An Act To Amend the Maine Clean Election Act
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1740
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: PLOWMAN, BENOIT, NASS, WESTON, McKANE, RICHARDSON, TARDY, THIBODEAU
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1015, 21-A MRSA §1122, 21-A MRSA §1125

Legislative Document 
No. 1740 
S.P.607 
March 27, 2007 
An Act To Amend the Maine Clean Election Act 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator PLOWMAN of Penobscot. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Senators: BENOIT ofSagadahoc, NASS of York, WESTON of Waldo, 
Representatives: McKANE of New cas tIe, RICHARDSON of Carmel, TARDY of Newport, 
THIBODEAU of Winterport. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§I, as amended by PL 1999, c. 729, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
1. Individuals. An individual may not make contributions to a candidate in support 
of the candidacy of one person aggregating more than ~ 
$1,000 in any election for a 
gubernatorial candidate or more than ~ 
$750 in any election for a candidate for the 
state Senate or more than $500 in any other eandidate election for a candidate for the state 
House of Representatives. This limitation does not apply to contributions in support of a 
candidate by that candidate or that candidate's spouse. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2005, c. 301, §28, is 
further amended to read: 
9. Seed money contribution. "Seed money contribution" means a contribution of 
no more than $100 per indiyidual made to a candidate from a voter within the electoral 
division for which the candidate is seeking election, including a contribution from the 
candidate or the candidate's family. To be eligible for certification, a candidate may 
collect and spend only seed money contributions subsequent to becoming a candidate as 
defined by section 1, subsection 5 and throughout the qualifying period. A participating 
candidate who has accepted contributions or made expenditures that do not comply with 
the seed money restrictions under this chapter may petition the commission to remain 
eligible for certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate in accordance with rules 
of the commission, if the failure to comply was unintentional and does not constitute a 
significant infraction of these restrictions. Prior to certification, a candidate may obligate 
an amount greater than the seed money collected if the value of the goods and services 
received from a vendor does not exceed the amount paid to the vendor. A candidate may 
not collect or spend seed money contributions after certification as a Maine Clean 
Election Act candidate. 
A seed money contribution must be reported according to 
procedures developed by the commission. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2, as enacted by ill 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended 
to read: 
2. 
Restrictions on contributions for participating candidates. Subsequent to 
becoming a candidate as defined by section 1, subsection 5 and prior to certification, a 
participating candidate may not accept contributions, except for seed money 
contributions. A participating candidate must limit the eandidate's raise seed money 
contributions te in the following amounts: 
A. 
Fifty thousand dollars for a gubernatorial candidate; 
B. 
One thousand five hundred dollars for a candidate for the State Senate; or 
C. 
Five hundred dollars for a candidate for the State House of Representatives. 
The commission may, by rule, revise these amounts and establish a maximum amount of 
seed money contributions to ensure the effective implementation of this chapter. 
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Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§9, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 688, 
Pt. A, §22, is amended to read: 
. 
9. Matching funds. When any campaign, finance or election report for a general 
election shows that the sum of a candidate's expenditures or obligations, or funds raised 
or borrowed, whichever is greater, alone or in conjunction with independent expenditures 
reported under section 10 19-B, exceeds the distribution amount under subsection 8 for a 
general election plus any seed money raised, the commission shall issue immediately to 
any opposing Maine Clean Election Act candidate an additional amount equivalent to the 
reported excess. Matching funds are limited to 2 times the amount originally distributed 
under subsection 8, paragraph A;-G; E or F, whichever is applicable. 
SUMMARY 
This bill increases the contribution limits in current law for legislative and 
gubernatorial candidates. 
Under this bill, individuals may make contributions 
aggregating up to $1,000 for a gubernatorial candidate, $750 to a candidate for the state 
Senate and $500 to a candidate for the state House of Representatives. This bill specifies 
that seed money contributions for a candidate seeking certification as a Maine Clean 
Election Act candidate must come from voters within the candidate's voting district and 
that a minimum amount must be collected in order to become certified as a Maine Clean 
Election Act candidate. The bill also changes current law to exclude the distribution of 
matching funds in primary elections. Finally, this bill includes seed money raised by a 
Maine Clean Election Act candidate in the formula used to determine whether a candidate 
may receive matching funds . 
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