An Act To Provide for a Method To Remove an Elected Municipal Official
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1533
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: SANDERSON, THOMAS, BLODGETT, CLARKE, COTTA, HARVELL, O'CONNOR, SIROCKI
Amends: 30-A MRSA §2505, 30-A MRSA §2602

Legislative Document 
No. 1533 
H.P. 1125 
House of Representatives, May 2, 2011 
An Act To Provide for a Method To Remove an Elected Municipal 
Official 
(AFTER DEADLINE) 
(EMERGENCY) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
205. 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative SANDERSON of Chelsea. 
Cosponsored by Senator THOMAS of Somerset and 
Representatives: BLODGETT of Augusta, CLARKE of Bath, COTTA of China, HARVELL 
of Farmington, O'CONNOR of Berwick, SIROCKI of Scarborough. 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, municipalities conduct official business that must be attended to on a 
daily basis, mostly by a small group of municipal officials; and 
Whereas, many small municipalities do not have sufficient charters or ordinances to 
respond timely to misconduct or malfeasance by their municipal officials; and 
Whereas, misconduct or malfeasance by an official in a small municipality that does 
not have the legal means to address the issue can directly affect the ability of the 
municipality to conduct its official business, which has a negative effect on the public 
interest and is of a direct concern to the State; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §2505 is enacted to read: 
§2505.  Recall of municipal officials 
Except as otherwise provided by the municipality's ordinances or charter, an elected 
official of a municipality may be recalled from office pursuant to this section. For 
purposes of this section, "official" has the same meaning as section 2604, subsection 2. 
1.  Petition for recall.  On the written petition pursuant to subsection 5 of a number 
of voters equal to at least 10% of the number of votes cast in the municipality at the last 
gubernatorial election, an election must be held to determine the recall of an elected 
official of that municipality. 
2.  Notice of intention.  In order to initiate a recall election under subsection 1, the 
initiator of the petition shall file a notice of intention of recall with the municipal clerk of 
the municipality.  A notice of intention of recall under this subsection must include the 
name, address and contact information of the person filing the notice and the name and 
position of the official subject to recall under this section.  Only a person registered to 
vote in the municipality may file a notice of intention of recall under this subsection. 
3.  Petition forms.  Within 3 business days of receipt of a notice of intention of recall 
under subsection 2, the municipal clerk shall prepare petition forms for the collection of 
signatures under subsection 4 and send notice to the initiator of the petition under 
subsection 2 that the petition forms are available.  The municipality may charge the 
initiator of the petition a reasonable fee for preparing and providing the petition forms 
under this subsection.  A petition form under this subsection must include: 
A.  At the top of the form, the name and position of the official subject to recall, the 
name and contact information of the initiator of the petition and the date by which the 
signatures must be submitted to the municipal clerk under subsection 4; 
B.  Spaces for each voter's signature, actual street address and printed name; and 
C.  Space at the bottom of the form for the name, address and signature of the person 
circulating the petition form. 
4.  Collection and submission of signatures.  A petition form under subsection 3 
may be circulated or signed only by a registered voter of the municipality. A circulator of 
a petition form shall fill in the information required under subsection 3, paragraph C and 
sign the form prior to submission of the form to the municipal clerk. The initiator of the 
petition under subsection 2 shall collect the petition forms from all circulators and submit 
the signed petition forms to the municipal clerk within 14 days of receipt of notice from 
the clerk that the petition forms are available under subsection 3.  A municipal clerk may 
not accept a petition form submitted more than 14 days after sending notice of availability 
to the initiator under subsection 3, and any voter signatures on that form are invalid. 
5.  Petition certification and notification.  Within 7 business days of receiving 
petition forms under subsection 4, the municipal clerk shall determine whether the 
petition forms meet the criteria under subsection 4 and certify the validity of any 
signatures on the petition forms. If the municipal clerk finds that the number of valid 
signatures submitted under subsection 4 meets or exceeds the requirements under 
subsection 1, the clerk shall certify the petition and immediately send notification of the 
certification to the municipal officers, the initiator of the petition and the official subject 
to the recall.  If the municipal clerk finds the number of valid signatures submitted under 
subsection 4 does not meet the requirements for a petition under subsection 1, the 
municipal clerk shall file the petition and the petition forms in the clerk's office and notify 
the initiator of the petition. 
6.  Scheduling recall election.  Within 10 business days of certification of the 
petition under subsection 5, the municipal officers shall schedule a recall election to 
determine whether the official subject to the recall petition should be recalled.  The 
election must be held no less than 45 days nor more than 75 days after certification of the 
petition under subsection 5 unless a regular municipal election is scheduled to be held 
within 90 days of the certification of the petition under subsection 5, in which case the 
recall election must be held on the date of the regular municipal election.  If the 
municipal officers fail to schedule a recall election within 10 days of certification of the 
recall petition under subsection 5, the municipal clerk shall schedule the recall election 
pursuant to the date requirements of this subsection. 
7.  Ballots for recall election.  If the official subject to the recall does not resign 
from office within 10 business days of certification of the recall petition under subsection 
5, the ballots for the recall election under subsection 6 must be printed.  A ballot for a 
recall election under this section must read: 
"Do you authorize the recall of (name of official) from the position of (name of 
office)? 
(  ) Yes     (  ) No" 
8.  Results of recall election.  Within 2 business days of a recall election under 
subsection 6, the municipal clerk shall certify and record the election results and notify 
the municipal officers of those results.  If a majority of voters vote to remove the official, 
the recall takes effect on the date the election results are recorded pursuant to this 
subsection. 
9.  Limitation of recall.  An elected official may be the subject of a recall petition 
under this section only for neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office and after 
being given a written statement of the charges. 
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §2602, sub-§1, ¶F, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 
and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is 
further amended to read: 
F.    Failure to qualify for the office within 10 days after written demand by the 
municipal officers; or 
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §2602, sub-§1, ¶G, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, 
§2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, 
is further amended to read: 
G.    Failure of the municipality to elect a person to office.; or 
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §2602, sub-§1, ¶H is enacted to read: 
H.  Recall pursuant to section 2505. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes a procedure to recall an elected municipal official if that 
municipality's ordinances or charter do not address the issue.  An elected official may be 
the subject of a recall only for neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office and 
after being given a written statement of the charges.