“The Constitution says clearly that the people can veto any bill or bills or resolutions, or any other official act of the Legislature that they wish to,” said Ed Schlick head of a new group called the Maine People’s Veto Alliance (MPVA).

It’s called the people’s veto. When the Legislature passes a bill and you don’t like it, the Maine Constitution gives any Maine citizen 90 days from the moment the Legislature goes into recess, to collect 66,000 signatures. If you succeed, the legislation goes before the voters as a ballot referendum.

Recently, the people’ s veto was used to force referendums on a tax repeal measure and gay marriage civil rights bill. In both instances the legislation, already signed by the governor, was overturned by the voters of Maine.

Schlick is a former communications director of the Maine AFL-CIO. His new organization met in February to organize a grass-roots movement to counter the extreme conservative measures of the LePage administration in proposed environmental, labor, and health-care legislation. If some of these measures, like LD 1 which rolls back years of environmental and consumer protection, are signed by LePage, Schlick intends to mobilize MPVA members and other progressive organizations to gather signatures for a people’s veto.

“In extreme times, you want to be able to have a people’s veto, and these are extreme times,” John Carr, president of the Maine Council of Senior Citizens.

With over 61 percent of voters having voted against LePage, MPVA citizen activists feel the new administration does not represent the majority of the people of Maine.

“The citizens of Maine have a long, proud history of taking care of this state,” said Brownie Carson, former executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine.