An Act To Amend the Maine Clean Election Act
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0259
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: GILES, PLOWMAN, CLEARY, EDGECOMB, PILON, PRESCOTT, SCHATZ, TREAT, NUTTING
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1125

Legislative Document 
No. 259 
H.P.205 
House of Representatives, January 27,2009 
An Act To Amend the Maine Clean Election Act 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative GILES of Belfast. 
Cosponsored by Senator PLOWMAN of Penobscot and 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: CLEARY of Houlton, EDGECOMB of Caribou, McKANE of Newcastle, 
PILON of Saco, PRESCOTT of Topsham, SCHATZ of Blue Hill, TREAT of Hallowell, 
Senator: NUTTING of Androscoggin. 
Pnl1lt:d LIn rCL'yclcd p'lp~r 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2, ~, as enacted by IE 1995, c. 1, §17, is 
amended to read: 
B. One thousand five hundred Two thousand dollars for a candidate for the State 
Senate; or 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2, ~C, as enacted by IE 1995, c. 1, §17, is 
amended to read: 
C. Five hundred Seven hundred fifty dollars for a candidate for the State House of 
Representatives. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2007, c. 571, §11, is 
further amended to read: 
3. 
Qualifying contributions. 
Participating candidates must obtain qualifying 
contributions during the qualifying period as follows: 
A. For a gubernatorial candidate, at least 3,250 verified registered voters of this State 
must support the candidacy by providing a qualifying contribution to that candidate; 
B. For a candidate for the State Senate, at least 150 verified registered voters from 
the candidate's electoral division must support the candidacy by providing a 
qualifying contribution to that candidate; or 
C. 
For a candidate for the State House of Representatives, at least 50 verified 
registered voters from the candidate's electoral division must support the candidacy 
by providing a qualifying contribution to that candidate. 
A payment, gift or anything of value may not be given in exchange for a qualifying 
contribution. 
A candidate may pay the fee for a money order that is a qualifying 
contribution in the amount of $5 or $10 as long as the donor making the qualifying 
contribution pays the $5 or $10 amount reflected on the money order. Any money order 
fees paid by a participating candidate must be paid for with seed money and reported in 
accordance with commission rules. A money order must be signed by the contributor to 
be a valid qualifying contribution. The commission may establish by routine technical 
rule, adopted in accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A, a procedure for a 
qualifying contribution to be made by a credit or debit transaction and by electronic funds 
transfer over the Internet. Records containing information provided by individuals who 
have made qualifying contributions over the Internet are confidential, except for the name 
of the individual maldng the contribution, the date of the contribution, the individual's 
residential address and the name and office sought of the candidate in whose support the 
contribution was made. 
It is a violation of this chapter for a participating candidate or an agent of the participating 
candidate to misrepresent the purpose of soliciting qualifying contributions and obtaining 
the contributor's signed acknowledgement. 
Page I - 124LR0685(OI)-1 
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SUMMARY 
This bill increases the amount of seed money contributions that Maine Clean Election 
Act candidates may receive from $1,500 to $2,000 for candidates for the State Senate and 
from $500 to $750 for candidates for the State House of Representatives. The bill also 
allows qualifying contributions to be in the amount of $5 or $10.