An Act Regarding Reporting Procedures of Lobbyists
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1151
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: FARNHAM, BEAULIEU
Amends: 3 MRSA §314, 3 MRSA §315-A, 3 MRSA §317, 3 MRSA §319

Legislative Document 
No. 1151 
S.P. 351 
In Senate, March 17, 2011 
An Act Regarding Reporting Procedures of Lobbyists 
Submitted by the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices pursuant to 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 1009. 
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
JOSEPH G. CARLETON, JR. 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator FARNHAM of Penobscot. 
Cosponsored by Representative: BEAULIEU of Auburn. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  3 MRSA §314, 3rd ¶, as repealed and replaced by PL 1993, c. 691, §13, is 
amended to read: 
If termination is effected prior to November 30th, no further reports are required, 
except that the lobbyist and employer are required to file an annual report pursuant to 
section 317, subsection 2.  The filing of an annual report, signed by the lobbyist and 
employer, before November 30th is considered a notification of termination. 
Sec. 2.  3 MRSA §315-A, sub-§2, ¶E, as amended by PL 2007, c. 630, §11, is 
further amended to read: 
E.  For each employer, a list of all legislative actions that have been the subject of 
lobbying for the year, including hyperlinks to the summary page of the Legislature's 
publicly accessible website for each legislative document listed; and 
Sec. 3.  3 MRSA §315-A, sub-§2, ¶F, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 630, §11, is 
further amended to read: 
F.  A list of officials in the executive branch as defined in section 312-A, subsection 
10-C.; and 
Sec. 4.  3 MRSA §315-A, sub-§2, ¶G is enacted to read: 
G.  The monthly reports filed under section 317 and an annual summary of those 
monthly reports. 
Sec. 5.  3 MRSA §317, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2007, c. 630, §15, is repealed. 
Sec. 6.  3 MRSA §317, sub-§2-A, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 301, §4, is amended 
to read: 
2-A.  Electronic filing.  Beginning January 1, 2006, a lobbyist shall file monthly 
session reports under subsection 1 and annual reports under subsection 2 through an 
electronic filing system developed by the commission.  The commission may make an 
exception to this electronic filing requirement if a lobbyist submits a written request that 
states that the lobbyist lacks access to the technology or the technological ability to file 
reports electronically.  The request for an exception must be submitted at least 10 days 
prior to the deadline for the first report that the lobbyist is required to file for the lobbying 
year.  The commission shall grant all reasonable requests for exceptions. 
Sec. 7.  3 MRSA §319, sub-§1, as repealed and replaced by PL 1993, c. 691, §22, 
is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
1.  Failure to file registration or report.  Any person who fails to file a registration 
or report as required by this chapter may be assessed a fine of $100 for every month the 
person fails to register or is delinquent in filing a report pursuant to section 317.  If a 
registration or report is filed late, the commission shall send a notice of the finding of 
violation and preliminary penalty.  The notice must provide the lobbyist with an 
opportunity to request a waiver of the preliminary penalty.  If a lobbyist files a report 
required pursuant to section 317 within 24 hours after the deadline, the amount of the 
preliminary penalty is $50.  The commission may waive the fine or penalty in whole or in 
part if the commission determines the failure to register or report was due to mitigating 
circumstances or the fine or penalty is disproportionate to the level of experience of the 
lobbyist or the harm suffered by the public from the late registration or report.  For 
purposes of this subsection, "mitigating circumstances" means: 
A.  A valid emergency determined by the commission, in the interest of the sound 
administration of justice, to warrant the waiver of the fine or penalty in whole or in 
part; 
B.  An error by the commission; or 
C.  Circumstances determined by the commission to warrant the waiver of the fine or 
penalty in whole or in part, based upon relevant evidence presented that a bona fide 
effort was made to file the report in accordance with this chapter, including, but not 
limited to, unexplained delays in Internet service.  
SUMMARY 
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing lobbyist disclosure 
procedures. 
1.  It requires the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices to 
display on its publicly accessible website monthly reports filed by lobbyists and an 
annual summary of those monthly reports. 
2.  It eliminates the requirement that lobbyists and employers of lobbyists file annual 
reports with the commission. 
3.  It establishes the procedure for the commission to follow after a registration or 
report is filed late and defines "mitigating circumstances" for purposes of determining in 
which cases the commission may waive a penalty.