An Act To Simplify the Filing of Campaign Independent Expenditure and 24-hour Reports
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1509
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: LUCHINI
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1017-A, 21-A MRSA §1019-B, 21-A MRSA §1059

Legislative Document 
No. 1509 
H.P. 1032 
House of Representatives, December 23, 2015 
An Act To Simplify the Filing of Campaign Independent 
Expenditure and 24-hour Reports 
Submitted by the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices pursuant to 
Joint Rule 203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 21, 2015.  Referred to the Committee on 
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative LUCHINI of Ellsworth. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §1017-A, sub-§4-A, ¶E, as amended by PL 2013, c. 334, 
§12, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
E.  A state party committee shall report within 24 hours the following contributions 
and expenditures if made or received after the 14th day before the election and more 
than 24 hours before 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election: 
(1)  Any single contribution of $5,000 or more received; and 
(2)  Any single expenditure of $1,000 or more made for: 
(a)  Communications to influence a ballot measure as described in section 
1052, subsection 1, paragraphs A to F; 
(b)  Polling that clearly identifies a candidate or ballot measure; or 
(c)  A contribution to a candidate, party committee, political action 
committee or ballot question committee. 
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §1017-A, sub-§4-B, ¶C, as amended by PL 2013, c. 334, 
§13, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
C.  A committee shall report within 24 hours the following contributions and 
expenditures if made or received after the 14th day before the election and more than 
hours before 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election: 
(1)  Any single contribution of $5,000 or more received; and 
(2)  Any single expenditure of $1,000 or more made for: 
(a)  Communications to influence a ballot measure as described in section 
1052, subsection 1, paragraphs A to F; 
(b)  Polling that clearly identifies a candidate or ballot measure; or 
(c)  A contribution to a candidate, party committee, political action 
committee or ballot question committee. 
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §1019-B, sub-§4, ¶B, as amended by PL 2015, c. 350, §6, 
is further amended to read: 
B.  A report required by this subsection must contain an itemized account of each 
expenditure in excess of $250 in any one candidate's election, the date and purpose of 
each expenditure and the name of each payee or creditor.  The report must state 
whether the expenditure is in support of or in opposition to the candidate and must 
include, under penalty of perjury unsworn falsification, as provided in Title 17-A, 
section 451 453, a statement under oath or affirmation whether the expenditure is 
made in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, 
the candidate or an authorized committee or agent of the candidate. 
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §1019-B, sub-§4, ¶C, as amended by PL 2013, c. 334, §16, 
is further amended to read: 
C.  A report required by this subsection must be on a form prescribed and prepared by 
the commission.  A person filing this report may use additional pages if necessary, 
but the pages must be the same size as the pages of the form.  The commission may 
adopt procedures requiring the electronic filing of an independent expenditure report, 
as long as the commission receives the statement made under oath or affirmation set 
out in paragraph B by the filing deadline and the commission adopts an exception for 
persons who lack access to the required technology or the technological ability to file 
reports electronically.  The commission may adopt procedures allowing for the 
signed statement to be provisionally filed by facsimile or electronic mail, as long as 
the report is not considered complete without the filing of the original signed 
statement. 
Sec. 5.  21-A MRSA §1059, sub-§2, ¶E, as amended by PL 2013, c. 334, §28, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
E.  A committee shall report within 24 hours the following contributions and 
expenditures if made or received after the 14th day before the election and more than 
hours before 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election: 
(1)  Any single contribution of $5,000 or more received; and 
(2)  Any single expenditure of $1,000 or more made for: 
(a)  Communications to influence a ballot measure as described in section 
1052, subsection 1, paragraphs A to F; 
(b)  Polling that clearly identifies a candidate or ballot measure; or 
(c)  A contribution to a candidate, party committee, political action 
committee or ballot question committee. 
SUMMARY 
This bill narrows the requirement for political action committees, ballot question 
committees and party committees to disclose within 24 hours expenditures greater than 
$1,000 made in the last 13 days before an election.  The 24-hour reporting requirement is 
limited to expenditures for communications to voters to influence a ballot measure, 
expenditures for polling activities and expenditures in the form of contributions to a 
political action committee, party committee, ballot question committee or candidate. 
The bill permits organizations making independent expenditures to affirm in writing 
or electronically that the expenditure was made independently of candidates in the race 
without requiring that the statement be made under oath.