AUGUSTA -- Whether voters will be asked to repeal a law that makes major changes to the state tax code will be decided in the coming weeks, as two lawsuits make their way through the court system.

On Tuesday, Charles L. "Wick" Johnson III, of Hallowell, filed suit against Secretary of State Matt Dunlap to challenge his decision to certify people's veto petitions. The lawsuit alleges Dunlap made mistakes when he ruled Still Fed Up With Taxes had 56,107 valid signatures to call for a June vote on a new tax law.

Dunlap will be represented by the Office of the Attorney General, spokeswoman Kate Simmons said.

"The Secretary of State feels he acted within his authority and did a thorough and complete review of the signatures, and his decision to put this on the ballot should stand," Simmons said.

Although the Johnson lawsuit could play out several ways, a final determination is expected by Dec. 24, Simmons said.

A second suit, filed earlier this month, alleges that Dunlap lost his authority to certify the signatures when he missed the 30-day deadline to complete the work.

Dan Billings, a Waterville attorney representing Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster, said he believes the two suits against Dunlap should be heard together.

"If we're correct, the secretary's decision and (Johnson's) appeal are moot," Billings said. "There should be no appeal."

Billings contends that because Dunlap missed the deadline, the issue should go directly to voters.

The law at the center of the controversy makes major changes to the state's tax structure.

With Democratic support, Gov. John Baldacci signed a law in June that lowers the top marginal income tax rate from 8.5 to 6.5 percent for those making less than $250,000. It creates a second tier at 6.85 percent for those who make more than $250,000.

In addition, it eliminates deductions and exemptions by replacing them with a credit system that Maine Revenue Services estimates will lower the income tax for 95 percent of Mainers.

On the other side of the ledger, the law expands the sales tax to dozens of additional goods and services, such as car repairs and movie tickets. It increases the meals and lodging tax and taxes on candy, prepared food, rental cars and liquor served on-premises.

Republicans who opposed the plan launched a people's veto over the summer and turned in signatures in September to call for a June vote.

When it comes to the signatures, Billings said that, if the process is questioned by Johnson's attorneys, he then will question other signatures he believes were erroneously discarded.

When he announced his decision certifying the signatures, Dunlap threw out 14,928 signatures as invalid for a variety of reasons:

* 8,774 signatures were invalid because they were not certified by the registrar as belonging to a registered voter;

* 3,380 were invalid because the circulator's oath was not complete or not administered properly;

* 1,315 were duplicates; and

* 638 were crossed out on the petition.

Despite those invalidations, the group had 1,020 signatures above the number required to call for a people's veto vote.

Attorney John Paterson of Bernstein Shur in Portland, who is representing Johnson, said a review shows that Dunlap should have thrown out "an extensive number" of signatures beyond those already invalidated.

He said they have found at least one signature from a deceased voter, and whole pages of signatures that were circulated by people who are not registered Maine voters.

In addition, the suit questions whether a notary who signed the petitions properly notified the state of a name change, as required by law.

When asked whether 1,021 additional signatures are invalid -- the number required to keep the question off the June ballot -- Paterson said, "We think they missed more than that."