An Act To Allow County Candidates To Run as Clean Election Candidates
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1283
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: HATCH, TWOMEY, BRYANT, STANLEY, GERZOFSKY, HUTTON
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1122, 21-A MRSA §1123, 21-A MRSA §1124, 21-A MRSA §1125

Legislative Document 
No. 1283 
S.P.414 
In Senate, March Ii, 2003 
An Act To Allow County Candidates To Run as Clean Election 
Candidates 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator HATCH of Somerset. 
Cosponsored by Representative TWOMEY of Biddeford and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senators: BRYANT of Oxford, STANLEY of Penobscot, Representatives: GERZOFSKY of 
Brunswick, HATCH of Skowhegan, HUTTON of Bowdoinham. 
PnntcJ \111 rt'cyckJ r.lper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§§l, 5 and 6, as enacted by IB 
1995, c. 1, §17, are amended to read: 
1. 
Certified candidate. 
"Certified candidate" 
means 
a 
candidate 
running 
for 
Governor, 
State 
Senator 
e~L 
State 
Representative or county office who chooses to participate in the 
Maine Clean Election Act and who is certified as a Maine Clean 
Election Act candidate under section 1125, subsection 5. 
5. 
Nonparticipating 
candidate. 
"Nonparticipating 
candidate" means a candidate running for Governor, State Senator 
e~L State Representative or county office who does not choose to 
participate in the Maine Clean Election Act 
and who 
is not 
seeking to be certified as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate 
under section 1125, subsection 5. 
6. 
Participating 
candidate. 
"Participating 
candidate" 
means a candidate who is running for Governor, State Senator e~L 
State Representative or 
county office 
who 
is 
seeking to 
be 
certified as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate under section 
1125, subsection 5. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§8, ~B, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
465, §3, is further amended to read: 
B. 
For State Senate 
e~L State House of Representatives or 
county 
participating 
candidates, 
the 
qualifying 
period 
begins January 1st of the election year and ends at 5: 00 
p.m. 
on 
April 
15th 
of 
that 
election 
year 
unless 
the 
candidate is unenrolled, in which case the period ends at 
5:00 p.m. on June 2nd of the election year. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1123, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is 
amended to read: 
§1123. Alternative campaign financing option 
This chapter establishes an alternative campaign financing 
option 
available 
to 
candidates 
running 
for 
Governor, 
State 
Senator 
aBeL 
State 
Representative 
and 
county 
office. 
This 
alternative campaign financing option is available to candidates 
for 
elections to be 
held beginning in the 
year 
2000. 
The 
commission shall administer this Act and the fund. 
Candidates 
participating in the Maine Clean Election Act must also comply 
with 
all 
other 
applicable 
election 
and 
campaign 
laws 
and 
regulations. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1124, sub-§l, as enacted by IB 1995, c. l, 
§17, is amended to read: 
1. 
Established. 
The 
Maine 
Clean 
Election 
Fund 
is 
established to finance the election campaigns of certified Maine 
Clean Election Act candidates running for Governor, State Senator 
aHaL 
State 
Representative 
and 
county 
office 
and 
to 
pay 
administrative and enforcement costs of the commission related to 
this Act. 
The fund is a special, dedicated, nonlapsing fund and 
any interest generated by the fund is credited to the fund. 
The 
commission shall administer the fund. 
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2, 1[1[B and C, as enacted by IB 
1995, c. 1, §17, are amended to read: 
B. 
One thousand five hundred dollars for a candidate for 
the State Senate; 9~ 
C. 
Five hundred dollars for a candidate for the State House 
of RepresentativesT~ 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRS A §1125, sub-§2, 1[D is enacted to read: 
D. 
Two 
hundred fifty dollars for a 
candidate for county 
office. 
Sec. 7. 21-A MRS A §1125, sub-§3, 1[1[B and C, as enacted by I8 
1995, c. 1, §17, are amended to read: 
B. 
For 
a 
candidate for the State Senate, 
at least 150 
verified registered voters 
from the candidate's electoral 
division 
must 
support 
the 
candidacy 
by 
providing 
a 
qualifying contribution to that candidate; 
9~ 
C. 
For a candidate for the State House of Representatives, 
at least 50 verified registered voters from the candidate's 
electoral division must support the candidacy by providing a 
qualifying contribution to that candidateT~ 
Sec. 8. 21-A MRS A §1125, sub-§3, 1[D is enacted to read: 
D. 
For a candidate for county office, at least 25 verified 
registered voters 
from the candidate's electoral division 
must 
support 
the 
candidacy 
by 
providing 
a 
qualifying 
contributioQ to that candidate. 
Sec. 9. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§8, 1[1[A to C, as enacted by IB 
1995, c. 1, §17, are amended to read: 
A. 
For contested primary elections, the amount of revenues 
to 
be 
distributed 
is 
the 
average 
amount 
of 
campaign 
expenditures made 
by each candidate during all contested 
primary election 
races 
for 
the 
immediately 
preceding 
primary elections as reported in the initial filing period 
subsequent 
to 
the 
primary 
election 
for 
the 
respective 
offices 
of 
Governor, 
State 
Senate 
aasL 
State 
House 
of 
Representatives and county office. 
B. 
For 
uncontested 
primary 
elections, 
the 
amount 
of 
revenues 
distributed is 
the 
average 
amount 
of 
campaign 
expenditures made by each candidate during all uncontested 
primary election races, 
or 
for 
contested races if that 
amount is lower, 
for the immediately preceding 2 primary 
elections 
as 
reported 
in 
the 
initial 
filing 
period 
subsequent 
to 
the 
primary 
election 
for 
the 
respective 
offices 
of 
Governor, 
State 
Senate 
aasL 
State 
House 
of 
Representatives and county office. 
c. 
For contested general elections, the amount of revenues 
distributed is the average amount of campaign expenditures 
made by each candidate during all contested general election 
races for the immediately preceding 2 general elections as 
reported in the initial filing period subsequent to the 
general election for 
the 
respective offices of Governor, 
State Senate aasL 
State House of Representatives and county 
office. 
Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§13, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 
1, §17, is amended to read: 
13. 
Distributions 
not 
to 
exceed 
amount 
in 
fund. 
The 
commission may not distribute revenues to certified candidates in 
excess of the total amount of money deposited in the fund as set 
forth in section 1124. 
Notwithstanding any other provisions of 
this chapter, if the commission determines that the revenues in 
the fund are insufficient to meet distributions under subsections 
or 9, the commission may permit certified candidates to accept 
and spend contributions, reduced by any seed money contributions, 
aggregating 
no 
more 
than 
$500 
per 
donor 
per 
election 
for 
gubernatorial candidates and 
$250 
per 
donor per election for 
State Senate aasL 
State House and county office candidates, up to 
the applicable amounts set forth in subsections 8 and 9 according 
to rules adopted by the commission. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows candidates for county office to run as 
participating candidates under the Maine Clean Election Act.