An Act To Define "Leadership Political Action Committee
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1125
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1001, 21-A MRSA §1053-D, 21-A MRSA §1125

Legislative Document
No. 1125
H.P. 803
House of Representatives, March 22, 2021
An Act To Define "Leadership Political Action Committee"
Reported by Representative CAIAZZO of Scarborough for the Commission on 
Governmental Ethics and Election Practices pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, 
section 1009.
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 18, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §1001, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A.  Leadership political action committee.  "Leadership political action 
committee" means a political action committee designated under section 1053-D that is 
directly or indirectly established, maintained or controlled by a member of the Legislature 
but is not a caucus political action committee under section 1053-C.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §1053-D is enacted to read:
§1053-D.  Leadership political action committees
When a leadership political action committee registers pursuant to section 1052-A, the 
committee shall identify the Legislator's position in the committee as required by section 
1052-A, subsection 2.  Once the Legislator leaves office for any reason, the commission 
shall update its records to remove any designation of the committee as a leadership political 
action committee.
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§6-F, as amended by PL 2019, c. 635, §6, is 
further amended to read:
6-F.  Participation in political action committees.  A participating candidate or a 
certified candidate may not establish a leadership political action committee for which the 
candidate is a treasurer or principal officer or for which the candidate is primarily 
responsible for fund-raising or decision making.  This prohibition applies between April 
1st immediately preceding a general election through:
A.  The date on which the candidate withdraws from a race;
B.  The date of the primary election or general election for a candidate who loses either 
election; or
C.  January 1st immediately preceding the next general election for a candidate who 
wins the general election.
This prohibition also applies to a participating candidate or certified candidate in a special 
election, except that the prohibition begins on the date of the candidate's nomination.  This 
subsection does not prohibit a participating candidate or certified candidate, including a 
certified candidate who wins a general or special election, from engaging in fund-raising 
or decision making for a caucus political action committee, a ballot question committee or 
a political action committee formed for the purpose of promoting or opposing a ballot 
question.  This prohibition applies to a participating candidate or certified candidate 
regardless of the date on which the political action committee was established.
SUMMARY
This bill defines "leadership political action committee" in the campaign reports and 
finances laws as a political action committee that is directly or indirectly established, 
maintained or controlled by a member of the Legislature, who must be identified, but is not 
a caucus political action committee.  It also provides that it is a leadership political action 
committee that a Maine Clean Election Act participating candidate or certified candidate 
may not establish while running for office or, with the exception of a 3-month period from 
January 1st to April 1st, holding office.