Staff members at the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions completed the process of certifying all of the petitions and have found a maximum of 51,543 valid signatures (subject to checking for duplicates), while 47,686 are not valid, the release said. A minimum of 61,123 valid signatures from registered Maine voters is required in the citizens' initiative process and the effort has failed to meet that threshold.

According to the proposed bill summary, this legislation proposed to legalize the possession, purchase, growth and sale of marijuana to those who are at least 21 years of age, and tax its sale, among other provisions.

Visit http://maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/citizens/index.html to view the proposed legislation in its entirety.

Meanwhile, the citizens' initiative petition effort to establish a fund for the advancement of K-12 education has been found valid, Dunlap said.

The petitions for "An Act To Establish the Fund To Advance Public Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education," had been in circulation since Oct. 19. On Feb. 1, the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions received 19,832 petitions with 88,242 total signatures of those who support the initiative.

Staff  completed the process of certifying all of the petitions and found 66,849 valid signatures, while 21,393 were not valid. A minimum of 61,123 signatures from registered Maine voters is required in the citizens' initiative process, thus the petition has been deemed valid by Dunlap.

The decision can be viewed at: http://www.maine.gov/sos/news/2016/K%2012%20Education%20Fund.pdf

The initiative to establish this K-12 education fund will now go to the Legislature for consideration, per the provisions of the Maine Constitution. The Legislature can choose to enact the bill as written or to send it forward to a statewide vote in November 2016.

According to the proposed bill summary, this legislation seeks to improve the ability of the State to reach the annual target of 55 percent, as specified in statute, for the state share of the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12, and to increase direct support for student learning rather than administrative costs. Visit http://maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/citizens/index.html to view the proposed legislation in its entirety.