Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1189
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: MILLS
Amends: 1 MRSA §1015, 21-A MRSA §1122, 21-A MRSA §1124, 21-A MRSA §1125

Legislative Document 
. No. 1189 
·S.P.437 
In Senate, March 25,2009 
A.n Act To Simplify and Improve the Maine Clean Election Laws 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator MILLS of Somerset. 
Primed un n!l'~ dl!d p;lpef 
9t8(J~ 
JOY 1. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 1 MRSA §1015, sub-§3, Cf]A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 279, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
A. 
As used in this subsection, the tenns "employer," "lobbyist" and "lobbyist 
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associate" have the same meanings as in Title 3, section 312-A. As used in this 
subsection, "contribution" has the same meaning as in Title 21-A, section 1012 aBEl 
includes seed money contributions as defined in Title 21 A, section 1122, subsection 
9. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§7, CfIA, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. B, 
§2, is further amended to read: 
A. Of $5 in the form of a check or a money order payable to the fund, signed by the 
contributor and to $100 made in support of a candidate; 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2001, c. 465, §3, IS 
further amended to read: 
8. Qualifying period. "Qualifying period" means the following period that begins 
when the candidate files a declaration of intent with the commission in accordance with 
section 1125 and ends at 5:00 p.m. on April 15thofthe election year unless the candidate 
is unenrolled, in which case the period ends at 5:00 p.m. on June 2nd of the election year. 
A. 
For a gubernatorial participating candidate,· the qualifying period begins 
November 1st inm1ediately preceding the election year and ends at 5:00 p.m. on April 
15th of the election year uriless the candidate is unenrolled, in which case the period 
ends at 5:00 p.m. on June 2nd oethe election year .. 
B. For State Senate or State House of Representatives participating candidates, the 
qualifying period begins January 1st of the election year and ends at 5:00 p.m. on 
A13ril 15th of that election year unless the candidate is unenrolled, in v:hich case the 
period ends at 5:00 p.m. on June 2nd oftbe election year. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2007, c. 571, §1O, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1124, sub-§2, enD, as enacted by IE 1995, c. 1, §17, is 
amended to read: 
D. Seed money Qualifying contributions remaining unspent after a candidate has 
been certified as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate upon election day; 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§l, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. B, §6, is 
further amended to read: 
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1. Declaration of intent. A participating candidate must file a declaration of intent 
to seek certification .as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate and to comply with the 
requirements of this chapter. The declaration of int~nt must be filed with the commission 
prior to or during to start the qualifying period, except as provided in subsection 11, 
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according to fOnTIs· and procedures developed by the corrurussIOn. 
A participating 
candidate must submit a declaration of intent vlithin 5 business days of collecting 
qualifying contributions under this chapter. 
Qualifying .contributions Contributions 
collected before the declaration of intent has been filed are prohibited and will not be 
counted toward the eligibility requirement in subsection 3. 
Sec.7. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. B, §6, is 
further amended to read: 
. 
2. Contribution limits for participating candidates. Subsequent to becoming a 
candidate as defined by section 1, subsection 5 and prior to certification, a participating 
candidat~· may not accept contributions funds, e)wept for seed money other than 
qualifying contributions. A participating candidate must limit the· candidate's total seed-
money contributions to the following amounts: Revenue from the Maine Clean Election 
Fund may not be used, promised, pledged or applied toward the collection of qualifying 
contributions. A candidate may not collect or spend contributions after certification as a 
Maine Clean Election Act candidate except as authorized by the corrumssion under 
subsection 13. All contributions must be reported according to procedures developed by 
the commis·sion. 
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,II.. Fifty thousand dollars for a gubernatorial candidate; 
B. One thousand five hundred dollars for a candidate for the State S~nate; or 
C. Five hundred dollars for a candidate for the State House of Representatives. 
The commission may, by rule, revise these amounts to ensure the effective 
imnlementation of thiR chanter. 
Sec. 8. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2-A, as enacted by PL2007, c. 443, Pt. B, §6, 
is amended to read: 
2-A. Restrictions on qualifying contributions. To be eligible for certification, a 
. participating candidate may collect and spend only seed money qualifying ·contributions 
subsequent to becoming a candidate and prior to certification. A participating candidate 
may not soliCit, accept or collect seed money qualifying contributiSlns after certification· 
as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate. 
. 
A. All goods and services received prior to certification must be paid for with 5eeEl 
. fl'lB11€J' qualifying contributions, except for goods and services that are excluded from 
the· definition of ~contribution~ in section 1012, subsection 2, paragraph B.lt is a 
violation of this chapter for a participating candidate to use fund revenues received 
after certification to pay for goods and services received prior to certification. 
B. Prior to certification, a participating candidate may obligate an amount greater 
than the seed money qualifying contributions collected, but may only receive that 
portion of goods and services that has been paid for or will be paid for with 5eeEl 
fl'lB11€J' qualifying contributions. 
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 candid at€! in accorqance with mles of the 
corrumsslon, if the failure to comply was unintentional and does not constitute a 
significant infraction of these restrictions. 
"C. Upon requesting c~rtification, a participating candidate shall file a report of all . 
seed money qualifying contributions and expenditures. If the candidate is certified, 
any unspent seed money 1/2 of the amount collected in qualifying contributions will 
be deducted from the amount distributed to the candidate as provided in subsection 8. 
Sec. 9. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub':'§3, as amended byPL 2007, c. 571, §11, is 
further amended to read: 
3. 
Qualifying contrib~tions. 
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 
. contributors must support t11ecandidacy by providing a qualifying contribution 
contributions to that candidate in the total amount of $32,500;. 
B. For a candidate for the State Senate, at least 150 verified registered voters from 
the candidate's electoral division contributors must support the candidacy by 
providing a qualifying contribution contributions to that candidate in the total amount 
of $1,500; or 
C. 
For a candidate for the State House of Representatives, at least 50 verified 
registered voters from the candidate's electoral division contributors ,must support the 
candidacy by providing a qualifying contribution contributions to. that candidate in 
the total amount of $500. 
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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 as long as the donor maldng the qualifying contribution 
pays the $§. amount reflected on the money order. Any money order fees paid by a 
participating candidate must be paid for with seed money qualifying contributions and 
reported in accordance with corrunission rules. A money order must be signed by the 
contributor to be a valid qualifying contribution. The corrunission may establish by 
routine technic'al 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 making 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. 
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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 contribu.tor's signed acknowledgement.' 
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The candidate may retain for use as campaign funds all sums received as qualifying 
contributions during the qualifying period. 
Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§4, as amended by PL2007, c. 443, Pt. B, §6, 
is further amended to read: . 
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4. 
Filing with commiSSIOn. 
A participating candidate must subInit qualifying , 
Gontrib:utions, receipt and aclmowledgement forms, and proof of verification of voter 
registration and a seed money report to the commission during the qualifying period 
according to procedures developed by the commission, except as provided under 
subsection 11 .. Candidates for Governor .shall also submit photocopies of all seed money 
contributions received by check or money order, baI)l( or merchant account statements of 
contributions received by credit or debit card and bank or other account statements for the 
campaign account. 
Sec. 11. 21-A MRS A §1125, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. B, §6, 
is further amended to read: 
5. Certification of Maine Clean Election Act candidates. Upon receipt of a final 
submittal of reports of qualifying contributions by a participating candidate,' the 
commission or its executive director shall determine whether the candidate has: 
A. Signed and filed a declaration of intent to participate in this Act; 
B:. . Submitted Collected. the appropriate number and amount of valid qualifying 
contributions; 
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C. Qualified as a candidate by petition or other means; 
D. Not accepted contributions Accepted no money or ·contributions, except for -seed 
FflOFl:eJ' qualifying contributions, and otherwise complied with seed money clean 
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election restrictions; 
0.:·1; Not run for the same office as a nonparticipating candidate in a primary election 
in the same election year; . 
D-2. Not been found to have made a material false statement in a report or other 
document submitted to the commission; 
D-3. 
Not had prior requests for certification denied on the basis of substantial 
violations of this chapter or chapter 130r certification revoked under subsection 5-A, 
paragraphs C to G; ... 
D-4. Not failed to pay any civil penalty assessed by the commission under this Title, 
except that a candidate has 3 business. days from the date of the request for 
certification to pay the outstanding penalty and remain eligible for certification; and 
E. Otherwise met the requirements for participation in this Act. 
The commission or its executive director shall certify' a candidate complying with the 
requirements of this section as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate as soon as possible 
after final submittal of qualifying contributions and other supporting documents required 
under subsection 4 but no later than 3 business days for legislative candidates and 5 
business d'.lYs for gubernatorial candidates. The commission and its executive director 
may take additional time if further investigation is necessary to verify compliance with 
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this Act as long as the commission notifies the candidate regarding the anticipated 
schedule for conclusion of the investigation. 
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A certified candidate must comply with all requirements of this Act after certification and 
throughout the primary and general election periods. Failure to do so is a violation of this 
chapter. 
Sec. 12. 21-A MRSA §1125,sub-§5-A, ~E, as enacted by pL 2007, c. 443, Pt. 
B, §6, is repealed. 
Sec. 13. 21-A MRSA §1125,sub-§6, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt: B, §6, 
is further amended to read: 
6. Restrictions on contributions and expenditures for certified candidates. After 
certification, a candidate· must limit the candidate's campaign expenditures and 
obligations, including outstanding obligations, to the remaining qualifying contributions 
and revenues distributed to the candidate from .the fund and may not accept any 
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contributions unless specifically authorized by the coinmission. Candidates may also 
accept and spend interest earned on fund revenues in campaign banlc accounts. 
All 
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revenues contributed and distributed to a certified candidate from the fund must be used 
for campaign-related purpQses as defmed by the· commission. 
The candidate, the 
treasurer, the candidate's committee authorized pursuant to section 10 13-A, subsection 1 
or any agent of the candidate and committee may not use these revenues for any but 
campaigTI-r~lated purposes. 
The . commission shall publish guidelines outlining 
pennissible campaign related e](pemditures. 
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Sec. 141. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§7-A, as a:mended by PL 20,07, c. 443, Pt. B, 
§6, is further amended to read: 
7-A. DepoSit into .account. The candidate or committee authorized pursuant to 
section 10 13-A, subsection 1 shall deposit all revenues from the fund and all seed money 
. qualifying contributions in a campaign account with a banlc or other financial institution. 
The campaign funds must be segregated from, and may not be commingled with, any 
other funds. 
Sec. 15. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§8, ~, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 453, § 1, is 
amended to read: 
E. 
For gubernatorial primary elections,· the amount of revenues distributed is 
$200,000 per candidate in the a contested primary election and $80,000 for the 
candidate in an uncontested primary election. 
Sec. 16. 2l-A M~SA §1125, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. B, §6, 
is further amended to read: 
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9. Matching funds. When any report required under thi:s chapter or chapter 13 
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shows that the sum of a candidatt:'s expenditures or obligations, contributions and loans, 
or fund revenues received, whichever is greater,in· conjunction with independent 
expenditures .reported under section 1019-B, exceeds the sum of an op'posing certified 
candidate's fund revenues, in conjunction with independent expenditures, the commission 
shall issue immediately to the opposing certified candidate or privately supported 
candidate who meets the requirements of subsection 9-A an additional amount equivalent 
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to the difference. Matching funds for certified candidates, for the Legislature are limited 
to 2 times the amount originally distributed under subsection 8, paragraph A or C, 
whichever is applicable. 
Matching funds for certified gubernatorial caI"ididates in a 
primary election are limited to 2 times the amount originally distributed under subsection 
8, pa:ragraph E. 
Matching funds for certified gubernatorial candidates in a general 
election are limited to the amount originally distributed under subsection 8, paragraph F. 
Sec. 17. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§9-A is enaCted to read: 
9-A. ' Private funding options. Before April 15th of an election year, a candidate 
whose campaign is supported by private contributions may elect to be covered by the 
matching fund protections of this Act if the candidate agrees to limit imd does limit 
campaign contributions' and expenditures to the amount that would be' authorized, for 
distribution to the candidate under subsection 8 if the candidate were qualified as a Maine 
Clean Election Act candidate. A candidate making such an election is entitled to public 
matching funds under subsection 9as if the candidate had qualified as a Maine Clean 
Election Act candidate. 
Sec. 18. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§13, as enacted by 'm 1995,c. 1, § 17, is 
amended to read: , 
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13. 
Distributions not to exceed amount in fund. 
The cOrrmllssion may not 
distribute revenues to certified candidates iIi excess of the total amount of money 
deposited in the fund as set forth in section 1124. Notwithstanding any other provisions 
of this chapter, ifthe cOrrmllssion deterinines thatthe revenues in the fund are insufficient 
to meet distributions under subsections 8 or 9, the cOrrmllssion may permit certified' 
candidates to accept and spend contributions, reduced by any seed money contributions, 
aggregating no more than $500 per donor per election for gubernatorial candidates and 
$250 per donor per election for State Senate and State House candidates, up to the 
applicable amounts set forth in subsections 8 and 9 according to rules adopted by the 
corrmllssion. 
Sec. 19. 21-A )VIRSA §1125, sub-§14, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. B, §6, 
is further amended to read: 
14. Appeals. A participating candidate who has accepted contributions or made 
experiditures that do not comply with the restrictions under this chapter may petition the 
cOrrmllssion to remain eligible for certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate 
in accordance with rules of the cOrrmllssion, if the failure to comply was unintentional 
and does not constitute a significant infraction of these restrictions. A candidate who has 
been derued certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate, the opponent of a 
.candidate who has been granted certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate or 
other interested persons may challenge a certification decision by the cOrrmllssion or its 
executive director as follbws. 
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A. A challenger may appeal to the full cOrrmllssion within 7 days of the certification 
decision. The appeal must be in writing and must set forth the reasons for the appeal. 
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B. Within 5 days after an appeal is properly made and after notice is givenfo the 
'challenger and any opponent, the commission shall hold a hearing, except that the 
commission may extend this period upon agreement of the challenger and the 
.candidate whose certification is the subject ofthe appeal, orin response to thy request 
of either pa'rty upon a showing of good cause. The .appellant has the burden of 
proving that the certification decision was in error, as a matter of law or was based on 
factual error. The commission must rule on the appeal within 5 business days after 
the completion of the hearing. 
C. 
A challenger may appeal the decision of the commission in paragraph B by 
commencing an action in Superior Court within 5 days of the date' of the 
commission's decision. The action must be conducted in accordance with Rule 80C 
of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, except that the court shall issue its written 
decision within 20 days of the date of the commission's decision. Any aggrieved 
party may appeal the decision of the Superior Court by filing a notice of appeal 
within 3 days of that decision. The record on appeal must be transmitted to the Law 
Court within 3 days after the notice of appeal is filed. 
After filing the notice of 
appeal, the parties have 4 days to file briefs and appendices with the clerk of the 
. court. The court shall consider the case as soon as possible after the record and briefs 
have been filed and shall issue its decision within 14' days of the decision of the 
Superior Court. 
D. 
A candidate whose certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate is 
reversed on appeal must return to the commission any unspent revenues distributed 
from the fund. 'if the commission or court finds that an appeal was made frivolously 
or to cause delay or hardship, the commission or court may require the moving party 
to pay <;osts of the commission, court and opposing parties, if any. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the Maine Clean Election Act and combines seed money and 
qualifying checks into one composite qualifying system. Qualifying .contributions are 
defined as any amount of $5 to $100 payable to the candidate or the campaign: To 
qualify, the candidate must raise contributions in numbers and amounts as follows: 
31. 
1. For a gubernatorial candidate, a minimum of3,250 contributors who contribute a 
. total amount of $32,500; 
2. 
For a candidate for the State Senate, a minimum of 150 contributors who 
contribute a total amount of $1 ,500; arid 
3. For a candidate for the House of 'Representatives, a minimum of 50 contributors 
who contribute a total amount of $500. 
The number of required contributors remains the same as in present law, but the 
minimum amount ofrrioney required is doubled from $5 per contributor to what would be 
an average of $10 if only the minimum number of contributors were obtained. Each $5 
contribution still counts and contributions up to $'100 are acceptable. 
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Instead of submitting contributions to the commission, the candidates will submit 
only the acknowledgement signed by each' contributor as evidence of the payment and 
suppOli. Candidates will retain and use for campaign purposes all amounts collected. 
Because seed money is abolished and blended into the system for qualifying 
contributions, all private financial support must com~ in the form of qualifying 
contributions from voters within the candidate's own district. Distributions from the 
Maine Clean Election Fund a~e reduced by 1/2 of the qualifying contributions collected. 
The qualifying period for any candidate is amended to start whenever the candidate 
files a declaration of intent. The qualifying period for an unemolled candidate continues 
to end on June 2nd of .each election year. The conesponding date for a party candidate 
remains at April 15th. 
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The bill makes clear that no revenue from the Maine Clean Election Fund may be 
pledged'or applied to the collection of qualifying contributions .. 
The bill also adds a private funding option for candidates. Before April 15th of an 
election year, a candidate whose campaign is supported by private contributioQs may' 
elect to be covered by the matching fund protections of the Maine Clean Election Act if 
the candidate agrees to limit and does limit campaign contributions and expenditures ,to 
the amount that would be authorized for distribution to the candidate if'the candidate 
were 'qualified as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate. A candidate making such an 
. election is entitled to public matching funds as if the candidate had qualified as a Maine 
Clean Election Act candidate.