An Act To Strengthen the Ballot Initiative Process
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1730
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: NUTTING, CRAVEN, DOSTIE, BERRY, CAREY, HASKELL, HA YES, MARTIN, PINGREE, TREAT, VAN WIE
Amends: 21-A MRSA §904, 21-A MRSA §904-C, 21-A MRSA §904-D, 21-A MRSA §1124

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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124th 
EGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1730 
S.P.662 
In Senate, January 7, 2010 
An Act To Strengthen the Ballot Initiative Process 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator NUTTING of Androscoggin. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
. Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Senator CRAVEN of Androscoggin, Representative DOSTIE of Sabattus and 
Representatives: BERRY of Bowdoinham, CAREY of Lewiston, HASKELL of Portland, 
HA YES of Buckfield, MARTIN of Eagle Lake, Speaker PINGREE of North Haven, TREAT 
of Hallowell, VAN WIE of New Glouc_ester. 
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Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People' of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §904, as repealed and replaced by PL 2007, c. 455, §53, is 
repealed. 
. Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §904-C is enactcd to read: 
§904-C. Payment for signature gathering; registration 
1. Registration of person receiving compensation. A person who will receive 
compensation for supervising, managin"g or otherwise organizing an effort to obtain 
signatures for an initiative or referendum petition shall register with the SecretalY of State 
before any signatures are obtained for the petition. 
2. 
Registration of person providing compensation. 
A person who will 
compensate a person for supervising, managing or otherwise organizing an effort to 
obtain signatures for an initiative or referendum petition shall register with the Secretary 
of State before any signatures are obtained for the petition. 
3. Registration form. The SecretalY of State shall detennine the form and content 
of the registrations required under this .section. The Secretary of State is authorized to 
adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection .are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
4. Violation and penalty for failing to register. A person who violates subsection 
or 2 commits a Class E crime for which the penalty must include a fine of $1,000. If· 
the violation is committed by an organization, the penalty must include a fine of $1 0,000. 
A penalty under this subsection may not be suspended. All fines imposed for a violation 
of this section must be paid to the Maine Clean Election Fund established in section 1124. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §904-D is enacted to read: 
§904-D .. Violations and penalties 
1. Violation. A person commits a Class E crime if that person: 
A. Circulates an initiative or referendum petition and swears that a signature is that 
of a person whose name it purports to be when the circulator knows that the signature 
is not that of the person; 
B. Is authorized by law to administer oaths and willfully and falsely acknowledges 
the oath of a circulator" of an initiative or referendum petition when that oath was not 
made in the presence of that person; 
C. Knowingly signs an initiative or referendum petition with a name other than the 
person's own name; 
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D. Knowingly signs the person's name more than once on initiative or referendum 
petitions for the same measure; 
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Page) - 124LR231O(Ol)-1 
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E. 
Circulates an initiative or referendum petition and knowingly swears that a 
signature to the petition was made in the circulator's presence when it was not; or 
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F. Circulates an initiative or referendum petition and has a conviction for forgery 
pursuant to Title 17-A, chapter 29 or a conviction for fraud pursuant to Title 17-A, 
chapter 37 in the 5 years prior to the circulation. 
2. Penalties. A person who violates this section commits a Class E crime for which 
the penalty must include a fine of $l,000. A penalty under this subsection may not be 
suspended. 
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Sec. 4. 21-A MRS A §1124, sub-§2, 'lfG, as enacted by ill 1995, c. 1, § 17, is 
amended to read: 
G. 
Voluntary donations made directly to the fund; aoo. 
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1124, sub-§2,~, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is 
amended to read: 
H. 
Fines collected under section 1020-A, subsection 4 4-A and section 1127-;; and 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §1124, sub-§2, 'lfI is enacted to read: 
I. Fines collected under section 904-C. 
SUMMARY 
This bill repeals the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 21-A, section 904 and enacts a 
new section 904-C to conform with technical drafting standards. It requires that the 
penalties for violating this section include a mandatory $1,000 fine that may not be 
suspended. It also prohibits a person who has been convicted of fraud or forgery in the 
last 5 years from circulating a petition. The bill requires that a person or entity receiving 
compensation for collecting signatures on a petition or a person or entity compensating 
another person for collecting signatures on a petition shall register with the Secretary of 
State. Failing to register is a Class E crime that includes a mandatory fine of $1,000 for 
an -individual and $10,000 for a company. Funds generated by the fines for failing to 
register must be paid to the Maine Clean Election Fund.