An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Study Alternative Voting Procedures, the Citizen Initiative Process and Minor Party Ballot Access
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 2029
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1012, 21-A MRSA §1052, 21-A MRSA §1058, 21-A MRSA §1060

Legislative Document 
No. 2029 
S.P.780 
In Senate, February 24, 2006 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To 
Study Alternative Voting Procedures, the Citizen Initiative Process 
and Minor Party Ballot Access 
Reported by Senator GAGNON of Kennebec for the Commission To Study Alternative 
Voting Procedures, the Citizen Initiative Process and Minor Party Ballot Access pursuant to 
Resolve 2005, chapter 127, section 9. 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed 
under Joint Rule 218. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1012, sub-§3, ,A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 
615, §l, is further amended to read: 
A. 
Includes: 
(1) 
A purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, 
deposit or gift of money or anything of value made for 
the purpose of influencing the nomination or election 
of any person to political office, except that a loan 
of money to a candidate by a financial institution in 
this State made in accordance with applicable banking 
laws 
and regulations and in the ordinary course of 
business is not included; 
(2) 
A contract, 
implied, whether 
any expenditure; 
promise or agreement, 
expressed or 
or not legally enforceable, to make 
(3) 
The 
transfer 
political committee 
committee; and 
of 
funds 
by 
a 
candidate 
or 
a 
to another candidate or political 
(4) 
A payment or promise of 
payment to 
a 
person 
contracted with 
for 
the 
purpose 
of 
supporting 
or 
opposing any candidate, campaign, political committee, 
political action committee, political party, referendum 
or 
initiated petition 
or 
circulating 
an 
initiated 
petition; and 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1052, sub-§3, 1fC, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 
161, §6, is amended to read: 
C. 
Any funds received by a political action committee whieh 
~ 
are to be transferred to any candidate, 
committee, 
campaign 
or 
organization for 
the 
purpose 
of 
promoting, 
defeating or initiating a candidate, referendum, political 
party or initiative. including the collection of signatures 
for a direct initiative, in this State; or 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRS A §1052, sub-§4, 1fA, as amended by PL 1997, c. 
4.6 
683, Pt. A, §12, is further amended to read: 
A. 
Includes: 
(1) 
A purchase, payment, distribution, loan, 
deposit or gift of money or anything of value, 
the purpose of influencing the nomination or 
of 
any 
person 
to 
political 
office; 
or 
Page l-LR3l23(l) 
advance, 
made for 
election 
for 
the 
initiation, support or defeat of a campaign, referendum 
or initiative, including the collection of signatures 
for a direct initiative, in this State; 
(2) 
A contract, 
implied, whether 
any expenditure 
paragraph; and 
promise or agreement, 
expressed or 
or not legally enforceable, to make 
for the purposes set forth in this 
(3) 
The 
transfer 
of 
funds 
committee to another candidate 
and 
by 
or 
a 
political action 
political committee; 
Sec. 4. 21·A MRSA §1052, sub·§5, ,A, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
729, §6, is further amended to read: 
A. 
Includes: 
(1) 
Any separate or segregated fund established by any 
corporation, 
membership 
organization, 
cooperative 
or 
labor organization whose purpose is to influence the 
outcome 
of 
an 
election, 
including 
a 
candidate 
or 
question: 
(2) 
Any person who serves as a funding and transfer 
mechanism 
and 
spends 
money 
to 
initiate, 
advance, 
promote, defeat or influence in any way a candidate, 
campaign, 
political 
party, 
referendum 
or 
initiated 
petition in this State; 
(3) 
Any 
organization, 
including any corporation or 
association, that has as its major purpose advocating 
the passage or defeat of a ballot question and that 
makes 
expenditures other than by contribution to 
a 
political action committee, 
for 
the purpose of the 
initiation, promotion or defeat of any question; and 
(4) 
Any organization, 
including any corporation or 
association, that has as its major purpose advocating 
the passage or defeat of a ballot question and that 
solicits funds 
from members or nonmembers and spends 
more 
than 
$1,500 
in 
a 
calendar 
year 
to 
initiate, 
advance, 
promote, 
defeat or influence in any way 
a 
candidate, 
campaign, 
political party, 
referendum 
or 
initiated 
petition, 
including 
the 
collection 
of 
signatures for a direct initiative, in this State; and 
Sec. 5. 21·A MRSA §1053, first" 
as amended by PL 1999, c. 
729, §7, is further amended to read: 
Every political action committee that accepts contributions, 
incurs obligations or makes expenditures in the aggregate in 
excess 
of 
$1,500 
in 
any 
single 
calendar 
year 
to initiate, 
support, defeat or influence in any way a campaign, referendum, 
initiated petition, including the collection of signatures for a 
direct initiative, 
candidate, 
political 
committee 
or 
another 
political action committee must register with the commission, 
within 7 days of accepting those contributions, incurring those 
obligations or making those expenditures, on forms prescribed by 
the 
commission. 
These 
forms 
must 
include 
the 
following 
information and any additional information reasonably required by 
the commission to monitor the activities of political action 
committees in this State under this subchapter: 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §1058, as amended by PL 1997, c. 567, §l, 
is further amended to read: 
SlOS8. 
Reports; qualifications for filing 
A political action committee that is registered with the 
commission or that accepts contributions or incurs obligations in 
an aggregate amount in excess of $50 on anyone or more campaigns 
for the office of Governor, for state or county office or for the 
support or defeat of a referendum or initiated petition shall 
file 
a 
report on its activities in that campaign with the 
commission on forms as prescribed by the commission. 
A political 
action committee organized in this State required under this 
section to file a report shall file the report for each filing 
period 
under 
section 
1059. 
A 
political 
action 
committee 
organized outside this State shall file with the Commission on 
Governmental Ethics and Election Practices of this State a copy 
of the report that the political action committee is required to 
file in the state in which the political action committee is 
organized. 
The political action committee shall file the copy 
only if it has expended funds or received contributions or made 
expenditures in this State. 
The copy of the report must be filed 
in accordance with the schedule of filing in the state where it 
is organized. 
If contributions or expenditures are made relating 
to a municipal office or referendum, the report must be filed 
with the clerk in the subject municipality. 
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Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §1060, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2005, c. 
301, §27, is further amended to read: 
4. 
Itemized 
expenditures. 
An 
itemization 
of 
each 
expenditure made to support or oppose any candidate, campaign, 
political committee, political action committee, political party, 
referendum or initiated petition, including the date, payee and 
purpose of the expenditure and the address of the payee. 
If 
expendi tures were made to a person described in section 1012, 
subsection 3, paragraph A, 
subparagraph (4), 
the report must 
contain the name of the person; the amount spent by that person 
on 
behalf 
of 
the 
candidate, 
campaign, 
political 
committee, 
political 
action 
committee, 
political 
party, 
referendum 
or 
initiated petition, including. but not limited to, expenditures 
made during the signature gathering phase; the reason for the 
expenditure; and the date of the expenditure. 
The commission may 
specify the categories of expenditures that are to be reported to 
enable 
the 
commission 
to 
closely monitor 
the activities of 
political action committees; 
Sec. 8. Secretary of State to report on information provided to voters 
regarding statewide referendum questions on ballot. 
By September 1, 
2006, the Secretary of State using existing budgeted resources 
shall issue a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Legal and 
Veterans Affairs that examines voter awareness in other states 
that mail voter information pamphlets on statewide referendum 
questions 
directly 
to 
voters. 
The 
report 
must 
include 
suggestions for 
improving the way information is provided to 
voters regarding statewide referendum questions in this State. 
Sec. 9. Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices 
to report regarding campaign finance reports for direct initiative 
campaigns and public access to those reports. 
By September 1, 2006, 
the 
Commission 
on Governmental Ethics 
and Election Practices 
shall issue a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Legal and 
Veterans Affairs regarding campaign finance reports for direct 
initiative campaigns. 
The report must include the commission's 
examination of the feasibility of 
requ~r~ng political action 
committees to identify the direct initiative campaigns that the 
political action committees are receiving or expending money in 
support of or opposition to, whether voter information pamphlets 
or posters published by the State and publications by political 
action committees in support of or opposition to ballot measures 
should 
be 
required 
to 
include 
information 
indicating 
where 
campaign finance 
reports 
about 
the measure 
may 
be obtained, 
reducing the spending threshold that triggers reporting as 
a 
political action 
committee 
and, 
in the 
months 
prior 
to 
an 
election, increasing the frequency of reports by political action 
committees that have raised or spent in excess of $40,000 on a 
ballot measure. 
Sec. 10. Secretary of State and Commission on Governmental Ethics 
and Election Practices to work coUaboratively on providing information 
about direct initiatives. 
By September 1, 
2006, 
the Secretary of 
State and the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election 
Practices shall jointly develop a plan to provide information on 
their respective public accessible websites directing the public 
to information currently published and available about direct 
initiative petitions and campaign finance reports filed relative 
to those direct initiative petitions and submit that plan to the 
Joint Standing Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs. 
SUMMARY 
This bill includes changes to current law as proposed in the 
final 
report of 
the 
Commission 
to 
Study Alternative Voting 
Procedures, the Citizen Initiative Process and Minor Party Ballot 
Access 
as 
created in Resolve 
2005, 
chapter 127. 
This bill 
requires payment to a person for circulating a petition for a 
direct initiative to be itemized on required campaign finance 
reports. 
This bill clarifies that contributions and expenditures 
made 
for 
the 
purpose 
of 
supporting 
or 
opposing 
a 
citizen-initiated referendum during the signature gathering phase 
are 
required 
to 
be 
reported 
like 
other 
contributions 
and 
expenditures. 
This 
bill 
also 
requires 
a 
report 
from 
the 
Commission 
on 
Governmental 
Ethics 
and 
Election 
Practices 
regarding the reporting of campaign finances relative to direct 
initiative campaigns. 
It requires a report from the Secretary of 
State examining ways 
to 
improve 
the 
way 
the State provides 
information to voters about referenda that will appear on the 
ballot. 
This bill also directs the Secretary of State to work 
with the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices 
towards 
making 
information 
currently 
available 
about 
direct 
initiative efforts and campaigns for or against those direct 
initiatives 
or 
campaigns 
more 
accessible 
to 
the 
public 
by 
providing links on the Secretary of State's or 
commission's 
publicly accessible websites 
directing people 
to 
information 
posted on the other agency's website.