According to this story, the Maine bill to amend the State Constitution to make it more difficult for initiatives to get on the ballot is not likely to pass. It needs two-thirds in each House, and the last procedural vote on the measure, LD 742, showed less than two thirds support. Even if the measure gets two-thirds in each house, it would not go into effect until after the voters had approved it. That vote would be in November 2015. Thanks to Thomas MacMillan for the link.
The minority rule gerrymander oligarchs in ALL 50 States have TOTAL contempt and fear of having Majority Rule by the Electors-Voters.
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
Do bills in the Maine legislature have to have a distribution requirement? It seems to me that if the legislators want a distribution requirement for initiative & referendum petitions, they should have the same requirement for themselves.
It also should be pointed out that it is generally more difficult to collect petition signatures in rural areas than it is in areas that are more densely populated.