An Act to Strengthen the Governmental Ethics Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1336
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: CANAVAN, GAGNON, DUDLEY, DUPLESSIE, LERMAN
Amends: 1 MRSA §1012, 1 MRSA §1015, 1 MRSA §1016-A, 1 MRSA §1017

Legislative Document 
No. 1336 
H.P.981 
House of Representatives, March 12,2003 
An Act to Strengthen the Governmental Ethics Laws 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative CANAVAN of Waterville. 
Cosponsored by Senator GAGNON of Kennebec and 
Jrl~1J7.~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: DUDLEY of Portland, DUPLESSIE of Westbrook, LERMAN of Augusta. 
Primed on recycled raper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 1 MRSA §1012, sub-§I-A is enacted to read: 
I-A. 
Associated organization. 
"Associated organization" 
means any organization in which a Legislator or a member of the 
Legislator's immediate family is a director, officer or trustee, 
or owns or controls, directly or indirectly, and severally or in 
the aggregate, at least 10% of the outstanding equity.~ 
Sec. 2. 1 MRSA §1015, sub-§4 is enacted to read: 
4. 
Contract with a governmental agency or department. 
A 
Legislator and associated organization may not enter with a state 
governmental agency into any contract that is to be paid in whole 
or in part out of governmental funds, 
when such a contract is 
normally 
awarded 
through 
a 
process 
of 
public 
notice 
and 
competitive bidding, unless the contract has been awarded through 
a process of public notice and competitive bidding. 
Sec.3. 1 MRSA §1016-A, sub-§§8 and 9 are enacted to read: 
8. 
Organization affiliations. 
A Legislator shall disclose 
the identity of every associated organization with which the 
Legislator is associated 
and the 
nature of 
the Legislator's 
association with the organization, except that no identification 
need be made of: 
A. 
Any 
associated 
organization 
that 
is 
organized 
and 
operated primarily to 
influence 
voting at 
an 
election, 
including 
support 
for 
or 
opposition 
to 
an 
individual's 
present or 
future 
candidacy or 
to 
a 
present or 
future 
referendum campaign: or 
B. 
Any nonprofit associated organization that is formed 
exclusively for social purposes and any nonprofit community 
service associated organization, if the Legislator receives 
no 
reimbursement or other payment 
from 
the organization 
except for travel expenses. 
9. 
Disclosure of real property. 
The 
Legislator 
shall 
disclose the real property located in this State in which the 
Legislator 
or 
the 
Legislator's 
immediate 
family 
holds 
an 
interest, other than the principal residence of the Legislator or 
the Legislator's immediate family, and the nature of the interest 
held. 
A Legislator's interests in real property do not include a 
proportional 
share 
of 
interests 
in 
real 
property 
if 
the 
individual's 
proportional 
share 
is 
less 
than 
10"0 
of 
the 
outstanding shares or is less than an equity value of $5,000. 
Page l-LR1268(1) 
Sec. 4. 1 MRSA §1017.A is enacted to read: 
l017-A. 
Civil penalties; late and incomplete statements; 
~ailure to file 
A Legislator who fails to file a statement in accordance 
with this subchapter may be assessed a forfeiture of $10 for each 
business day the statement is filed late. 
A statement is not 
deemed filed unless it substantially conforms to the requirements 
of this subchapter and is properly signed. 
The commission shall 
determine 
whether 
a 
statement 
substantially 
conforms 
to 
the 
requirements of this subchapter. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
requires 
a 
Legislator 
to 
disclose 
all 
organizations 
in 
which 
the 
Legislator 
or 
a 
member 
of 
the 
Legislator's immediate family is associated through ownership or 
service. 
The bill prohibits 
a 
Legislator 
from bypassing the 
bidding process when entering into a contract with a governmental 
agency or department. 
The bill also establishes a forfeiture of 
$10 for each business day that a statement is late or incomplete.