An Act to Modify the Requirements for Political Action Committees and Ballot Question Committees
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1485
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1052, 21-A MRSA §1052-A, 21-A MRSA §1053-A, 21-A MRSA §1054, 21-A MRSA §1054-A, 21-A MRSA §1056-B, 21-A MRSA §1057, 21-A MRSA §1059, 21-A MRSA §1060

Legislative Document
No. 1485
H.P. 1099
House of Representatives, April 14, 2021
An Act to Modify the Requirements for Political Action Committees 
and Ballot Question Committees
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 April 12, 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 §1052, as amended by PL 2019, c. 563, §3, is further amended 
to read:
§1052.  Definitions
As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Campaign.  "Campaign" means any course of activities to influence the nomination 
or election of a candidate or to initiate or influence any of the following ballot measures:
A.  A people's veto referendum under the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, 
Section 17;
B.  A direct initiative of legislation under the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part 
Third, Section 18;
C.  An amendment to the Constitution of Maine under Article X, Section 4;
D.  A referendum vote on a measure enacted by the Legislature and expressly 
conditioned upon ratification by a referendum vote under the Constitution of Maine, 
Article IV, Part Third, Section 19;
E.  The ratification of the issue of bonds by the State or any agency thereof; and
F.  Any county or municipal referendum.
2.  Committee.  "Committee" means any political action committee, as defined in this 
subchapter, or any ballot question committee required to be registered under section 
1056‑B or ballot question committee and includes any agent of a political action committee 
or ballot question committee.
2-A.  Ballot question committee.  "Ballot question committee" means a person that 
receives contributions or makes expenditures aggregating in excess of $5,000 for the 
purpose of initiating or influencing a campaign, other than a campaign for the nomination 
or election of a candidate.  The term "ballot question committee" does not include a political 
action committee or an exempt donor.
3.  Contribution.  "Contribution" includes:
A.  A gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money or anything of value made 
to or received by a political action committee, except that a loan of money by a financial 
institution made in accordance with applicable banking laws and regulations and in the 
ordinary course of business is not included; for the purpose of initiating or influencing 
a campaign, including but not limited to:
(1)  Funds that the contributor specified were given, in whole or in part, in 
connection with a campaign;
(2)  Funds provided in response to a solicitation that would lead the contributor to 
believe that the funds would be used specifically, in whole or in part, for the 
purpose of initiating or influencing a campaign; and
(3)  Funds that can reasonably be determined to have been provided by the 
contributor for the purpose of initiating or influencing a campaign when viewed in 
the context of the contribution and the recipient committee's activities regarding a 
campaign;
A-1.  Any funds deposited or transferred into the campaign account described in section 
1054;
B.  A contract, promise or agreement, expressed or implied, whether or not legally 
enforceable, to make a contribution to a political action committee;
C.  Any funds received by a political action committee that are to be transferred to any 
candidate, committee, campaign or organization for the purpose of initiating or 
influencing a campaign; or
D.  The payment, by any person or organization, of compensation for the personal 
services of other persons provided to a political action committee that is used by the 
political action committee to initiate or influence a campaign.
"Contribution" does not include a loan of money by a financial institution made in 
accordance with applicable banking laws and regulations and in the ordinary course of 
business.
3-A.  Exempt donor.  "Exempt donor" means a person that has not received 
contributions for the purpose of influencing a campaign in the prior 2 years and whose only 
payments of money to influence a campaign in the prior 2 years are:
A.  Contributions of money to candidates, party committees, political action 
committees or ballot question committees registered with the commission or a 
municipality; or
B.  Payments for goods or services with an aggregate value of no more than $100,000 
contributed to candidates, party committees, political action committees or ballot 
question committees registered with the commission or a municipality.
4.  Expenditure.  The term "expenditure:"":
A.  Includes:
(1)  A purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or 
anything of value, made for the purpose of initiating or influencing a campaign;
(1-A)  Any purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money 
made from the campaign account described in section 1054;
(2)  A contract, promise or agreement, expressed or implied, whether or not legally 
enforceable, to make any expenditure for the purposes set forth in this paragraph; 
and
(3)  The transfer of funds by a political action committee to another candidate or 
political committee; and
B.  Does not include:
(1)  Any news story, commentary or editorial distributed through the facilities of 
any broadcasting station, cable television system, newspaper, magazine or other 
periodical publication, unless these facilities are owned or controlled by any 
political party, political committee, candidate or the spouse or domestic partner of 
a candidate;
(2)  Activity designed to encourage individuals to register to vote or to vote, if that 
activity or communication does not mention a clearly identified candidate;
(3)  Any communication by any membership organization or corporation to its 
members or stockholders, if that membership organization or corporation is not 
organized primarily for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of 
any person to state or county office;
(4)  The use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food and 
beverages, voluntarily provided by a political action committee in rendering 
voluntary personal services for candidate-related activities, if the cumulative value 
of these activities by the political action committee on behalf of any candidate does 
not exceed $250 with respect to any election;
(5)  Any unreimbursed travel expenses incurred and paid for by a political action 
committee that volunteers personal services to a candidate, if the cumulative 
amount of these expenses does not exceed $100 with respect to any election; and
(6)  Any communication by any political action a committee member that is not 
made for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of any person to 
state or county office.; and
(7)  Any payments to initiate a people's veto referendum or the direct initiative of 
legislation made prior to the submission of an application to the Department of the 
Secretary of State as provided in section 901.
4-A.  Influence.  "Influence" means to promote, support, oppose or defeat.
4-B.  Initiate.  "Initiate" includes the collection of signatures and related activities to 
qualify a state or local initiative or referendum for the ballot.
5.  Political action committee.  The term "political action committee:"":
A.  Includes:
 (1)  Any separate or segregated fund established by any corporation, membership 
organization, cooperative or labor or other organization whose purpose is to initiate 
or influence a campaign;
 (4)  Any person, including any corporation or association, other than an individual, 
that has as its major purpose initiating or influencing a campaign and that receives 
contributions or makes expenditures aggregating more than $1,500 in a calendar 
year for that purpose; and
(5)  Any person, including any corporation or association, other than an individual, 
that does not have as its major purpose influencing candidate elections but that 
receives contributions or makes expenditures aggregating more than $5,000 $2,500 
in a calendar year for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of any 
candidate to political office; and
B.  Does not include:
(1)  A candidate or a candidate's treasurer under section 1013‑A, subsection 1;
(2)  A candidate's authorized political committee under section 1013‑A, subsection 
1, paragraph B;
(3)  A party committee under section 1013‑A, subsection 3; or
(4)  An organization whose only payments of money in the prior 2 years for the 
purpose of influencing a campaign in this State are contributions to candidates, 
party committees, political action committees or ballot question committees 
registered with the commission or a municipality and that has not raised and 
accepted any contributions during the calendar year for the purpose of influencing 
a campaign in this State exempt donor.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §1052-A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 563, §4, is further 
amended to read:
§1052-A.  Registration
A political action committee shall register with the commission and amend its 
registration as required by this section.  A registration is not timely filed unless it contains 
all the information required in this section.
1.  Deadlines to file and amend registrations.  A political action committee shall 
register and file amendments with the commission according to the following schedule.
A.  A political action committee as defined under section 1052, subsection 5, paragraph 
A, subparagraph (1) or (4) that receives (5) shall register with the commission within 
days of receiving contributions or makes making expenditures in the aggregate in 
excess of $1,500 and a political action committee as defined under section 1052, 
subsection 5, paragraph A, subparagraph (5) that receives contributions or makes 
expenditures in the aggregate in excess of $5,000 for the purpose of influencing the 
nomination or election of any candidate to political office shall register with the 
commission within 7 days of exceeding the applicable amount $2,500.
A-1.  A ballot question committee shall register with the commission within 7 days of 
receiving contributions or making expenditures in the aggregate in excess of $5,000.
A-2.  A registered committee that does not qualify for an exception to registration 
pursuant to subsection 1-A shall register as a political action committee or ballot 
question committee, as applicable, within 7 days of exceeding the $10,000 threshold 
specified in subsection 1-A.
B.  A political action committee shall amend the registration within 10 days of a change 
in the information that political action committees are required to disclose under this 
section.
C.  A political action committee shall file an updated registration form between January 
1st and March 1st of each year in which a general election is held.  The commission 
may waive the updated registration requirement for a newly registered political action 
committee or other registered political action committee if the commission determines 
that the requirement would cause an administrative burden disproportionate to the 
public benefit of the updated information.
1-A.  Exceptions to registration.  The following exceptions to the registration 
requirements in subsection 1 apply to registered committees.
A.  A registered political action committee that receives contributions or makes 
expenditures of $10,000 or less in the aggregate for the purpose of influencing one or 
more ballot question campaigns in a calendar year is not required to register as a ballot 
question committee.  If a registered political action committee's only expenditures to 
influence ballot question campaigns in an election year are monetary contributions to 
registered ballot question committees, the political action committee is not required to 
register as a ballot question committee regardless of the aggregated amount of such 
contributions.
B.  A registered ballot question committee that receives contributions or makes 
expenditures of $10,000 or less in the aggregate for the purpose of influencing the 
nomination or election of one or more candidates in a calendar year is not required to 
register as a political action committee.  If a registered ballot question committee's only 
expenditures to influence candidate elections in an election year are monetary 
contributions to registered political action committees, party committees or candidates, 
the ballot question committee is not required to register as a political action committee 
regardless of the aggregated amount of such contributions.
2.  Disclosure of treasurer and officers.  A political action committee must have a 
treasurer and a principal officer.  The same individual may not serve in both positions, 
unless the committee is an individual registering as a ballot question committee.  The 
political action committee's registration must contain the names and addresses of the 
following individuals:
A.  The treasurer of the political action committee;
B.  A principal officer of the political action committee;
C.  Any other individuals who are primarily responsible for making decisions for the 
political action committee;
D.  The individuals who are primarily responsible for raising contributions for the 
political action committee; and
E.  The names of any other candidates or Legislators who have a significant role in 
fund-raising or decision-making for the political action committee.
3.  Other disclosure requirements.  A political action committee's registration must 
also include the following information:
A.  A statement indicating the specific candidates, categories of candidates or 
campaigns or ballot questions that the political action committee expects to support or 
oppose;
B.  If the political action committee is formed to influence the election of a single 
candidate, the name of that candidate;
C.  The form or structure of the organization, such as a voluntary association, 
membership organization, corporation or any other structure by which the political 
action committee functions, and the date of origin or incorporation of the organization;
D.  If the political action committee has been formed by one or more for-profit or 
nonprofit corporations or other organizations for the purpose of initiating or 
influencing a campaign, the names and addresses of the corporations or organizations;
E.  The name of the account that the political action committee will use to deposit 
contributions and make expenditures pursuant to section 1054, and the name and 
address of the financial institution at which the account is established; and
F.  Any additional information reasonably required by the commission to monitor the 
activities of political action committees in this State under this subchapter.
4.  Acknowledgment of responsibilities.  The treasurer, principal officer and any other 
individuals who are primarily responsible for making decisions for the political action 
committee shall submit a signed statement acknowledging their responsibilities on a form 
prescribed by the commission within 10 days of registering the political action committee.  
The signed acknowledgment statement serves as notification of the responsibilities of the 
political action committee to comply with the financial reporting, record-keeping and other 
requirements of this chapter and the potential personal liability of the treasurer and 
principal officer for civil penalties assessed against the political action committee.  The 
commission shall notify the political action committee of any individual who has failed to 
submit the acknowledgment statement.  Failure to return the acknowledgment statement is 
a violation of this subchapter for which a fine of $100 may be assessed against the political 
action committee.  This section also applies to individuals named in an updated or amended 
registration required by this subsection who have not previously submitted an 
acknowledgment statement for the political action committee with the commission.
5.  Resignation and removal.  An individual who resigns as the treasurer, principal 
officer or primary decision maker of a political action committee shall submit a written 
resignation statement to the commission.  An individual's resignation is not effective until 
the commission receives the written resignation statement from the individual.  If an 
individual is involuntarily removed from the position of treasurer, principal officer or 
primary decision maker by the political action committee, the political action committee 
shall notify the commission in writing that the individual has been removed from the 
position.  The commission may prescribe forms for these purposes.
6.  Modified registration.  The commission may adopt simplified registration 
procedures and forms for an individual registering as a ballot question committee to initiate 
or influence a ballot question.
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §1053-A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 563, §5, is further 
amended to read:
§1053-A.  Municipal elections
If an organization qualifies as a political action committee under section 1052, 
subsection 5 or is a ballot question committee required to register under section 1056‑B 2 
and that organization receives contributions or makes expenditures to influence a municipal 
campaign in towns or cities with a population of 15,000 or more, that organization must 
register and file reports with the municipal clerk as required by Title 30‑A, section 2502.  
The reports must be filed in accordance with the reporting schedule in section 1059 and 
must contain the information listed in section 1060.  A committee registered with the 
commission and that receives contributions or makes expenditures relating to a municipal 
election shall file a copy of the report containing such contributions or expenditures with 
the clerk in the subject municipality.  The commission retains the sole authority to prescribe 
the content of all reporting forms.  The commission does not have responsibility to oversee 
the filing of registrations or campaign finance reports relating to municipal campaigns.  If 
a municipal clerk becomes aware of a potential violation of this subchapter that the clerk 
considers to be substantial, the clerk may refer the matter to the commission for 
enforcement.  The commission may conduct an investigation if the information referred by 
the municipal clerk shows sufficient grounds for believing that a violation may have 
occurred.  After conducting the investigation, if the commission determines that a violation 
of this subchapter has occurred, the commission may assess penalties provided in this 
subchapter.
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §1054, as amended by PL 2019, c. 563, §7, is repealed and the 
following enacted in its place:
§1054.  Appointment of treasurer; segregated campaign account
1.  Appointment of treasurer.  A committee required to register under section 1052-A 
shall appoint a treasurer before registering with the commission.
2.  Segregated campaign account.  A committee registered under section 1052-A shall 
establish a separate account in a bank or other financial institution, referred to in this section 
as a “campaign account.”  The committee shall deposit all funds contributed to or received 
by the committee for the purpose of influencing a campaign in a the campaign account and 
shall finance all of the committee’s expenditures to influence the election through the 
campaign account. If a business or corporate entity has established the committee, the 
campaign account must be segregated from the general treasury funds of the entity that 
established the committee.  If the committee is established by one or more individuals, the 
campaign account must be segregated from and not commingled with the personal funds 
of those individuals.
3.  Exceptions.  The commission may adopt procedures by rule for waiving the 
requirement under subsection 2 to maintain a segregated campaign account upon a showing 
by a committee that a separate account would be administratively burdensome, including 
but not limited to committees organized outside this State or an individual who registers as 
a ballot question committee. If the committee was formed by another organization, that 
other organization may pay its employees for their campaign-related activities on behalf of 
the committee through its own treasury, rather than the campaign account.
Sec. 5.  21-A MRSA §1054-A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 563, §8, is further 
amended to read:
§1054-A.  Duties and liabilities of the treasurer, principal officer and primary decision 
maker of political action committees
1.  Duties of the treasurer.  The treasurer of the political action committee shall ensure 
that the political action committee files and amends the political action committee's 
registration, files complete and accurate financial reports with the commission and 
maintains the political action committee's records as required by this chapter and the 
commission's rules.  The treasurer is responsible for the political action committee's 
performance of these duties regardless of whether the treasurer has delegated 
administrative tasks related to these duties to another individual.
2.  Joint responsibilities of the treasurer and principal officer.  The treasurer and 
the principal officer are jointly responsible for the political action committee's compliance 
with the requirements of this chapter and the commission's rules.  The treasurer and 
principal officer are responsible for accepting and responding to notices and 
correspondence from the commission on behalf of the political action committee.
3.  Participation in spending decisions.  An individual who is the treasurer, principal 
officer or primary decision maker of the political action committee and who has signed the 
acknowledgment statement required by section 1052‑A, subsection 4 is deemed to have 
participated in the spending decisions of the political action committee until the 
commission receives the individual's resignation statement or a notice of the individual's 
involuntary removal from the political action committee.
4.  Financial liability.  The commission may hold the treasurer and principal officer 
jointly and severally liable with the political action committee for any fines assessed against 
the political action committee for violations of this chapter and chapter 14.  In addition, the 
commission may assess all or part of a fine against any other agent of the political action 
committee who is directly responsible for a violation, including individuals who have 
resigned or have been removed involuntarily from the political action committee.  In 
deciding whether to assess a penalty against a treasurer, principal officer or any other 
individual, the commission may consider, among other things, whether the individual had 
actual knowledge of the action that constituted the violation or had authorized that action 
and whether the violation was intentional or caused by an error by a vendor or someone 
outside the control of the political action committee.
Sec. 6.  21-A MRSA §1056-B, as amended by PL 2019, c. 323, §23 and c. 563, §11, 
is repealed.
Sec. 7.  21-A MRSA §1057, as amended by PL 2019, c. 563, §12, is further amended 
to read:
§1057.   Required records for political action committees
Any political action committee that is required to register under section 1052‑A or 
1053-B shall keep records as provided in this section for 4 years following the election to 
which the records pertain.
1.  Details of records.  The treasurer of a political action committee shall record a 
detailed account of:
A.  All expenditures made to or in behalf of a candidate, campaign or political action 
committee;
B.  The identity of each candidate, campaign or political action committee;
C.  The office sought by a candidate and the district the candidate seeks to represent, 
for candidates that a political action committee has made an expenditure to or in behalf 
of; and
D.  The date of each expenditure.
2.  Receipts.  The treasurer of a political action committee shall retain a vendor invoice 
or receipt stating the particular goods or services purchased for every expenditure in excess 
of $50 to initiate or influence a campaign.
3.  Record of contributions.  The treasurer of a political action committee shall keep 
a record of all contributions to the political action committee, by name and mailing address, 
of each donor and the amount and date of the contribution.  This provision does not apply 
to aggregate contributions from a single donor of $50 or less for an election or referendum 
campaign.  When any donor's contributions to a political action committee exceed $50, the 
record must include the aggregate amount of all contributions from that donor.
4.  Account statements.  The treasurer of a political action committee shall keep 
account statements relating to the deposit of funds of the political action committee 
required by section 1054.
5.  Simplified record-keeping requirements.   The commission may adopt by rule 
simplified record-keeping requirements for an individual registering as a ballot question 
committee to initiate or influence a ballot question.
Sec. 8.  21-A MRSA §1059, first ¶, as amended by PL 2019, c. 323, §24, is further 
amended to read:
A committee required to register under section 1052‑A,  or 1053-B or 1056-B shall file 
an initial campaign finance report within 7 days of registration or within 14 days of having 
been required to register, whichever comes first, and thereafter shall file reports in 
compliance with this section.  All reports must be filed by 11:59 p.m. on the day of the 
filing deadline, except that reports submitted to a municipal clerk must be filed by the close 
of business on the day of the filing deadline.
Sec. 9.  21-A MRSA §1060, as amended by PL 2019, c. 563, §§14 to 16, is further 
amended to read:
§1060.  Content of reports
The reports must contain the following information and any additional information 
required by the commission to monitor the activities of political action committees:
1.  Identification of candidates.  The names of and offices sought by all candidates 
whom the political action committee supports, intends to support or seeks to defeat;
2.  Identification of committees; parties.  The names of all political committees or 
party committees supported in any way by the political action committee;
3.  Identification of referendum or initiated petition.  The referenda or initiated 
petitions that the political action committee supports or opposes;
4.  Itemized expenditures.  An itemization of each expenditure made to initiate or 
influence any campaign, including the date, payee and purpose of the expenditure;  and the 
name of each candidate, campaign, political committee, political action committee or party 
committee supported or opposed; and each referendum or initiated petition supported or 
opposed by the expenditure.  If expenditures were made to a person described in section 
1012, subsection 3, paragraph A, subparagraph (4), the report must contain the name of the 
person; the amount spent by that person on behalf of the candidate, campaign, political 
committee, political action committee, party committee, referendum or initiated petition, 
including, but not limited to, expenditures made during the signature gathering phase; the 
reason for the expenditure; and the date of the expenditure.  The commission may specify 
the categories of expenditures that are to be reported to enable the commission to closely 
monitor the activities of political action committees;
5.  Aggregate expenditures.  An aggregation of expenditures and cumulative 
aggregation of expenditures to a candidate, campaign, political committee, political action 
committee, party committee, referendum or initiated petition;
6.  Identification of contributions.  Names, occupations An itemization of each 
contribution of more than $50 made to or received by the committee for the purpose of 
initiating or influencing a campaign, including the name, occupation, places of business 
and mailing addresses address of contributors who have given more than $50 to the political 
action committee in the reporting period each contributor and the amount and date of each  
the contribution, except that an organization qualifying as a political action committee 
under section 1052, subsection 5, paragraph A, subparagraph (5) is required to report only 
those contributions made to the organization for the purpose of influencing a ballot question 
or the nomination or election of a candidate to political office and all transfers to or funds 
used to support the political action committee from the general treasury of the organization; 
and
6-A.  Funds deposited into campaign account.  Any funds deposited into or 
transferred into the campaign account described in section 1054, including but not limited 
to funds from the general treasury of an organization that is required to establish a 
committee; and
7.  Other expenditures payments.  Operational expenses and any other expenditures 
that are not made on behalf of a candidate, committee or campaign, except that an 
organization qualifying as a political action committee under section 1052, subsection 5, 
paragraph A, subparagraph (5) is required to report only those expenditures made for the 
purpose of influencing a campaign payments made from the segregated campaign account 
described in section 1054.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws governing registration and financial reporting by political 
action committees and ballot question committees by:
1.  Redefining "political action committee" to mean any person, including a corporation 
or association, that receives contributions or makes expenditures aggregating in excess of 
$2,500 in a calendar year for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of any 
candidate to political office;
2.  Defining "ballot question committee" to mean a person that receives contributions 
or makes expenditures aggregating in excess of $5,000 for the purpose of initiating or 
influencing a ballot question campaign;
3.  Unifying the registration, financial reporting and record-keeping requirements for 
political action committees and ballot question committees;
4.  Requiring a political action committee or ballot question committee to establish a 
campaign account in a bank or other financial institution that is separate from the other 
financial accounts of the person that established the political action committee or ballot 
question committee;
5.  Amending the definitions of "contribution" and "expenditure" to include all funds 
deposited into a campaign account and all payments made from the campaign account, 
respectively;
6.  Imposing a $100,000 limit on the exemption for organizations that pay for services 
and contribute those services to political action committees, ballot question committees, 
party committees and candidates; and
7.  Exempting from the definition of "expenditure" payments made for the purpose of 
initiating a citizen's initiative or people’s veto referendum prior to applying to the Secretary 
of State to initiate the question.