An Act To Improve Campaign Financing and Reporting and the Administration of the Maine Clean Election Act
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1500
Committee Amendment CA_A_S264 (Senate)
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1014

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT A" to S.P. 518, L.D. 1500, Bill, "An 
Act 
To 
Improve 
Campaign 
Financing 
and 
Reporting 
and 
the 
Administration of the Maine Clean Election Act" 
Amend the bill in section 2 by striking out all of that part 
designated 
"§1009." 
(page 
1, 
lines 
to 
in L.D.) 
and 
inserting in its place the following: 
'§1009. 
Recommendations to Legislature 
Following a 
general election. the commission may solicit 
suggestions for improving campaign financing and reporting and 
the administration of the other areas within the commission's 
jurisdiction. 
The commission shall review the suggestions and 
may submit legislation within 90 days of the general election.' 
Further amend the bill in section 9 
in subsection 5 in 
paragraph A in the 2nd to 6th lines (page 6, lines 36 to 40 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: 
"and is distributed in a 
geographical area where some voters are eligible to vote for at 
least 3 candidates listed. 
The communication may include any 
combination of 3 or more candidates. including candidates for 
federal, state or local office" 
Further amend the bill in section 10 by striking out all of 
subsection 1 (page 7, lines 28 to 49 and page 8, lines 1 and 2 in 
L.D.) and inserting in its place the following: 
'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 
Page l-LR0589(2) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,,~, to S.P. 518, L.D. 1500 
broadcasting stations, newspapers, magazines, outdoor advertising 
facilities, publicly accessible sites on the Internet, 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, 
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.' 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of section 11 and 
inserting in its place the following: 
'Sec. II. 21-A MRSA §1014, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
A. 
Communication. 
If 
a 
communication that 
names 
or 
depicts a clearly identified candidate is disseminated during the 
days 
before 
an election through 
the 
media 
described in 
subsection I, the communication must state the name and address 
of the person who 
made or financed the communication and a 
statement that the communication was or was not authorized by the 
candidate. 
Sec. 12. 21·A MRSA §1014, sub·§S is enacted to read: 
5. 
Automated telephone calls. 
Automated telephone calls 
that name a clearly identified candidate must clearly state the 
name of the person who made or financed the expenditure for the 
communication, except for automated telephone calls paid for by 
the candidate that use the candidate's voice in the telephone 
~' 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of section 20 and 
inserting in its place the following: 
'Sec. 20. 21·A MRSA §1018·B is enacted to read: 
SIOIB B. 
Recounts of elections 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
t.fO, 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT A" to S.P. 518, L.D. 1500 
1. 
Reporting. 
Candidates who are involved in a recount of 
an election shall file 
a 
report 90 
days after the election 
containing itemized accounts of cash, goods and services received 
for the recount and payments 
made by the candidate for the 
recount. 
The reports must be made on forms prepared and sent by 
the commission. 
Persons donating services to the candidate are 
required to provide the candidate with an estimate of the value 
of the services donated. 
Political action committees and party 
committees making expenditures for a candidate's recount shall 
identify on their regularly filed reports that the expenditures 
were made for the purposes of a recount. 
2. 
Limitations. 
Candidates may receive donations without 
limitation for purposes of a recount from party committees and 
caucus campaign committees and from attorneys, consultants and 
their 
firms 
that 
are 
donating 
their 
services 
without 
reimbursement. 
Candidates may not spend revenues received under 
chapter 14 for recount expenditures.' 
Further amend the bill by inserting at the end before the 
summary the following: 
, Sec. 
33. 
Appropriations 
and 
allocations. 
appropriations and allocations are made. 
ETHICS AND ELECTION PRACTICES, 
COMMISSION ON GOVERNMENTAL 
Governmenta1 Ethics and E1ection 
Practices, Commission on 
0414 
The 
following 
Initiative: 
Deallocates 
to 
reflect savings 
realized 
through 
on-line data entry. 
O'.mER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
All Other 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL 
2005-06 
($7,500) 
($7,500) 
2006-07 
($7,500) 
($7,500)' 
Further amend the 
nonconsecutive 
Part 
consecutively. 
bill by relettering 
letter 
or 
section 
or renumbering any 
number 
to 
read 
SUMMARY 
This 
amendment 
strikes 
from 
the 
definition 
of 
"party 
candidate 
listing" 
that 
the 
listing is 
distributed 
in 
the 
geographical area where voters would vote for the candidates 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT A .. to S.P. 518, L.D. 1500 
listed. 
It adds publicly accessible sites on the Internet to the 
list of media through which communications are distributed. 
It 
requires disclosure of the name and address of a person who made 
or paid for 
a 
communication that names or clearly depicts a 
candidate in the 21 days preceding an election. 
The amendment 
clarifies that automated telephone calls paid for by a candidate 
that 
use 
the 
candidate's voice 
do 
not 
require 
a 
statement 
indicating who 
paid for 
the 
telephone call. 
The 
amendment 
strikes the extension from 21 days to 30 days in the provision in 
current law that states that any communication that clearly names 
or depicts a candidate in a race involving a Maine Clean Election 
Act 
candidate disseminated 
days prior to an election is 
considered 
a 
contribution and 
triggers matching 
funds. 
The 
amendment also permits the acceptance of contributions to pay for 
a 
candidate's election recount and provides for reporting of 
contributions and expenditures with regard to recounts. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/19/05 ~aC!-
LD 1500 
LR0589(02) 
An Act To Improve Campaign Financing and Reporting and the Administration of the Maine Clean 
Election Act 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "A 
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs 
Appropriations/Allocations 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
2005-06 
($7,500) 
2006-07 
($7,500) 
Projections 
2007-08 
($7,500) 
Projections 
2008-09 
($7,500) 
Beginning in fiscal year 2005-06, the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices will realize an 
estimated $7,500 in annual Other Special Revenue Funds savings from the on-line entry of required candidate 
information formerly accomplished by temporary help employed by the commission. 
LR0589(2) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1