An Act Regarding Disclosures Required on Advertising by Candidates
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1362
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: SNOWE-MELLO, COLLINS, GLYNN, HEIDRICH, HOTHAM, MOORE, SHIELDS, TRAHAN
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1014, 21-A MRSA §1125

12lst MAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1362 
H.P.997 
House of Representati ves, March 18, 2003 
An Act Regarding Disclosures Required on Advertising by 
Candidates 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative SNOWE-MELLO of Poland. 
111~ 
1?7.11!d£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: COLLINS of Wells, GLYNN of South Portland, HEIDRICH 
of Oxford, HOTHAM of Dixfield, McKENNEY of Cumberland, MOORE of Standish, 
SHIELDS of Auburn, TRAHAN of Waldoboro. 
Printed on recyc led 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 
communication 
must 
indicate that it is paid for by funds raised by the candidate. 
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, 12-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. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§l1-A is enacted to read: 
II-A. 
Disclosure. 
If a participating candidate finances a 
communication expressly advocating t.he 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 must clearly 
and 
conspicuously 
state 
that 
the 
communication 
has 
been 
authorized by the candidate, the candidate's authorized political 
committee 
or 
their 
agents 
and 
must 
clearly state that 
the 
communication is paid for by taxpayer funds. 
SUMMARY 
This bill clarifies the 
information to be disclosed on 
candidates' advertisements. 
For a candidate participating in the 
Maine Clean Election Act, an advertisement must indicate that it 
.. 
• 
• 
, 
is 
paid 
for 
with 
taxpayer 
funds. 
For 
a 
nonparticipating 
candidate, an advertisement must indicate that it is paid for by 
funds raised by the candidate .