An Act To Define the Term "Caucus Political Action Committee
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1902
Committee Amendment CA_B_S392 (Senate)
Amends: 1 MRSA §1002, 21-A MRSA §1001, 21-A MRSA §1053-C, 21-A MRSA §1122

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "/?) " to S.P. 654, L.D. 1902, Bill, "An Act To 
Define the Term "Caucus Political Action Committee"" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Define the Terms "Caucus Political Action Committee" and 
"Unenrolled Political Action Committee"' 
Amend the bill by inserting after the enacting clause and before section 1 the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 1 MRSA §1002, sub-§1-A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 323, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
1-A. 
Membership. 
The Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election 
Practices, established by Title 5, section 12004-G, subsection 33 and referred to in this 
chapter as the "commission," consists of 5 members appointed as follows. 
A. By December 1, 2001 and as needed after that date, the appointed leader from 
eaoh politioal party in the Senate caucus leaders and the appointed leader from eaoh 
politioal party in the House of Representatives House caucus leaders jointly shall 
establish and advertise a 30-day period to allow members of the public and groups 
and organizations to propose qualified individuals to be nominated for appointment to 
the commission. 
B. By January 1, 2002 and as needed after that date, the appointed leader from eaoh 
politioal party in the Senate caucus leaders and the appointed leader from each 
politioal party in the House of Representatives House caucus leaders each shall 
present a list of 3 qualified individuals to the Governor for appointment of 4 members 
to the commission. The appointed leadership from eaoh party in both bodies of the 
Legislature Senate caucus leaders and House caucus leaders jointly shall present a list 
of 3 qualified individuals to the Governor for appointment of a 5th member to the 
commission. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
"to S.P. 654, L.D. 1902 
C. By March 15, 2002, the Governor shall appoint the members of the commission 
selecting one member from each of the lists of nominees presented in accordance 
with paragraph A. 
These nominees are subject to review by the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over legal affairs and confinnation 
by the Legislature. No more than 2 commission members may be emolled in the 
same party. 
D. Two initial appointees are appointed for one-year te1ms, 2 are appointed for 2-
year terms and one is appointed for a 3-year term, according to a random lot drawing 
under the supervision of the Secretary of State. Subsequent appointees are appointed 
to serve 3-year terms. A person may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms, except 
that if a person is appointed to fill the unexpired portion of a term to fill a vacancy 
under paragraph F and that portion is less than 2 years, the person may serve 2 
consecutive full terms thereafter. 
E. The commission members shall elect one member to serve as chair for at least a 2-
year term. 
F. Upon a vacancy during an unexpired term, the term must be filled as provided in 
this paragraph for the unexpired portion of the term only. The nominee must be 
appointed by the Governor from a list of 3 qualified candidates provided by the 
Senate caucus leader or House caucus leader of the party from the body of the 
Legislature that suggested the appointee who created the vacancy. If the vacancy 
during an unexpired term was created by the commission member who was appointed 
from the list of candidates presented to the Governor by the leaders of eaoh party of 
eaoh body of the Legislature Senate caucus leaders and House caucus leaders jointly, 
the nominee must be appointed from a list of 3 qualified candidates provided jointly 
by the leaders of each party of eaoh body of the Legislature Senate caucus leaders and 
House caucus leaders. If the list of 3 qualified candidates required by this paragraph 
to be presented to the Governor jointly by the leaders of eaoh party from eaoh body of 
the Legislature Senate caucus leaders and House caucus leaders is not produced 
within 60 days after the vacancy is created, then the leaders of eaoh party from both 
bodies of the Legislature each Senate caucus leader and House caucus leader shall 
present within the subsequent 15 days a separate list of 3 qualified candidates to the 
Governor, who shall appoint a candidate from these lists within 30 days of receiving 
the lists. Nominees appointed pursuant to this paragraph are subject to review by the 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over election practices 
and legislative ethics and to confirmation by the Legislature. 
G. 
Upon a vacancy created by an expired term, the vacancy must be filled as 
provided in this paragraph. The nominee must be appointed by the Governor from a 
list of 3 qualified candidates provided by the Senate caucus leader or House caucus 
leader of the party from the body of the Legislature that suggested the appointee 
whose term expired. 
When a vacancy is created by an expired term of the 
commission member who was appointed from the list of candidates presented to the 
Governor by the leaders of eaoh party of eaoh body of the Legislature Senate caucus 
leaders and House caucus leaders jointly, the nominee must be appointed from a list 
of 3 qualified candidates provided jointly by the leaders of eaoh party of eaoh body of 
the Legislature Senate caucus leaders and House caucus leaders. If the list of 3 
qualified candidates required by this paragraph to be presented to the Governor 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" Ji," to S.P. 654, L.D. 1902 
-
jointly by the leaders of eaoh party from eaoh body of the Legislature Senate caucus 
leaders and House caucus leaders is not produced within 60 days after the vacancy is 
created, then the leaders of eaoh party from both bodies of the Legislature each 
Senate caucus leader and House caucus leader shall present within the subsequent 15 
days a separate list of 3 qualified candidates to the Governor, who shall appoint a 
candidate from these lists within 30 days of receiving the lists. Nominees appointed 
pursuant to this paragraph are subject to review by the joint standing committee of 
the Legislature having jurisdiction over election practices and legislative ethics and to 
confirmation by the Legislature. 
H. For the purposes of this subsection, "politioal party" has the same meaning as 
"party" as defined by Title 21 A, seotion 1, subseotion 28 "Senate caucus leader" has 
the same meaning as in Title 21-A, section 1053-C, subsection 1, paragraph D and 
"House caucus leader" has the same meaning as in Title 21-A, section 1053-C, 
subsection 1, paragraph A.' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following: 
'Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1001, sub-§4 is enacted to read: 
4. Unenrolled political action committee. "Unenrolled political action committee" 
means a political action committee designated under section 1053-C to promote the 
election ofunenrolled candidates to the Senate or the House of Representatives.' 
Amend the bill in section 2 in subsection 2 in the 3rd line (page 1, line 10 in L.D.) by 
inserting after the following: "committees" the following: ', unenrolled political action 
committees' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 3 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1053-C is enacted to read: 
§1053-C. 
Caucus political action committees and unenrolled political action 
committees 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A. "House caucus leader" means a member of a political party in the House of 
Representatives who has been elected the leader of that political party in the House of 
Representatives. For purposes of this paragraph, if the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives is a member of a political party, the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives is deemed the House caucus leader of that political party. 
B. "House unenrolled leader" means a member of the House of Representatives who 
is not enrolled in a political party and who has been elected the leader of the members 
of the House of Representatives who are not enrolled in a political party. 
For 
7 
purposes of this paragraph, if the Speaker of the House of Representatives is not 
enrolled in a political party, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is deemed 
the House unenrolled leader. 
C. 
"Political party" has the same meaning as "party" as defined by section 1, 
subsection 28. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
"to S.P. 654, L.D. 1902 
D. "Senate caucus leader" means a member of a political party in the Senate who has 
been elected the leader of that political party in the Senate. For purposes of this 
paragraph, if the President of the Senate is a member of a political party, the 
President of the Senate is deemed the Senate caucus leader of that political party. 
E. "Senate unenrolled leader" means a member of the Senate who is not enrolled in a 
political party and who has been elected the leader of the members of the Senate who 
are not enrolled in a political party. For purposes of this paragraph, if the President 
of the Senate is not enrolled in a political party, the President of the Senate is deemed 
the Senate unenrolled leader. 
2. Designation of caucus political action committee. Each Senate caucus leader 
and each House caucus leader may designate one caucus political action committee to 
promote the election of nominees of the caucus leader's political party to the body of the 
Legislature of which the caucus leader is a member. The designation must be made in a 
letter to the commission and remains effective until a new designation is made in a letter 
to the commission from the caucus leader of the same political party and same body of 
the Legislature. 
3. Designation of unenrolled political action committee. The Senate unenrolled 
leader and the House unenrolled leader may each designate one unenrolled political 
action committee to promote the election of unenrolled candidates to the body of the 
Legislature of which the unenrolled leader is a member. The designation must be made 
in a letter to the commission and remains effective until a new designation is made in a 
letter to the commission from the unenrolled leader of the same body of the Legislature.' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 4 the following: 
'Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§10 is enacted to read: 
10. 
Unenrolled political action committee. 
"Unenrolled political action 
committee" has the same meaning as in section 1001, subsection 4.' 
Amend the bill in section 5 in subsection 6-F in the blocked paragraph in the 5th line 
(page 2, line 5 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "committee," the following: 'an 
unenrolled political action committee,' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is a minority report of the committee, clarifies the process 
for the designation of caucus political action committees by specifying that each Senate 
caucus leader and each House caucus leader may designate one caucus political action 
committee to promote the election of nominees of the caucus leader's political party to the 
body of the Legislature of which that caucus leader is a member. Under the amendment, 
a caucus leader is a member of a political party in a body of the Legislature who has been 
elected the leader of that political party in that body of the Legislature. If the President of 
the Senate or the Speaker of the House is a member of a political party, the President of 
the Senate or Speaker of the House is the caucus leader of that political party in the 
respective body of the Legislature. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
. "to S.P. 654, L.D. 1902 
The amendment also makes technical changes to the law governing the appointment 
of members of the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. 
Specifically, in the provisions outlining who has the authority to propose individuals for 
appointment to the commission, the phrases "appointed leader from each political party in 
the Senate" and "appointed leader from each political party in the House of 
Representatives" are replaced with the newly defined terms "Senate caucus leader" and 
"House caucus leader." 
The amendment further allows the unenrolled members of the Senate and the 
unenrolled members of the House of Representatives to elect a leader who may designate 
an unenrolled political action committee to promote the election ofunenrolled candidates 
to that body of the Legislature. Like a caucus political action committee, an unenrolled 
political action committee may make unlimited donations to a candidate to fund a 
recount. 
In addition, although Maine Clean Election Act candidates are generally 
prohibited from serving as the treasurer, principal officer, primary fund-raiser or primary 
decision maker for a political action committee, the amendment authorizes Maine Clean 
Election Act candidates to engage in fund-raising or decision making for an unenrolled 
political action committee to the same extent that Maine Clean Election Act candidates 
may engage in such activities for a caucus political action committee. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT