An Act To Increase Fairness in Campaign Financing
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0904
Committee Amendment CA_A_H568 (House)
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1004-A, 21-A MRSA §1015, 21-A MRSA §1015-B

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A " to H.P. 623, L.D. 904, Bill, "An Act To 
Increase Fairness in Campaign Financing" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1004-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 628, Pt. A, §1, 
is amended to read: 
2. 
Contribution in excess of limitations. 
A person that accepts or makes a 
contribution that exceeds the limitations set out in section 1015, sooseetieas subsection 1 
~ 
may be assessed a penalty of no more than the amount by which the contribution 
exceeded the limitation. 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 382, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
1. 
Individuals; committees; corporations; associations; organizations. 
An 
individual, political committee, political action committee, other committee, firm, 
partnership, corporation, association or organization may not make contributions to a 
candidate in support of the candidacy of one person aggregating more than $1,500 in any 
election for a gubernatorial candidate, more than $350 for a legislative candidate, more 
than $350 for a candidate for municipal office and beginning January 1, 2012 more than 
$750 for a candidate for municipal office or more than $750 in any election for any other 
candidate. This limitation does not apply to contributions in support of a candidate by 
that candidate or that candidate's spouse or domestic partner. Beginning December 1, 
2010, contribution limits in accordance with this subsection are adjusted every 2 years 
based on the Consumer Price Index as reported by the United States Department of 
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and rounded to the nearest amount divisible by $25. 
The commission shall post the current contribution limit and the amount of the next 
adjustment and the date that it will become effective on its publicly accessible website 
and include this information with any publication to be used as a guide for candidates. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
-. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A "to H.P. 623, L.D. 904 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2011, c. 382, §2, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A. Contributions for a primary election; applicability to a general election. A 
candidate seeking a party's nomination by primary election may accept contributions 
designated for both the primary election and the general election up to the date of the 
primary election. Contributions received after the primary election and before the general 
election are considered to be designated for the general election. Contributions received 
that are designated for the primary election must be segregated from those received or 
designated for the general election. The candidate shall indicate the election to which 
each contribution applies in campaign finance reports required to be filed with the 
comnusston. 
Contributions received and designated for the primary election may 
subsequently be designated for the general election in.accordance with paragraphs A and 
B. 
A. If a candidate is seeking a party's nomination by primary election and no other 
candidate for the same office has qualified for the primary by the deadline for 
submitting petitions prescribed by section 335, all contributions designated for the 
primary election that have not been spent as of the deadline are deemed to be 
contributions for the general election. The candidate shall indicate which of the 
candidate's primary election contributions apply to the general election in campaign 
finance reports required to be filed with the commission. Such contributions are to be 
counted toward a donor's contribution limit established in subsection 1 for the 
general election. 
B. 
A candidate who wins an opposed primary election may carry forward any 
unspent contributions designated for the primary election to the general election or 
return the primary election contributions to the donors who contributed them, as long 
as no donor receives more than the amount that donor contributed. 
Unspent 
contributions designated for the primary election that have not been returned to the 
donors are deemed to be contributions for the general election. Such contributions 
are applied to the donor's contribution limit established in subsection 1 for the 
general election. A candidate is considered opposed in a primary election when at 
least one other candidate for the same office has qualified for the primary election by 
petition under section 335. 
C. If a candidate carries forward to the general election a contribution designated for 
the primary election. and that contribution when added to a contribution from the 
same donor for the general election exceeds the limit established in subsection 1, the 
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candidate shall return to the donor an amount greater than or equal to the amount by 
which the contribution limit was exceeded. 
D. A candidate may not spend funds received for the primary election for goods or 
services that primarily promote the candidate in the general election. such as advance 
purchases for research. advertising or staff. 
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. A, §12, 
is repealed. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITIEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to H.P. 623, L.D. 904 
I 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §1015-B, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 334, §7, is amended to 
read: 
§1015-B. Donations to an individual considering whether to become a candidate 
If an individual receives funds, goods or services for the purpose of deciding whether 
to become a candidate, the funds, goods or services may not exceed the limitations in 
section 1015, subseetion5 subsection I ~-
The individual shall keep an account of 
such funds, goods or services received and all payments and obligations incurred in 
deciding whether to become a candidate. If the individual becomes a candidate, the 
funds, goods and services received are contributions and the payments and obligations are 
IO 
expenditures. The candidate shall disclose the contributions and expenditures in the first 
report filed by the candidate or the candidate's authorized campaign committee, in 
accordance with the commission's procedures. 
Sec. 7. Effective date. This Act takes effect December 1, 2016.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill and is presented in response to the United States 
District Court decision in Woodhouse, et al. v. Maine Commission on Governmental 
Ethics and Election Practices, et al., United States District Court, District of Maine, 
Docket No. 1:14-CV-266-DBH. 
The amendment provides that contributions received by a candidate for a primary 
election must be segregated from those received for the general election. The amendment 
allows a candidate who is unopposed in a primary election to use in the general election 
primary election contributions received prior to the deadline by which primary candidates 
must submit petitions to take part in a primary election. Contributions carried forward 
from the primary election to the general election are subject to the dollar limits that apply 
to contributions made to a candidate by a single donor. 
The amendment permits a 
candidate who defeats a primary opponent to carry forward to the general election 
unspent contributions received for the primary election. 
Regardless of whether the 
candidate was opposed in a primary election, if the sum of a primary election contribution 
and a general election contribution from the same donor exceeds contribution limits, the 
candidate must return at least the excess amount to the donor. 
The amendment specifies that contributions received for the purpose of supporting a 
candidate in a primary election may not be used primarily to support the candidate's 
general election. 
The amendment repeals the limit of $25,000 per calendar year on an individual's 
aggregate contributions to all political candidates. 
The amendment delays the effective date until December 1, 2016 and also makes 
technical, cross-reference changes. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved: 03/08/16 
feac::.. 
LD904 
LR 1704(02) 
An Act To Increase Fairness in Campaign Financing 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ~· ( f ff, I") 
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Any additional costs to the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices from changing how political 
candidates handle certain contributions are expected to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted 
resources. 
LR! 704(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1