The state of Maine is looking seriously at amending a voter-approved ballot initiative that mandates an additional 3% surcharge from those with incomes over $200,000, an oxymoronic version of a “millionaire’s tax”. Anyway, already in this legislative session, five bills have been filed to amend the narrowly-approved measure and those bills, which run the gamut from tweaking the law to outright repeal, were the subject of a legislative hearing this past Monday. The surcharge is to be used to fund education costs throughout the state. Regardless of the costs, overturning a voter-approved measure is a tall order, even with the support of the state’s governor, but we’ll keep an eye on any movement. In Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love is paying for pre-kindergarten, parks and community programs on the backs of soda consumers via the city’s 1.5 cent per once soda tax. And city officials couldn’t be happier with February receipts from the new tax again exceeding city projections. Last month, the soda tax brought in $6.4 million against $6.3 million projected. January receipts more than doubled the $2.3 million the city had planned on collecting.