An Act Regarding Campaign Finance Reform
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1417
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: LUCHINI, JACKSON
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1001, 21-A MRSA §1004-A, 21-A MRSA §1015, 21-A MRSA §1015-A, 21-A MRSA §1052-A, 21-A MRSA §1056-C

Legislative Document
No. 1417
S.P. 467
In Senate, April 12, 2021
An Act Regarding Campaign Finance Reform
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on April 8, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator LUCHINI of Hancock.
Cosponsored by Senator: President JACKSON of Aroostook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §1001, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4.  Leadership political action committee.  "Leadership political action committee" 
means a political action committee other than a caucus political action committee for which 
a Legislator serves as a principal officer or treasurer.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §1001, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5.  Separate segregated fund committee.  "Separate segregated fund committee" 
means a political action committee described in section 1052, subsection 5, paragraph A, 
subparagraph (1).
Sec. 3.  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 1 and 2 this 
chapter may be assessed a penalty of no more than the amount by which the contribution 
exceeded the limitation.
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 51, §1 and affected 
by §3, is further amended to read:
1.  Individuals Contributions to candidates and leadership political action 
committees by individuals.  An individual 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 $500 for a 
candidate for municipal office and beginning January 1, 2012 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 
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.  An individual may 
not make contributions to a leadership political action committee aggregating more than 
the amount that the individual may contribute to a legislative candidate under this 
subsection.
Sec. 5.  21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 51, §2 and affected 
by §3, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
2.  Contributions to candidates and leadership political action committees by 
committees and labor organizations.  A candidate and a leadership political action 
committee may not accept contributions in violation of this subsection.
A.  Except as provided in paragraphs B and C, a political committee; a political action 
committee, including a caucus political action committee; a party committee under 
section 1013-A, subsection 3; or any other committee may not make contributions to a 
candidate or to a leadership political action committee.
B.  A leadership political action committee, a separate segregated fund committee or a 
labor 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 $500 
for a candidate for municipal office and beginning January 1, 2012 more than $750 in 
any election for any other candidate.  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.
C.  A leadership political action committee, a separate segregated fund committee or a 
labor organization may not make contributions to a leadership political action 
committee aggregating more than the amount that the committee may contribute to a 
legislative candidate under paragraph B.
Sec. 6.  21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A.  Contributions to candidates and leadership political action committees by 
business entities.  A business entity may not make contributions to a candidate or a 
leadership political action committee.  For purposes of this subsection, "business entity" 
includes a firm, partnership, corporation, incorporated association or other organization, 
whether organized as a for-profit or a nonprofit entity, but does not include a labor 
organization.
Sec. 7.  21-A MRSA §1015-A, first ¶, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 839, §12, is 
amended to read:
Contributions Except for contributions made by a separate segregated fund committee, 
contributions made by a for-profit or a nonprofit corporation including a parent, subsidiary, 
branch, division, department or local unit of a corporation, and contributions made by a 
political committee or political action committee whose contribution or expenditure 
activities are financed, maintained or controlled by a corporation are considered to be made 
by that corporation, political committee or political action committee.
Sec. 8.  21-A MRSA §1015-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 334, §§5 and 6, 
is repealed.
Sec. 9.  21-A MRSA §1015-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. A, §15, 
is repealed.
Sec. 10.  21-A MRSA §1052-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 563, §4, is 
further amended to read:
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) or a separate segregated fund committee that receives 
contributions or makes 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.
B.  A political action committee required to register under paragraph A 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 required to register under paragraph A 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.
Sec. 11.  21-A MRSA §1056-C is enacted to read:
§1056-C.  Leadership political action committees
1.  Contributions to leadership political action committee.  A leadership political 
action committee may not accept contributions in excess of the limitations established in 
section 1015, subsection 1 and section 1015, subsection 2, paragraph C and may not accept 
any other contributions.
2.  Contributions made by leadership political action committee.  Except as 
provided in section 1015, subsection 2, paragraphs B and C and section 1054-B, a 
leadership political action committee may make unlimited contributions to any person.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to campaign finance and related laws:
1.  It employs the phrase "separate segregated fund committee" to describe a political 
action committee that is a separate or segregated fund established by any corporation, 
membership organization, cooperative or labor or other organization and whose purpose is 
to initiate or influence a campaign.
2.  It limits the contributions that a leadership political action committee, defined as a 
political action committee other than a caucus political action committee for which a 
Legislator serves as a principal officer or treasurer, may make and receive. A leadership 
political action committee may make contributions to candidates that do not exceed the 
contribution limitations applicable to individuals.  A leadership political action committee 
may accept contributions from individuals, other leadership political action committees, 
labor organizations and separate segregated fund committees as long as those contributions 
do not exceed the amount that the contributor may contribute to a legislative candidate 
under current law. 
3.  It prohibits a business entity, defined as a firm, partnership, corporation, 
incorporated association or other organization other than a labor organization, whether 
organized as a for-profit or a nonprofit entity, from making contributions to a candidate or 
leadership political action committee.  It also prohibits a political committee, political 
action committee, party committee or other committee, including a caucus political action 
committee, from making contributions to a candidate or leadership political action 
committee.