An Act To Amend the State Election Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1449
Senate Amendment SA_A_S336 (Senate)
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1013-A, 21-A MRSA §1017

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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Reproduc~d and distributed under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate. 
STATE OF NfAINE 
SENATE 
127TH LEGISLATUlt.~ 
SENATE AMENDMENT" A "to S.P. 552, L.D. 1449, Bill, "An Act To Amend the 
State Election Laws" 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 3 the following: 
II 
'Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1013-A, sub-§l, 'lie, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. 
A, § 7, is further amended to read: 
C. 
No later than 10 days after becoming a candidate, as defined in section I, 
subsection 5, a candidate for the office of State House of Representatives or Senate 
sflal-l may file in writing a statement declaring that the candidate agrees to accept 
voluntary limits on political expenditures or that the candidate does not agree to 
accept voluntary limits on political expenditures, as specified in section 1015, 
subsections 7 to 9. 
A candidate who has filed a declaration of intent to become 
certified as a candidate under the Maine Clean Election Act is not required to file the 
written statement re~y 
described in this paragraph. 
The statement filed by a candidate who voluntarily agrees to limit spending must 
state that the candidate knows the voluntary expenditure limitations as set out in 
section 1015, subsection 8 and that the candidate is vohmtarily agreeing to limit the 
candidate's political expenditures and those made on behalf of the candidate by the 
candidate's political committee or committees, the candidate's party and the 
candidate's immediate family to the amount set by law. The statement must further 
state that the candidate does not condone and will not solicit any independent 
expenditures made on behalf of the candidate. 
The statement filed by a candidate who does not agree to voluntarily limit political 
expenditures must state that the candidate does not accept the voluntary expenditure 
limits as set out in section 1015, subsection 8. 
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1017, sub-§7-A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 138, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
7-A. Reporting exemption. A candidate seeking election to a county or municipal 
office or a legislative candidate seeking the nomination of a party in an uncontested 
primary election is exempt from reporting as provided by this subsection. 
SENA TE AMENDMENT 
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SENATE AMENDMENT" P, "(0 S.P. 552, L.D. 1,149 
A. A candidi1tc seeking ekction 10 a county or municiprd office may, <It the time the 
ccmdid,\te registers under section 1013-A, notify the commission that the c[lIldidat-:: 
and !bc candidate's agents, if any, '.viII not personally accept contributions, rnakc 
expenditures or incur obligations associated with that candidate's candidacy. The 
notification mu::;t be sworn and notarized. A candid<1tc who provides this notice to 
the commission is not rcql)ired to appoint a tn~asurer and is not subject to the filing 
requirements of this subchapter if the; statement is (rue. 
A-I. A l~ive candidate seeking the nomination of a party in an uncontested 
primary election may, at the time the candidate registers under section lOB-A, notifY 
the CQ!}1l11issio}L that the candidate and the candidate's agents, if any, will not 
personally accept contributions, make expenditures or incw obligations associated 
with that candidate's candidacy through the 35th day after the primmy election. The 
notification must be sworn and notarized. A candidate who provides this notice to 
the commission is not required to appoint a treasurer or to file the campaign finance 
reports under subsection 3-A, paragraphs Band D with respect to the primary 
election. 
B. 
The notice provided to the commiSSIOn under paragraph A or A-I may be 
revoked. Prior to revocation, the candidate must appoint a treaswer. The candidate 
may not accept contributions, make expenditures or incur obligations before the 
appointment of a treasurer and the filing of a revocation notice are accomplished. A 
revocation notice must be in the form of an amended registration, which must be filed 
with the commission no later than 10 days after the appointment of a treasurer. The 
candidate and the candidate's treasurer, as of the date the revocation notice is filed 
with the commission, may accept contributions, make expenditures and incur 
obligations associated with the candidate's candidacy. Any candidate who fails to file 
a timely revocation notice is subject to the penalties prescribed in section 1020-A, 
subsection 4-A, up to a maximum of $5,000. Lateness is calculated from the day a 
contribution is received, an expenditure is made or an obligation is incurred, 
whichever is earliest. 
Sec. 6. 21-A MRS A §1019-B, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2013, c. 334, §16, is 
further amended to read: 
4. Report required; content; rules. A person, party committee, political committee 
or political action committee that makes any independent expenditures aggregating 
expenditure in excess of $+00 $250 during anyone candidate's election shall file a report 
with the commission. In the case of a municipal election, the report must be filed with 
the municipal clerk. 
A. A report required by this subsection must be filed with the commission according 
to a reporting schedule that the commission shall establish by rule that takes into 
consideration existing campaign finance reporting requirements. 
Rules adopted 
pursuant to this paragraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A. 
B. A report required by this subsection' must contain an itemized account of each 
expenditure aggregating in excess of ~ 
$250 in anyone 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 
SENA TE AMENDMENT 
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SEt-IAil! /dVIENl)!Vl~NT" n·" ~o S.P. 5~2, LD. 14{·LJ 
cill,dici;:(e and lllW't iilCludc, under pcnally oC peJJur:y', as vovil.kd in Title 17-A, 
s:~ction1S 1) a st,ltcment under oath ur :itTir111alion \vb:ther the expendilur0 is made in 
cooperation, consuit::ltion or concert with, or at the rcqllest or suggestion of, the 
c:mdidate or an authorized committee or agent of the candidate. 
C. A report required by this subsection must be en 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 rcceives the statement made under oath or aftim1ation 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 clectronically. 
The commission I11<:lY adopt procedures allowing for the 
signed statement to be provisionally filed by facsimile or electronic mail, as long as 
the report is not qmsidered complete without the filing of the original signed 
statement. 
This subsection takes effect August 1, 2011.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment amends the laws goveming campaign finance and the Commission 
on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. 
1. 
Current law requires a traditionally financed legislative candidate to file a 
declaration stating whether or not the candidate will accept voluntary spending limits. 
This amendment makes that filing optional. 
2. It provides an exemption from filing primary election campaign finance reports 
for legislative candidates who file a sworn statement with the commission stating that 
they will not conduct financial activity for the primary election. 
This exemption is 
available only to candidates with no opponent in the primary election and does not 
exempt candidates from filing campaign finance reports for the general election. 
3. Under current law a person, party committee or political action committee must 
file a report when making an independent expenditure in excess of $100 in a candidate's 
campaign. This amendment raises that threshold for reporting to $250. 
SPONSORED BY: ~dc ~ 
(Senator CYRWAY) 
COUNTY: Kennebec 
SENATE AMENDMENT