An Act Regarding Primary Election Contribution Limits and Contribution Limits for Unenrolled Candidates
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 0976
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: LUCHINI
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1004-A, 21-A MRSA §1015, 21-A MRSA §1015-B

Legislative Document
No. 976
H.P. 689
House of Representatives, March 9, 2017
An Act Regarding Primary Election Contribution Limits and 
Contribution Limits for Unenrolled Candidates
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
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 §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, subsections subsection 1 
and 2 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. 
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 
commission. 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 election 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 
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. 
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, subsections subsection 1 and 2.  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 
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. 
SUMMARY 
This bill 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 bill provides that contributions received by a candidate for a primary election 
must be segregated from those received for the general election. The bill 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 bill 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 bill 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 campaign. 
The bill repeals the limit of $25,000 per calendar year on an individual's aggregate 
contributions to all political candidates. 
Finally, the bill also makes technical, cross-reference changes.