An Act To Improve the Maine Clean Election Act
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1197
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: GOODALL, CAREY, PLOWMAN, RUSSELL
Amends: 1 MRSA §1015, 21-A MRSA §1012, 21-A MRSA §1059, 21-A MRSA §1

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
The following document is provided by the 
LAW AND LEGISLATIVE DIGITAL LIBRARY 
at the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library 
http://legislature.maine.gov/lawlib 
Reproduced from scanned originals with text recognition applied 
(searchable text may contain some errors and/or omissions) 
() 
( 
;' 
'.~ 
'-..-/' 
124thMAINE EGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1197 
S.P.445 
In Senate, March 25,2009 
An Act To Improve the Maine Clean Election Act 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested 'and ordered printed . 
Presented by Senator GOODALL of Sagadahoc. 
Cosponsored by Representative CAREY of Lewiston and 
.. 9t[J(J~ 
JOY 1. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senators: PLOWMAN of Penobscot, SULLIVAN ofYor~, Representatives: CORNELL du 
HOUX of Brunswick, RUSSELL of Portland .. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of-Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 1 MRSA §1015, sub-§3, ~, as amended by PL 2005, c. 301, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
B. The Governor, a member of the Legislature or any constitutional officer or the 
5_ 
staff or agent of the Governor, a member of the Legislature or any constitutional 
officer may not intentionally solicit or accept a contribution from a lobbyist, lobbyist 
associate or employer during any period-of time in which the Legislature is convened 
before final adjournment, except for a qualifying contribution as defined under Title-
21-A, section 1122, subsection 7. A lobbyist, lobbyist associate or employer may not 
o 
intentionally give, offer or promise a contribution, other than a qualifying 
contribution, to the Governor, a member of the Legislature or any constitutional_ 
officer or the staff or agent of the Governor, a member of the Legislature or any 
constitutional officer during any time in which the Legislature is convened before 
final adjournment. 
These prohibitions apply to direct and indirect solicitation, 
acceptance, giving, offering and promising, 'Nhether through a political action 
committee, political committee, political party or otherwise contributions directly and 
indirectly solicited or accepted by, or given, offered and promised to a political action 
committee, ballot question committee or party committee of which the Governor, a 
. 
member of the Legislature, a constitutional officer or- the staff or agent of these 
officials is a treasurer, officer or primary fund-raiser or decision maker. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1012, sub-§2, "1]B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. A, 
§3, is further amended to read: 
B. Does not include: 
31-
(1) The value of services provided without compensation by individuals who 
volunteer a portion or all of their time on behalf of a candidate or political 
committee; 
(2) The use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food and 
beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate in rendering 
voluntary personal services for candidate-related activities, if the cumulative 
value of these activities by the individual on behalf of any candidate does not 
exceed $100 with respect to any election; 
(3) The sale of any food or beverage by a vendor for use in a candidate's 
campaign at a charge less than the normal comparable charge, if the charge to the 
candidate is at least equal to the cost of the food or beverages to the vendor and if 
the cumulative value of the food or beverages does not exceed $100 with respect 
to any election; 
-
(4) Any unreimbursed travel expenses incurred and paid for by an individual 
who volunteers personal services to a candidate, if the curriulative amount of 
these expenses does not exceed $100 with respect to any election; 
(4-A) Any unreimbursed campaign-related travel expenses incurred and paid for 
by the candidate or the candidate's spouse or domestic partner; 
) 
) 
') 
\ 
f'\ 
( 
/ 
\' 
I 
I 
19. 
.25 
.28 
. 
(5) The payment by a party's state, distrIct, county or municipal committee of the 
. costs of preparation, display or mailing or other distribution of a party candidate 
listing; 
. 
(6) Documents, in printed or electronic form, including party platforms, single 
copies of issue papers, information pertaining to the requirements of this Title, 
lists of registered voters and voter identification information, created, obtained or 
maintained by a political party for the general purpose of party building and 
provided to a candidate who is a member oIthat party; 
(7) 
Compensation paid by a state party committee to its employees for the 
following purposes: 
. 
(a) 
Providing no more than a total of 40 hours. of assistance from its 
employees an employee to a candidate in any election; 
(b) Recruiting and overseeing volunteers for campaign activities involving 3 
or more candidates; or 
(c) Coordinating campaign events involving 3 or more candidates; 
(8) Campaign training sessions provided to 3 or more candidates; 
(8-A) Costs paid for by a party committee in connection w~th a campaign event 
at which 3 or more candidates are present; 
(8-B) 
Wooci or other materials used for political signs that are found or 
contributed if not originally obtained by the candidate or contributor for 
campaign purposes; 
(8-C) The use or distribution of any communication, as described in section 
1014, obtained by the candidate for a previouselectioh and fully paid for during 
that election; 
(9) . The use of offices, telephones, computers and similar equipment when that 
use does not result in additional cost to the provider; or 
(10) Activity or communication designed to encourage individuals to register to 
vote or to vote if that activity or communication does not mention a clearly 
identified candidate. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1059, sUb:-§2, ~, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. A, 
§35, is further amended to read: 
E. A committee shall report any expenditure of $-WG $1,000 or more made after the 
14th day before the election and more than 24 hours before 5:00 p.m. on the day of 
the election within 24 hours of that expenditure. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1l25, sub-§12-C is enacted toread: 
12-C. Payments to political committees. If a certified candidate makes a payment' 
of fund revenues to a political action committee or party committee, the candidate shall 
include in reports required under this section a detailed explanation of the goods or 
services purchased according to forms and procedures developed by the commission that 
( 
~ 
is sufficient to demonstrate that the paymerit was made solely to prom~te the candidate's 
election. 
SUMMARY 
This bilI makes several changes to the laws governing clean elections and 
governmental ethics. 
The bill amends the laws governing legislative ethics by expanding upon the 
prohibitions on certain campaign contributions from and solicitations of lobbyists, 
lobbyist associates or employers. It clarifies that the prohibitions apply to contributions 
to a political action committee closely associated with a Legislator, Governor or 
constitutional officer.' 
. 
The bill amends the definition of "contribution" under the campaign reporting laws to 
clarify that the 40-hour limitation applies to individual employees' contributions and no't 
to the state party committee as a whole. 
. 
The bill amends the reporting requirements for political action committees found in 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 21-A, section 1059 to equalize the aggregate dollar 
threshold of their reporting requirements for contributions made within the final 2 weeks 
of an election with the aggregate threshold for candidates, found in Title 21-A, section 
1017, subsection 3, paragraph C. 
. 
The bill requires a certifieTI Maine Clean Election Act candidate to provide 
explanations of payments made to political committees to the Commission on 
Governmental Ethics and Election Practices to ensure that payments are made solely to~ 
promote that candidate "s election. 
) 
) 
)