An Act Regarding Publicly Financed Legislative Candidates in Competitive Primaries
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1442
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: GROHOSKI, WHITE
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1125

Legislative Document
No. 1442
H.P. 1058
House of Representatives, April 12, 2021
An Act Regarding Publicly Financed Legislative Candidates in 
Competitive Primaries
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 8, 2021.  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 GROHOSKI of Ellsworth.
Cosponsored by Representative: WHITE of Waterville.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§7-B, ¶B, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §23, is 
amended to read:
B.  For legislative candidates, any supplemental primary or general election 
distributions made pursuant to subsections 8-C and 8-D must be made within 3 
business days of certification by the commission of the required number of additional 
qualifying contributions.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§8-C, ¶B, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §25, is 
amended to read:
B.  For a contested primary election, the total distribution of revenues is $10,000 per 
candidate. the amount of revenues distributed is as follows:
(1)  The initial distribution of revenues is $10,000 per candidate;
(2)  For each increment of 30 additional qualifying contributions a candidate 
collects and submits pursuant to subsection 8-E, not to exceed a total of 240 
additional qualifying contributions, the supplemental distribution of revenues to 
that candidate is $4,285; and
(3)  The total amount of revenues distributed for a contested primary election may 
not exceed $27,140 per candidate.
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§8-C, ¶E is enacted to read:
E.  A candidate may receive no more than 8 supplemental distributions under this 
subsection.
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§8-D, ¶B, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §25, is 
amended to read:
B.  For a contested primary election, the total distribution of revenues is $2,500 per 
candidate. the amount of revenues distributed is as follows:
(1)  The initial distribution of revenues is $2,500 per candidate;
(2)  For each increment of 10 additional qualifying contributions a candidate 
collects and submits pursuant to subsection 8-E, not to exceed a total of 80 
additional qualifying contributions, the supplemental distribution of revenues to 
that candidate is $1,070; and
(3)  The total amount of revenues distributed for a contested primary election may 
not exceed $6,780 per candidate.
Sec. 5.  21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§8-D, ¶E is enacted to read:
E.  A candidate may receive no more than 8 supplemental distributions under this 
subsection.
Sec. 6.  21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§8-E, as amended by PL 2019, c. 323, §33, is 
further amended by amending the first blocked paragraph to read:
Additional qualifying contributions may be submitted to the commission at any time in any 
amounts in accordance with the schedules in this subsection. The commission shall make 
supplemental distributions to candidates in the amounts and in accordance with the 
increments specified in subsections 8-B to 8-D.  If a candidate submits additional 
qualifying contributions prior to a primary election in excess of the number of qualifying 
contributions for which a candidate may receive a distribution, the excess qualifying 
contributions may, at the candidate's choosing, be counted as primary election additional 
qualifying contributions or general election additional qualifying contributions if the 
candidate has a contested general election.  If a candidate submits additional qualifying 
contributions prior to a primary election in excess of the number of additional qualifying 
contributions for which a candidate may receive a supplemental distribution, the excess 
qualifying contributions must be counted as general election additional qualifying 
contributions if the candidate has a contested general election, but supplemental 
distributions.  Distributions based on these excess primary election additional qualifying 
contributions may not be distributed until after the primary election.
SUMMARY
This bill permits participating candidates for the State Senate and State House of 
Representatives in contested primary elections to receive up to 4 supplemental distributions 
of revenue from the Maine Clean Election Fund.  The bill allows a participating candidate 
in a contested primary election to choose to receive supplemental distributions during the 
primary election or during a contested general election.  The bill limits the total number of 
supplemental distributions a participating candidate may receive in an election cycle to 8.