An Act To Increase Transparency in Reporting of Party Committees, Political Action Committees and Ballot Question Committees
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1271
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: CAREY, TUTTLE, BEAULIEU, KESCHL, LUCHINI, LANGLEY, MASON, PATRICK, YOUNGBLOOD
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1004-A, 21-A MRSA §1004-C, 21-A MRSA §1012, 21-A MRSA §1017, 21-A MRSA §1017-A, 21-A MRSA §1019-C, 21-A MRSA §1052, 21-A MRSA §1053-B, 21-A MRSA §1059, 21-A MRSA §1060, 21-A MRSA §1062-A

Legislative Document 
No. 1271 
H.P. 910 
House of Representatives, March 28, 2013 
An Act To Increase Transparency in Reporting of Party 
Committees, Political Action Committees and Ballot Question 
Committees 
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative CAREY of Lewiston. 
Cosponsored by Senator TUTTLE of York and 
Representatives: BEAULIEU of Auburn, KESCHL of Belgrade, LUCHINI of Ellsworth, 
Senators: LANGLEY of Hancock, MASON of Androscoggin, PATRICK of Oxford, 
YOUNGBLOOD of Penobscot. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  1 MRSA c. 25, sub-c. 3 is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 3 
GOVERNOR-ELECT 
§1051.  Disclosure of donations to fund transition and inaugural activities 
The Governor-elect may solicit and accept donations for the purposes of financing 
the costs related to the inauguration of the Governor-elect and financing the operations 
related to the transition to the office of Governor. If the Governor-elect accepts donations, 
the Governor-elect must establish a committee and appoint a treasurer who is responsible 
for keeping records of donations and for filing a financial disclosure statement required 
by this section. All donations received must be deposited in a separate and segregated 
account and may not be commingled with any political contributions received by the 
Governor-elect or the political committee of the Governor-elect or any personal or 
business funds of the Governor-elect or any other person. 
1.  Registration with the commission and financial disclosure statement of 
donors.  A committee established pursuant to this section shall register and file a 
financial disclosure statement with the commission as required by this subsection. 
A.  The committee shall register with the commission within 10 days of appointing a 
treasurer. The registration must include the names and mailing addresses of the 
members of the committee, its treasurer and all individuals who are raising funds for 
the committee. 
B.  The financial disclosure statement must contain the names, addresses, occupations 
and employers of all donors who have given money or anything of value to the 
committee, along with the amounts and dates of the donations. Loans must be 
disclosed as a form of donation. Donors who have given $50 or less may be disclosed 
in the aggregate without itemization. 
C.  Any outstanding loan, debt or other obligation of the committee as of the filing 
deadline under paragraph D must be disclosed as donations to the committee. 
D.  The financial disclosure statement must be complete and filed by 5:00 p.m. on 
February 15th of the year following the election. 
The commission may adopt procedures and forms for the committee to use to disclose its 
donors.  In developing the required format of the financial disclosure statement, the 
commission shall consider the ease with which the public will be able to access the 
information and the reasonableness of the burden on the committee or the committee's 
treasurer. 
2.  Limitation on fund-raising.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, a 
committee established pursuant to this section may begin accepting donations on the day 
after the election of the Governor-elect until January 31st of the year following the 
election. 
3.  Prohibited donations during a legislative session.  The Governor-elect or a 
committee established pursuant to this section or the committee's treasurer may not 
directly or indirectly solicit or accept a donation from a lobbyist, lobbyist associate or 
employer during any period of time in which the Legislature is convened before final 
adjournment. A lobbyist, lobbyist associate or employer may not directly or indirectly 
give, offer or promise a donation to the Governor-elect, treasurer or committee during 
any period of time in which the Legislature is convened before final adjournment. 
4.  Anonymous donations.  A committee established pursuant to this section may not 
accept an anonymous donation in excess of $10. 
5.  Disposing of surplus funds.  Prior to the filing of the financial disclosure 
statement under subsection 1, any surplus funds remaining in the committee's account 
must either be donated to a charitable organization that qualifies as a not-for-profit 
corporation under the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Section 501(c)(3) or 
be remitted to the Treasurer of State. 
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §1004-A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 302, §§1 and 2, is 
further amended to read: 
§1004-A.  Penalties 
The commission may assess the following penalties in addition to the other monetary 
sanctions authorized in this chapter. 
1.  Late campaign finance report.  A person that files a late campaign finance report 
containing no contributions or expenditures may be assessed a penalty of no more than 
$100, except as provided in section 1004-C. 
2.  Contribution in excess of limitations.  A person that accepts or makes a 
contribution that exceeds the limitations set out in section 1015, subsections 1 and 2 may 
be assessed a penalty of no more than the amount by which the contribution exceeded the 
limitation, except as provided in section 1004-C. 
3.  Contribution in name of another person.  A person that makes a contribution in 
the name of another person, or that knowingly accepts a contribution made by one person 
in the name of another person, may be assessed a penalty not to exceed $5,000, except as 
provided in section 1004-C. 
4.  Substantial misreporting.  A person that files a campaign finance report that 
substantially misreports contributions, expenditures or other campaign activity may be 
assessed a penalty not to exceed $5,000, except as provided in section 1004-C. 
5.  Material false statements.  A person that makes a material false statement or that 
makes a statement that includes a material misrepresentation in a document that is 
required to be submitted to the commission, or that is submitted in response to a request 
by the commission, may be assessed a penalty not to exceed $5,000, except as provided 
in section 1004-C. 
When the commission has reason to believe that a violation has occurred, the 
commission shall provide written notice to the candidate, party committee, political 
action committee, committee treasurer or other respondent and shall afford them an 
opportunity to appear before the commission before assessing any penalty. In determining 
any penalty under subsections 3, 4 and 5, the commission shall consider, among other 
things, the level of intent to mislead, the penalty necessary to deter similar misconduct in 
the future and the harm suffered by the public from the incorrect disclosure. A final 
determination by the commission may be appealed to the Superior Court in accordance 
with Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 7 and the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 80C. 
Penalties assessed pursuant to this section that have not been paid in full within 30 
days after issuance of a notice of the final determination may be enforced in accordance 
with section 1004-B. 
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §1004-C is enacted to read: 
§1004-C.  Enhanced penalties for violations with aggravating circumstances 
Notwithstanding any maximum penalty set forth in this chapter, when assessing a 
penalty or monetary sanction, the commission may double the authorized penalty or 
monetary sanction for a violation occurring less than 28 days prior to an election day and 
may triple the authorized penalty or monetary sanction for a violation occurring less than 
days prior to an election day. 
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §1012, sub-§§1-A and 1-B are enacted to read: 
1-A.  Aggregate.  "Aggregate" means that separate contributions from a single source 
are added together for purposes of determining whether the total contribution meets or 
exceeds any limit or reporting threshold in this subchapter.  Unless otherwise specified, 
an aggregate contribution includes all contributions from a single source within any 
continuous 12-month period.  For reporting purposes, an aggregate contribution reaches a 
specified limit when the total contributions from a single source within the continuous 
12-month period equal or exceed the specified amount. 
1-B.  Bundled contribution.  "Bundled contribution" means a contribution that: 
A.  A contributor entrusts to a person who in turn delivers it to a candidate 
committee, political action committee or party committee with other contributions, 
the total dollar amount of which exceeds the contribution limit applicable to a single 
contribution; or 
B.  Is received by a candidate committee, political action committee or party 
committee directly from a contributor but credited by the receiving committee to 
another person through records, designations or other means of recognizing that a 
certain amount of money has been raised by the person. 
Sec. 5.  21-A MRSA §1017, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2011, c. 522, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
5.  Content.  A report required under this section must contain the itemized accounts 
of contributions received during that report filing period, including the date a contribution 
was received, and the name, address, occupation, principal place of business, if any, and 
the amount of the contribution of each person who has made a contribution or 
contributions aggregating in excess of $50.  The report must contain the itemized 
expenditures made or authorized during the report filing period, the date and purpose of 
each expenditure and the name of each payee and creditor and any refund that a payee has 
made to the candidate or an agent of the candidate.  If the payee is a member of the 
candidate's household or immediate family, the candidate must disclose the candidate's 
relationship to the payee in a manner prescribed by the commission.  The report must 
contain a statement of any loan to a candidate by a financial institution in connection with 
that candidate's candidacy that is made during the period covered by the report, whether 
or not the loan is defined as a contribution under section 1012, subsection 2, paragraph A.  
The report must contain the name, address and employer of each contributor reasonably 
known by the candidate to have made a bundled contribution.  The candidate and the 
treasurer are jointly and severally responsible for the timely and accurate filing of each 
required report. 
Sec. 6.  21-A MRSA §1017-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2009, c. 190, Pt. A, §8, 
is further amended to read: 
1.  Contributions.  A party committee shall report all contributions in cash or in kind 
from a single contributor that in the aggregate total more than $200.  The party committee 
shall report the name, mailing address, occupation and place of business of each 
contributor.  Contributions of $200 or less must be reported, and these contributions may 
be reported as a lump sum.  The party committee shall report the name, address and 
employer of each contributor reasonably known by the committee to have made a 
bundled contribution. 
Sec. 7.  21-A MRSA §1017-A, sub-§4-A, ¶E, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, 
Pt. A, §17, is further amended to read: 
E.  A state party committee shall report any expenditure of $500 $1,000 or more 
made after the 14th day before the election and more than 24 hours before 5:00 p.m. 
on the day of the election within 24 hours of that expenditure. 
Sec. 8.  21-A MRSA §1017-A, sub-§4-A, ¶F is enacted to read: 
F.  A state party committee shall report any aggregate contribution of $1,000 or more 
after the 14th day before the election and more than 24 hours before 5:00 p.m. on the 
day of the election within 24 hours of receipt of the contribution. 
Sec. 9.  21-A MRSA §1017-A, sub-§4-B, ¶D is enacted to read: 
D.  Any aggregate contribution of $1,000 or more made after the 14th day before any 
election and more than 24 hours before 11:59 p.m. on the day of the election must be 
reported within 24 hours of the contribution. 
Sec. 10.  21-A MRSA §1019-C is enacted to read: 
§1019-C.  Reports of covered transfers 
1.  Definitions.  For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise 
indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Covered transfer" means a transfer or payment of funds by a person, business 
entity or political action committee to another person, business entity or political 
action committee if the person, business entity or political action committee making 
the transfer or payment: 
(1)  Designates, requests or suggests that the funds be used for independent 
expenditures or makes the transfer or payment to another person for the purpose 
of making or paying for independent expenditures; 
(2)  Makes the transfer or payment in response to a solicitation or other request 
for a transfer or payment for the making of or paying for independent 
expenditures or for making a transfer or payment to another person for the 
purpose of making or paying for independent expenditures; 
(3)  Engages in discussions with the recipient of the transfer or payment 
regarding independent expenditures or makes the transfer or payment to another 
person for the purpose of making or paying for independent expenditures; or 
(4) Made independent expenditures in an aggregate amount of $5,000 or more 
during the 2-year period ending on the date of the transfer or payment or knew or 
had reason to know that the person receiving the transfer or payment made 
independent expenditures in such an aggregate amount during that 2-year period. 
"Covered transfer" does not include a transfer or payment made by a person, business 
entity or political action committee in the ordinary course of any trade or business 
conducted by the person, business entity or political action committee or in the form 
of investments made by the person, business entity or political action committee. 
"Covered transfer" does not include a transfer or payment made by a person, business 
entity or political action committee if the person, business entity or political action 
committee making the transfer or payment prohibits, in writing, the use of the transfer 
or payment for independent expenditures or covered transfers and the recipient of the 
transfer or payment agrees to follow the prohibition and deposits the transfer or 
payment in an account that is segregated from any account used to make independent 
expenditures or covered transfers. 
"Covered transfer" does not include transfers or payments of less than $1,000 in 
aggregate to a single recipient during any 12-month period. 
B.  "Independent expenditure" has the same meaning as in section 1019-B, subsection 
1. 
2.  Reporting required.  An entity that makes a covered transfer shall file a report 
with the commission according to a reporting schedule that the commission establishes by 
rule.  The reporting schedule must be comparable to the reporting required for 
independent expenditures. 
The report must contain an itemized account of each covered transfer, including the name 
of the transferor, the date of the covered transfer, the amount of the covered transfer and 
the name of each payee or creditor. 
If the entity making the covered transfer has received more than $5,000 in funding from 
other sources for the purpose of directly or indirectly financing independent expenditures, 
the identities of those other sources and the amounts of funding received from them must 
also be reported. 
3.  Rulemaking.  The commission shall adopt rules to ensure effective reporting of 
covered transfers.  These rules must exempt from reporting any separate or segregated 
fund maintained by an entity if that fund is established with safeguards to ensure that it is 
not used directly or indirectly to fund independent expenditures. Rules adopted pursuant 
to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A. 
Sec. 11.  21-A MRSA §1052, sub-§§1-A and 1-B are enacted to read: 
1-A.  Aggregate.  "Aggregate" means that separate contributions from a single source 
are added together for purposes of determining whether the total contribution meets or 
exceeds any limit or reporting threshold in this subchapter.  Unless otherwise specified, 
an aggregate contribution includes all contributions from a single source within any 
continuous 12-month period.  For reporting purposes, an aggregate contribution reaches a 
specified limit when the total contributions from a single source within the continuous 
12-month period equal or exceed the specified amount. 
1-B.  Bundled contribution.  "Bundled contribution" means a contribution that: 
A.  A contributor entrusts to a person who in turn delivers it to a candidate 
committee, political action committee or party committee with other contributions, 
the total dollar amount of which exceeds the contribution limit applicable to a single 
contribution; or 
B.  Is received by a candidate committee, political action committee or party 
committee directly from a contributor but credited by the receiving committee to 
another person through records, designations or other means of recognizing that a 
certain amount of money has been raised by the person. 
Sec. 12.  21-A MRSA §1053-B, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §36, is further 
amended to read: 
§1053-B.  Out-of-state political action committees 
A political action committee organized outside of this State shall register and file 
reports with the commission in accordance with sections 1053 and 1058.  The committee 
is not required to register and file reports if the committee’s only financial activity within 
the State is to make contributions to candidates, party committees, political action 
committees or ballot question committees registered with the commission or a 
municipality and the committee has not raised and accepted any contributions during the 
calendar year to influence a campaign in this State.  Nothing in this section exempts a 
political action committee organized outside of this State from filing reports of covered 
transfers pursuant to section 1019-C. 
Sec. 13.  21-A MRSA §1059, sub-§2, ¶E, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. A, 
§35, is further amended to read: 
E.  A committee shall report any expenditure of $500 $1,000 or more made after the 
14th day before the election and more than 24 hours before 5:00 p.m. on the day of 
the election within 24 hours of that expenditure. 
Sec. 14.  21-A MRSA §1059, sub-§2, ¶F is enacted to read: 
F.  A committee shall report any aggregate contribution of $1,000 or more made after 
the 14th day before the election and more than 24 hours before 5:00 p.m. on the day 
of the election within 24 hours of the contribution. 
Sec. 15.  21-A MRSA §1060, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §47, is 
further amended to read: 
6.  Identification of contributions.  Names, occupations, places of business and 
mailing addresses of contributors who have given more than $50 to the political action 
committee in the reporting period and the amount and date of each contribution, except 
that an organization qualifying as a political action committee under section 1052, 
subsection 5, paragraph A, subparagraph (5) is required to report only those contributions 
made to the organization for the purpose of influencing a ballot question or the 
nomination or election of a candidate to political office and all transfers to or funds used 
to support the political action committee from the general treasury of the organization.  A 
political action committee other than a ballot question committee shall report the name, 
address and employer of each contributor reasonably known by the committee to have 
made a bundled contribution; and 
Sec. 16.  21-A MRSA §1062-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2009, c. 190, Pt. A, 
§28, is further amended to read: 
1.  Registration.  A political action committee required to register under section 1053 
or 1053-B or a ballot question committee required to register under section 1056-B that 
fails to do so or that fails to provide the information required by the commission for 
registration may be assessed a fine of $250 up to $10,000.  When determining the amount 
of the fine, the commission shall consider the scope of activities of the political action 
committee or ballot question committee that were not reported due to the failure to 
register. 
Sec. 17.  21-A MRSA §1062-A, sub-§3, ¶¶A, B and C, as enacted by PL 1995, 
c. 483, §21, are amended to read: 
A.  For the first violation, 1% 2%; 
B.  For the 2nd violation, 3% 4%; and 
C.  For the 3rd and subsequent violations, 5% 6%. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing campaign finance 
reporting and disclosure: 
1.  It authorizes a Governor-elect to establish a committee for the purpose of 
receiving donations to finance inaugural activities and the Governor-elect's transition into 
office and establishes requirements regarding disclosure and lobbying; 
2.  It authorizes the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices to 
impose enhanced penalties for campaign finance violations occurring shortly before 
election day; 
3.  It defines "bundled contribution" and requires that party committees and political 
action committees report the name, address and employer of each person reasonably 
known by the committee to have made a bundled contribution; 
4.  It requires that party committees, political action committees and ballot question 
committees report contributions aggregating $1,000 or more and expenditures of $1,000 
or more made after the 14th day before the election and more than 24 hours before the 
day of the election within 24 hours of the contribution or expenditure; 
5.  It requires that political action committees, party committees and ballot question 
committees report the name and office or the office sought of a Governor, constitutional 
officer, Legislator or a candidate for such an office who solicits contributions during the 
reporting period; 
6.  It defines "covered transfer" as a transfer of funds by a person, entity or political 
action committee when there is intent or understanding that the transfer is to be used to 
make or pay for an independent expenditure and requires that any entity making such a 
transfer report that transfer; and 
7.  It increases the penalties for failure to register as a political action committee or as 
a ballot question committee and for late filing of required reports.