An Act Regarding Grassroots Lobbying
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0310
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: TRINW ARD, SULLIVAN, BEAUDOIN, BOLAND, CAREY, CROCKETT, MORRISON, RUSSELL, TUTTLE
Amends: 3 MRSA §312-A, 3 MRSA §317-A

Legislative Document 
No. 310 
H.P.246 
House of Representatives, February 2,2009 
An Act Regarding Grassroots Lobbying 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative TRINW ARD of Waterville. 
Cosponsored by Senator SULLIVAN of York and 
IY/~ 
1/1. /lldC';f~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BEAUDOIN of Biddeford, BOLAND of Sanford, CAREY of Lewiston, 
CROCKETT of Augusta, MORRISON of South Portland, RUSSELL of Portland, TUTTLE of 
Sanford. 
Printed on n:cyclcd paper 
Be it enacted by the People ofthe State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 3 MRSA §312-A, sub-§7-B is enacted to read: 
7-B. 
Grassroots lobbying. 
"Grassroots lobbying" means to communicate with 
members of the public to solicit them to communicate directly with any covered official 
for the purpose of influencing legislative action when that solicitation is made by: 
A. A broadcast, cable or satellite transmission; 
B. A communication delivered bye-mail, a website or any other digital format; 
C. A communication delivered by print media; 
D. A letter or other written communication delivered by mail or by comparable 
delivery service; 
E. Telephone; or 
F. A method of communication similar to those listed in paragraphs A to E. 
"Grassroots lobbying" does not include a person communicating with that person's 
stockholders, employees, board members, officers or dues-paying members. 
Sec. 2. 3 MRS A §312-A, sub-§l1-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 630, §8, is 
further amended to read: 
ll-A. Original source. "Original source" means any person who contributes or 
pays $1,000 or more in any lobbying year directly or indirectly to any employer of a 
lobbyist for purposes of lobbying or grassroots lobbying or to any other person for 
purposes of grassroots lobbying, except that contributions of membership dues to 
nonprofit corporations formed under Title 13-B, under any equivalent state law or by 
legislative enactment are not considered contributions by an original source. 
Sec. 3. 3 MRSA §312-A, sub-§14-A is enacted to read: 
14-A. Solicit. "Solicit" means to entreat, to implore, to urge or to ask. 
Sec. 4. 3 MRS A §317, sub-§I, 1E-l is enacted to read: 
E-1. The specific dollar amount of expenditures for grassroots lobbying made or 
incurred during the month, with separate totals for expenditure categories as 
determined by the commission, the legislative actions that are the subject of the 
grassroots lobbying and a general description of the intended recipients; 
Sec. 5. 3 MRS A §317, sub-§I, 4IjfJ, as amended by PL 2007, c. 630, §14, is 
further amended to read: 
J. A list of all of the lobbyist'S original sources who have contributed or paid $1,000 
or more during the lobbying year directly or indirectly to the employer for purposes 
of lobbying and a statement of the dollar amounts contributed or paid by the original 
sources to the employer. If the original source is a corporation formed under Title 13 
or 13-C or former Title 13-A, nonprofit corporation formed under Title 13-B or 
Page I - 124LR1164(OI)-1 
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limited partnership under Title 31, the corporation, nonprofit organization or limited 
partnership, not the individual members or contributors, must be listed as the original 
source. 
Sec. 6. 3 MRSA §317-A is enacted to read: 
§317-A. Grassroots lobbying report 
Any person not required to register under section 313 that spends more than $2,000 
on grassroots lobbying during a lobbying year shall file a report no later than 11:59 p.m. 
on the 15th day of the calendar month following the date on which that amount was 
exceeded. The person shall file monthly reports by 11 :59 p.m. on the 15th calendar day 
of each month for the remainder of the lobbying year. 
1. Report. A grassroots lobbying report filed by a person pursuant to this section 
must include: 
A. The name of the person required to file the report; 
B. The name of an individual serving as the contact for the person; 
C. The business address and other contact information for the person; 
D. A description of the business activity, mission, employer or occupation; 
E. The specific amount of expenditures for grassroots lobbying made or incurred 
during the month that is the subj ect of the report, with separate totals for expenditure 
categories as determined by the commission, the legislative actions that are the 
subject of the grassroots lobbying and a general description of the intended 
recipients; and 
F. A list of all of the person's original sources and a statement of the amounts 
contributed or paid by the original source. If the original source is a corporation 
formed under Title 13 or former Title 13-A, nonprofit corporation formed under Title 
13-B or limited partnership under Title 31, the corporation, nonprofit organization or 
limited partnership, not the individual members or contributors, must be listed as the 
original source. 
A person required to file monthly reports is subject to the same electronic filing 
requirements contained in section 317, subsection 2-A. 
Upon the termination of 
grassroots lobbying, the person shall file a notice of termination with the final monthly 
report. 
SUMMARY 
The bill defines "grassroots lobbying." It provides that a person who already files 
monthly reports as a lobbyist must disclose grassroots lobbying payments and 
expenditures. For a person who does not file reports as a lobbyist, the bill requires 
disclosure of grassroots lobbying expenditures once more than $2,000 has been spent on 
grassroots lobbying.