An Act To Clarify What Constitutes a Contribution to a Candidate
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1631
Committee Amendment CA_A_S446 (Senate)
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1012, 21-A MRSA §1015, 21-A MRSA §1019-B

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" 4." to S.P. 622, L.D. 1631, Bill, "An Act To 
Clarify What Constitutes a Contribution to a Candidate" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and before the summ31Y and 
inserting the following: 
'Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 21-A MRS A §1001, sub-§l-A is enacted to read: 
I-A. Agent. "Agent" means a person to whom the candidate or candidate's political 
committee gives express or implied authority to act on behalf of the candidate or the 
candidate's campaign. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1012, sub-§3, ~, as amended by PL 2013, c. 334, §4, is 
further amended to read: 
B. Does not include: 
(l) Any news story, commentary or editorial distributed through the facilities of 
any broadcasting station, cable television system, newspaper, magazine or other 
periodical publication, unless the facilities are owned or controlled by any 
political party, political committee, candidate or spouse or domestic partner of a 
candidate; 
(I-A) Any cOlmnunication distributed through a public access television channel 
on a cable television system if the communication complies with the laws and 
rules governing the channel and all candidates in the race have an equal 
opportunity to promote their candidacies through the channel; 
(2) Activity or communication designed to encourage individuals to register to 
vote or to vote if that activity or communication does not mention a clearly 
identified candidate; 
(3) Any communication by any membership organization or corporation to its 
members or stockholders, if that membership organization or corporation is not 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 622, LD. 1631 
organized primarily for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of 
any person to state or county office; 
(4) The use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food and 
beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate in rendering 
voluntary personal services for candidate-related activities, if the cumulative 
value of these activities does not exceed $250 with respect to any election; 
(5) Any unreimbursed travel expenses incurred by an individual in the course of 
providing voluntmy personal services to a candidate and paid for by that 
individual, if the cumulative amount of these expenses does not exceed $350 with 
respect to any election; 
(5-A) Any unreimbursed campaign-related travel expenses incurred and paid for 
by the candidate or the candidate's spouse or domestic partner; 
(6) Any communication by any person that is not made for the purpose of 
influencing the nomination for election, or election, of any person to state, county 
or municipal office; 
(7) The payment by a party's state, district, county or municipal committee of the 
costs of preparation, display or mailing or other distribution of a party candidate 
listing; 
(8) The use or distribution of mly communication, as described in section 1014, 
obtained by the candidate for a previous election and fully paid for during that 
election campaign; 
(9) Documents, in printed or electronic fonn, including party platfonns, single 
copies of issue papers, infonnation pertaining to the requirements of this Title, 
lists of registered voters and voter identification infonnation, created or 
maintained by a political party for the general purpose of party building and 
provided to a candidate who is a member of that party; 
(10) Compensation paid by a state paIiy committee to its employees for the 
following purposes: 
(a) 
Providing no more than a total of 40 hours of assistance from its 
employees to a candidate in any election; 
(b) Recruiting and overseeing volunteers for campaign activities involving 3 
or more candidates; or 
(c) Coordinating campaign events involving 3 or more candidates; 
(10-A) Costs paid for by a party committee in connection with a campaign event 
at which 3 or more candidates are present; 
(11) Campaign training sessions provided to 3 or more candidates; 
(ll-A) Wood or other materials used for political signs that are found or 
contributed if not originally obtained by the candidate or contributor for 
campaIgn purposes; 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to S.P. 622, L.D. 1631 
(12) The use of offices, telephones, computers and similar equipment when that 
use does not result in additional cost to the provider; ef 
(13) A purchase of apparel from a commercial vendor with a total cost of $25 or 
less by an individual when the vendor has received a graphic or design from the 
candidate or the candidate's authorized committee"~ 
(14) The value of services provided without compensation by individuals who 
volunteer any amount of their time on behalf of a candidate or political 
committee. 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1012, sub-§4-B is enacted to read: 
4-B. Key person affiliated with the candidate's campaign. "Kev person affiliated 
with the candidate's campaign" means a person who, at the time of making an 
expenditure, or at any time during the 120 days prior to making an expenditure, is one or 
more of the following: 
A. An agent; 
B. A spouse or domestic partner of the candidate; 
C. The candidate's campaign treasurer, deputy treasurer or any person substantially 
performing the statutory duties of a treasurer or deputy treasurer; 
D. A person whom the candidate has represented to the public to be serving as the 
campaign chair or other officer of the campaign; 
E. 
A person who, with the candidate's knowledge and consent, manages the 
candidate's campaign or has primary responsibility for one or more of the following 
areas of the candidate's campaign: campaign communications, advertising, public 
relations or fund-raising; 
F. 
A person who has received compensation from the candidate's campaign for 
personal services as an employee or independent contractor; and 
G. 
A person who is named in a campaign finance repOlt filed by the candidate 
pursuant to section lOB-A, subsection 1, paragraph B. 
"Key person affiliated with the candidate's campaign" does not include any vendor that 
provides only printing, mailing, advertising, broadcast time or similar services and is not 
otherwise involved in campaign strategy or advice. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §14, is 
further amended to read: 
4. Political committees; intermediaries. For the purpose of the limitations imposed 
by this section, contributions made to any political cOlmmttee authorized by a candidate 
to accept contributions on the candidate's behalf are considered to be contributions made 
to that candidate. If the campaign activities of a political action committee within a 
calendar year primarily promote or support the nomination or election of a single 
candidate, contributions to the committee from the candidate or any key person affiliated 
with the candidate's campaign or that were solicited by the candidate or any key person 
affiliated with the candidate's campaign are considered to be contributions made to the 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A' to S.P. 622, L.D. 1631 
candidate for purposes of the limitations in this section. For purposes of this subsection, 
solicitation of contributions includes but is not limited to the candidate's appearing at a 
fundraising event organized by or on behalf of the political action committee or 
suggesting that a donor make a contribution to that committee. 
For the purposes of the limitations imposed by this section, all contributions made by a 
person, either directly or indirectly, on behalf of a particular candidate, that are in any 
way earmarked or otherwise directed through an intermediary or conduit to the candidate 
are considered to be contributions from that person to the candidate. The intermediary or 
conduit shall report the original source and the intended recipient of the contribution to 
the commission and to the intended recipient. 
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1989, c. 504, §§7 and 31, 
is further amended to read: 
5. Other contributions and expenditures. Any expenditure made by a key person 
affiliated with the candidate's campaign is a contribution to that candidate. 
Any 
expenditure made by any person in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the 
request or suggestion of, a candidate,---a or a key person affiliated with the candidate's 
politioal OOfflfflittee or their ageHts campaign is cOHsidered to be a contribution to that 
candidate. 
The financing by any person of the dissemination, distribution or republication, in whole 
or in part, of any broadcast or any written or other campaign materials prepared by the 
candidate, or by any key person affiliated with the candidate's politieal committee or 
committees or their authorized ageHts is cOHsidered to be campaign is a contribution to 
that candidate. 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §1019-B, sub-§5, ,A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 389, §21, 
is amended to read: 
A. An expenditure made by a person in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or 
at the request or suggestion of, a candidate.,.-a or a key person affiliated with the 
candidate's political committee or their ae:eHts campaign;' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the majority report. 
It strikes the bill and amends the laws 
regarding limitations on campaign contributions and expenditures to clarify that any 
expenditures made by a key person who has been affiliated with a campaign in the last 
days, regardless of whether the person has been paid or the actual duties the person 
has performed, or by a person who has received compensation from the campaign, are a 
contribution to the candidate. 
The amendment clarifies that the value of services 
provided by an individual without compensation are excluded in the defmition of 
"expenditures." 
It also specifies categories of persons who are affiliated with a 
candidate's campaign for purposes of this provision. The amendment incorporates the 
term "agent" into the definition of "key person affiliated with the candidate's campaign" 
and thereby preserves the provision in existing law that designates expenditures by a 
candidate's agent as contributions to the candidate. The amendment also strikes the 
emergency preamble and the emergency clause from the bill. 
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