An Act To Promote Transparency in Government
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1806
Committee Amendment CA_A_S523 (Senate)
Amends: 1 MRSA §1012, 1 MRSA §1016-A, 1 MRSA §1016-B, 1 MRSA §1016-C, 1 MRSA §1016-E, 1 MRSA §1016-F, 1 MRSA §1016-G, 1 MRSA §1017-A, 1 MRSA §1018, 1 MRSA §1019, 5 MRSA §19

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A " to S.P. 624, L.D. 1806, Bill, "An Act To 
Promote Transparency in Government" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 2 to 6 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 2. 1 MRSA § 1 012, su b-§ 7, as corrected by RR 2001, c. 1, § 6, is amended to 
read: 
7. Income. "Income" means economic gain to a person from any source, including, 
but not limited to, compensation for services, including fees, commissions and payments 
in kind; gross income derived from business; gaffi& gross income derived from dealings in 
property, rents and royalties; ~ 
income from investments including interest, capital 
gains and dividends; annuities; income from life insurance and endowment contracts; 
pensions; income from discharge of indebtedness; distributhte share of distributions from 
~ partnership ineome or limited liability company; gross income from an interest in an 
estate or trust; prizes; and grants, but does not include gifts or honoraria. 
Income 
received in kind includes, but is not limited to, the transfer of property and options to buy 
or lease, and stock certificates. 
"Income" does not include.,. alimony and separate 
maintenance payments, child support payments or campaign contributions accepted for 
state or federal office or funds or other property held in trust for another, including but 
not limited to money to be spent on behalf of a client for payment of a licensing or filing 
fee. 
A. 
Alimony and separate maintenanee payments; or 
B. 
Campaign eontributions reeorded and reported as required by Title 21 A, ehapter 
-l-J.:. 
Sec. 3. 1 MRS A §1012, sub-§7-A is enacted to read: 
7-A. Managerial employee. "Managerial employee" means an employee of an 
organization whose position requires substantial control over the organization's decision 
making, business operations, financial management or contracting and procurement 
activities. For the purposes of this subsection, financial management does not include 
tasks that are considered clerical in nature. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROFS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A "to S.P. 624, L.D. 1806 
Sec. 4. 1 MRSA §1012, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2009, c. 208, §4, is further 
amended to read: 
8. Relative. "Relative" means an individual who is related to the Legislator or the 
Legislator's spouse or the Legislator's domestic partner as father, mother, son, daughter, 
brother, sister, uncle, aunt, great aunt, great uncle, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, 
wife, 
domestic 
partner, 
grandfather, 
grandmother, 
grandson, 
granddaughter, 
father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, 
stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother or half 
sister, and includes the fiance or fiancee of the Legislator. 
Sec. 5. 1 MRSA §1012, sub-§8-A is enacted to read: 
8-A. 
Reportable liability. 
"Reportable liability" means any unsecured loan of 
$3,000 or more received from a person who is not a relative. "Reportable liability" does 
not include: 
A. A credit card liability; 
B. An educational loan made or guaranteed by a governmental entity, educational 
institution or nonprofit organization; or 
C. A loan made from a state or federally regulated financial institution for business 
purposes. 
Sec. 6. 1 MRSA §1016-A, as amended byPL 2007, c. 704, §1, is repealed. 
Sec. 7. 1 MRSA §1016-B, as amended by PL 1991, c. 331, §1, is repealed. 
Sec.8. 1 MRSA §1016-C, as amended by PL 2011, c. 471, §4, is further amended 
to read: 
§1016-C. Reports by legislative candidates 
A candidate, as defined in Title 2l-A, section 1, subsection 5, for the Legislature who 
is not required to file a report under section 1016 A, 1016 B or 1016 E 1016-0 shall file 
a report containing the same information required of Legislators under seetions 1016 A, 
1016 B and 1016 E section 1016-0 no later than 5 p.m. on the first Monday in August 
preceding the general election unless the candidate withdraws from the election in 
accordance with Title 21-A, section 374-A by that date. 
Sec.9. 1 MRSA §1016-E, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 704, §2, is repealed. 
Sec. 10. 1 MRSA §1016-F, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 704, §3, is repealed. 
Sec. 11. 1 MRSA §1016-G is enacted to read: 
§1016-G. Disclosure of specific sources of income, interests and reportable liabilities 
Each Legislator shall annually file with the commission a statement identifying the 
sources of income received, positions held and reportable liabilities incurred during the 
preceding calendar year by the Legislator or members of the Legislator's immediate 
family. A Legislator who has completed service in the Legislature shall file the statement 
within 45 days of the Legislator's last day of service to disclose the sources of income in 
the Legislator's final calendar year of service. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROFS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 624, L.D. 1806 
1. Content of statement. The name and, where applicable, the job title of the 
individual earning or receiving the income must be disclosed, unless otherwise noted. 
Each source of income must be identified by name, address and principal type of 
economic or business activity. If disclosure of this type is prohibited by statute, rule or an 
established code of professional ethics, it is sufficient for the Legislator to specify the 
principal type of economic or business activity from which the income is derived. 
The statement must identify: 
A. If the Legislator is an employee of another person, firm, corporation, association 
or organization that has provided the Legislator with compensation of $2,000 or 
more, the name and address of the employer. The Legislator shall identify the title 
and position held by the Legislator; 
B. 
If the Legislator is self-employed, the name and address of the Legislator's 
business and each source of income derived from self-employment that represents 
more than 10% of the Legislator's gross income from self-employment or $2,000, 
whichever is greater; 
C. The name, address and principal economic or business activity of any corporation, 
partnership, limited liability company or other business in which the Legislator or 
members of the Legislator's immediate family own or control, directly or indirectly, 
more than 50% of the outstanding equity, whether individually or in the aggregate, 
that has received revenue of $2,000 or more; 
D. Each source of income of $2,000 or more the Legislator derived from providing 
services as an attorney, the major areas of law practiced by the Legislator and, if 
associated with a law firm, the major areas of practice of the firm; 
E. Each source of income of $2,000 or more received by the Legislator; 
F. The specific source of each gift received by the Legislator; 
G. 
Each source of income of $2,000 or more received by any member of the 
immediate family of the Legislator, except that the Legislator is not required to 
identify the names of dependent children. 
If the member of the Legislator'S 
immediate family received income of $2,000 or more in compensation, the Legislator 
shall identify the source of the compensation, the type of the economic activity and 
the title of the position held by the immediate family member; 
H. Each source of honoraria of$2,000 or more that the Legislator accepted; 
1. 
Each executive branch agency before which the Legislator or any immediate 
family member has represented or assisted others for compensation; 
J. Each state governmental agency, board or commission to which the Legislator, a 
member of the Legislator's immediate family or an associated organization has sold, 
rented or leased goods or services with a value of $10,000 or more during the 
preceding calendar year and a description of the goods or services sold, rented or 
leased; 
K. Each organization that is required under Title 21-A, chapter 13 to register with the 
commission as a political action committee or ballot question committee for which 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
R OF S 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 624, L.D. 1806 
the Legislator is a treasurer, principal officer or principal fund-raiser or decision 
maker; 
L. 
Any offices, trusteeships, directorships or positions of any nature, whether 
compensated or uncompensated, held by the Legislator or a member of the 
Legislator's immediate family with any for-profit or nonprofit firm, corporation, 
association, limited liability company, partnership or business. For the purposes of 
this paragraph, service as a clerk of a corporation or as a registered agent authorized 
to receive service of any process, notice or other demand for a business entity is not 
considered a position with the corporation or business entity; and 
M. 
All reportable liabilities incurred by the Legislator or a member of the 
Legislator'S immediate family during the reporting period. 
2. Time for filing. The following provisions govern the time for filing statements. 
A. Each Legislator shall file with the commission by 5:00 p.m. on February 15th of 
each year on the form provided by the commission a statement of the sources of 
income, interests and reportable liabilities for the preceding calendar year required by 
subsection 1. 
Prior to the end of the first week in January of each year, the 
commission shall deliver a form to each Senator and member of the House of 
Representatives. 
B. A Legislator shall file an updated statement concerning the current calendar year 
if the income, reportable liabilities or positions of the Legislator or an immediate 
family member, except for dependent children, substantially change from those 
disclosed in the Legislator'S most recent statement. Substantial changes include, but 
are not limited to, a new employer that has paid the Legislator or a member of the 
Legislator'S immediate family $2,000 or more during the current year, another source 
that has provided the Legislator or a member of the Legislator's immediate family, 
excluding dependent children, with income that totals $2,000 or more during the 
current year or the acceptance of a new position with a for-profit or nonprofit firm 
that is reportable under subsection 1, paragraph L. 
The Legislator shall file the 
updated statement within 30 days of the substantial change in income, reportable 
liabilities or positions. 
3. Penalties. Penalties for violations of this section are as follows. 
A. 
Failing to file a statement within 15 days of having been notified by the 
commission is a civil violation for which a fine of not more than $100 may be 
adjudged. A statement is not considered filed unless it substantially conforms to the 
requirements of this subchapter and is properly signed. The commission shall 
determine whether a statement substantially conforms to the requirements of this 
subchapter. 
B. The intentional filing of a false statement is a Class E crime. If the commission 
concludes that it appears that a Legislator has willfully filed a false statement, it shall 
refer its findings of fact to the Attorney General. If the commission determines that a 
Legislator has willfully failed to file a statement required by this subchapter or has 
willfully filed a false statement, the Legislator is presumed to have a conflict of 
interest on every question and must be precluded or subject to penalty as provided in 
section 1015. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROFS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 624, L.D. 1806 
4. Rules, procedures and forms. The commission may adopt or amend rules to 
specify the reportable categories or types and the procedures and forms for reporting and 
to administer this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical 
rules as defined in Title 5. chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
5. 
Public record. 
Statements filed under this section are public records. The 
commission shall publish on a publicly accessible website the completed forms of 
Legislators filed under this section. 
Sec. 12. 1 MRSA §1017-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 704, §4, is repealed. 
Sec. 13. 1 MRSA §1018, as amended by PL 2001, c. 75, §2, is repealed. 
Sec. 14. 1 MRSA §1019, as amended by PL 2011, c. 471, §5, is repealed.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 9 to 11 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 9. 5 MRS A §19, sub-§I, ~, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 561, §14, is 
amended to read: 
H. "Income" means economic gain to a person from any source, including, but not 
limited to, compensation for services, including fees, commissions and payments 
in-kind; gross income derived from business; gains gross income derived from 
dealings in property, rents and royalties; W§§. income from investments including 
interest, capital gains and dividends; annuities; income from life insurance and 
endowment contracts; pensions; income from discharge of indebtedness; distributive 
share of distributions from a partnership ifleome or limited liability company; grQ§§ 
income from an interest in an estate or trust; prizes; and grants, but does not include 
gifts or honoraria. Income received in-kind includes, but is not limited to, the transfer 
of property and options to buy or lease and stock certificates. ':Income': does not 
include alimony and separate maintenance payments, child support payments or 
campaign contributions accepted for state or federal office or funds or other property 
held in trust for another, including but not limited to fees paid in advance or money to 
be spent on behalf of a client for payment of a licensing or filing fee. 
Sec. 10. 5 MRSA §19, sub-§I, ~-1 is enacted to read: 
H-l. "Managerial employee" means an employee of an organization whose position 
requires substantial control over the organization's decision making, business 
operations, financial management or contracting and procurement activities. For the 
purposes of this subsection, financial management does not include tasks that are 
considered clerical in nature. 
Sec. 11. 5 MRS A §19, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 524, §2, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place: 
2. Content of statement. Each executive employee shall annually file with the 
Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices a statement identifying the 
sources of income received, positions held and reportable liabilities incurred during the 
preceding calendar year by the executive employee or members of the executive 
employee's immediate family. 
The name and, where applicable, the job title of the 
individual earning or receiving the income must be disclosed, unless otherwise noted. 
Each source of income must be identified by name, address and principal type of 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 624, L.D. 1806 
economic or business activity. If disclosure of this type is prohibited by statute, rule or an 
established code of professional ethics, it is sufficient for the executive employee to 
specify the principal type of economic or business activity from which the income is 
derived. 
The statement must identify: 
A. If the executive employee is an employee of another person, firm, corporation, 
association or organization that has provided the executive employee with 
compensation of$2,000 or more, the name and address of the employer; 
B. If the executive employee is self-employed, the name and address of the executive 
employee's business and each source of income derived from self-employment that 
represents more than 10% of the employee's gross income from self-employment or 
$2,000, whichever is greater; 
H. 
The name, address and principal economic or business activity of any 
corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business in which the 
executive employee or members of the employee's immediate family own or control, 
directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the outstanding equity, whether individually 
or in the aggregate, that has received revenue of $2,000 or more; 
1. Each source of income of $2,000 or more the executive employee derived from 
providing services as an attorney, the major areas of law practiced by the executive 
employee and, if associated with a law firm, the major areas of practice of the firm; 
J. Each additional source of income of $2,000 or more received by the executive 
employee; 
K. The specific source of each gift received by the executive employee; 
L. Each source of income of $2,000 or more received by any member of the 
immediate family of the executive employee, except that the employee is not required 
to identify the names of dependent children. 
If the member of the executive 
employee's immediate family received income of $2,000 or more in compensation, 
the executive employee shall identify the source of the compensation, the type of the 
economic activity and the title of the position held by the immediate family member; 
M. 
Each source of honoraria of $2,000 or more that the executive employee 
accepted; 
N. Each executive branch agency before which the executive employee or a member 
of the employee's immediate family has represented or assisted others for 
compensation; 
O. Each state governmental agency, board or commission to which the executive 
employee, a member of the employee's immediate family or an associated 
organization has sold, rented or leased goods or services with a value of $10,000 or 
more during the preceding calendar year and a description of the goods or services 
sold, rented or leased; 
P. Each organization that is required under Title 21-A, chapter 13 to register with the 
commission as a political action committee or ballot question committee for which 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROFS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 624, L.D. 1806 
the executive employee is a treasurer, principal officer or principal fund-raiser or 
decision maker of the organization; 
Q. 
Any offices, trusteeships, directorships or positions of any nature, whether 
compensated or uncompensated, held by the executive employee or a member of the 
employee's immediate family with any for-profit or nonprofit firm, corporation, 
association, limited liability company, partnership or business. For the purposes of 
this paragraph, service as a clerk of a corporation or as a registered agent authorized 
to receive service of any process, notice or other demand for a business entity is not 
considered a position with the corporation or business entity; and 
R. All reportable liabilities incurred by the executive employee or members of the 
employee's immediate family during the reporting period. 
Sec. 12. 5 MRSA §19, sub-§3, ~, as amended by PL 2001, c. 75, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
B. Each executive employee shall file the annual report prior to tho 61050 of the 2nd 
VlCek in April by 5:00 p.rn. on April 15th of each year, unless that employee has filed 
an initial or updating report during the preceding 30 days; eX60pt that, if an ele6ted or 
appointed oxe6utive employee or has already filed a report for the preceding calendar 
year pursuant to paragraph A, a report does not need to be filed. 
Sec. 13. 5 MRSA §19, sub-§3, ~C, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 734, §2, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place: 
C. An executive employee shall file an updated statement concerning the current 
calendar year if the income, reportable liabilities or positions of the executive 
employee or an immediate family member, excluding dependent children, 
substantially change from those disclosed in the employee's most recent statement. 
Substantial changes include, but are not limited to, a new employer that has paid the 
executive employee or immediate family member, excluding dependent children, 
$2,000 or more during the current year, another source that has provided the 
employee with income that totals $2,000 or more during the current year or the 
acceptance of a new position with a for-profit or nonprofit firm that is reportable 
under subsection 2, paragraph Q. The executive employee shall file the updated 
statement within 30 days of the substantial change in income, reportable liabilities or 
positions.' 
Amend the bill by adding after section 12 the following: 
'Sec. 13. 5 MRSA §19, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2007, c. 704, §7, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place: 
4. Penalties. Penalties for violation of this section are as follows. 
A. 
Failing to file a statement within 15 days of having been notified by the 
Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices is a civil violation for 
which a fine of not more than $100 may be adjudged. A statement is not considered 
filed unless it substantially conforms to the requirements of Title 1, chapter 25, 
subchapter 2 and is properly signed. The commission shall determine whether a 
statement substantially conforms to such requirements. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
R,OFS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 624, L.D. 1806 
B. The intentional filing of a false statement is a Class E crime. If the Commission 
on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices concludes that it appears that an 
executive employee has willfully filed a false statement, it shall refer its findings of 
fact to the Attorney General. 
Sec. 14. 5 MRSA §19, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §1, is repealed.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the majority report of the committee and amends the laws 
governing disclosure reports required of Legislators and certain executive branch 
employees. It amends the bill by clarifying the definition of "income" as it applies to 
reporting and disclosures by Legislators and executive employees. 
The amendment 
changes the definition of "managerial employee," which is used in the bill's definition of 
"associated organization." The amendment reorganizes the provisions in current law that 
require disclosure reports by Legislators and executive employees so that the provisions 
are consistent. New disclosure requirements include the organizations or businesses 
controlled by a Legislator or executive employee that receive revenue of $2,000 or more 
but don't provide income directly to the Legislator or executive employee and a 
disclosure if the Legislator or employee holds certain positions with a political action 
committee or ballot question committee. Current law requires a Legislator or executive 
employee to disclose when that Legislator or executive employee or the Legislator'S or 
executive employee's immediate family sold goods or services to an executive branch 
agency valued at $1,000 or more. The amendment clarifies that this disclosure applies to 
any state agency, board or commission and requires disclosure if a Legislator or an 
executive employee, a member of a Legislator's or executive employee's immediate 
family or an associated organization sold, rented or leased goods or services valued at 
$10,000 or more. This amendment also provides further information on what is meant by 
a substantial change as it applies to the requirement that a Legislator or executive 
employee file a report within 30 days if there is a substantial change in income, position 
or reportable liabilities since the last disclosure form. The amendment states that the 
30-day change report applies to Legislators, executive employees and their immediate 
families, excluding dependent children. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT