An Act To Change the Maine Clean Election Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1254
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: CLARK, STANLEY, BLANCHETTE, BULL, CLOUGH, GOODWIN, JODREY, WHEELER, MAYO
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1014, 21-A MRSA §1055

Legislative Document 
No. 1254 
H.P.928 
House of Representatives, March 6, 2003 
An Act To Change the Maine Clean Election Laws 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative CLARK of Millinocket. 
Cosponsored by Senator STANLEY of Penobscot and 
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111.1/Ju:~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BLANCHETTE of Bangor, BULL of Freeport, CLOUGH of Scarborough, 
GOODWIN of Pembroke, JODREY of Bethel, WHEELER of Kittery, Senator: MAYO of 
Sagadahoc. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1014, sub-§I, as amended by PL 1991, c. 
839, §8, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Authorized by candidate. 
Whenever a person makes an 
expenditure to finance a communication expressly advocating the 
election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate through 
broadcasting stations, newspapers, magazines, outdoor advertising 
facilities, direct mails or other similar types of general public 
political 
advertising 
or 
through 
flyers, 
handbills, 
bumper 
stickers and other nonperiodical publications, the communication, 
if authorized by a candidate, a candidate's authorized political 
committee or their agents, must clearly and conspicuously state 
that the communication has been so authorized and must clearly 
state the name and address of the person who made or financed the 
expenditure 
for 
the 
communication. 
The 
following 
forms 
of 
political communication do not require the name and address of 
the 
person who 
made 
or 
authorized the 
expenditure 
for 
the 
communication because the name or address would be so small as to 
be illegible or infeasible: ashtrays, badges and badge holders, 
balloons, 
campaign buttons, 
clothing, 
coasters, 
combs, 
emery 
boards, envelopes, erasers, glasses, key rings, letter openers, 
matchbooks, 
nail files, 
noisemakers, 
paper 
and plastic cups, 
pencils, 
pens, 
plastic tableware, 
l2-inch or shorter rulers, 
swizzle 
sticks, 
tickets 
to 
fund-raisers 
and 
similar 
items 
determined by the commission to be too small and unnecessary for 
the disclosures required by this section. 
In an election in 
which there is no candidate who is not certified under chapter 
14. a person other than a candidate or a candidate's authorized 
political committee may not make a communication by mail for or 
against a candidate. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1014, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 
161, §6, is amended to read: 
2. 
Rot authorized by candidate. 
If the 
communication 
described in subsection 1 is not authorized by a candidate, a 
candidate's authorized political committee or their agents, the 
communication must clearly and 
conspicuously state that the 
communication is not authorized by any candidate and state the 
name 
and 
address 
of 
the 
person 
who 
made 
or 
financed 
the 
expenditure for the communication. 
In an election in which there 
is no candidate who is not certified under chapter 14. a person 
other than a 
candidate or a candidate's authorized political 
committee may not make a communication by mail for or against a 
candidate. 
Sec.3. 21-A MRS A §1019, sub-§4 is enacted to read: 
Page l-LR0175(1) 
.. 
4. 
Restrictions. 
In an election in which there is no 
candidate who is not certified under chapter 14, a person other 
than a candidate or a candidate's authorized political committee 
may not make an expenditure for a communication sent by mail for 
or against a candidate. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1055, as amended by PL 2001, c. 430, §9, 
is further amended by adding a new 3rd paragraph to read: 
In an election in which there is no candidate who is not 
certified under chapter 14, a political action committee may not 
send a communication by mail for or against a candidate. 
SUMMARY 
This bill prohibits anyone other than a 
candidate or a 
candidate's authorized political committee from sending political 
communications by mail either for or against a candidate if all 
of the candidates in the election are certified candidates under 
the Maine Clean Election Act.