An Act to Establish a Recall Process fot Pubhc School Board Members
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1443
Committee Amendment CA_A_H562 (House)
Amends: 20-A MRSA §1005, 30-A MRSA §2505

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to HP 939, L D 1443, "An Act to Establish a 
Recall Process fot Pubhc School Board Members" 
Amend the bill by stnkmg out everything aftet the enacting clause and mse1tmg the 
followmg 
'Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §1005 1s enacted to read 
§1005. Recall of school board members 
1. Grounds for recall. Notwtthstandmg any p10vis1on of law 01 mumc1pal chartet to 
the contrary, a school board member may not be recalled unless the school board membet 
A Has been convicted of a felony, 
B Has failed to perform duties pt escnbed by law, or 
C Has willfully misused, converted or m1sappiopnated, without legal auth011ty, pubhc 
pt operty or public funds 
A school board member's performance of a reqmred duty 01 a disctetlonaiy duty 1s not a 
ground for recall 
2. Petition for recall. A wntten petition to 1ecall a school boa1d member must be 
signed as follows 
A If the school board member was elected by the voters of a mumc1pahty, by a numbe1 
of vote1 s equal to at least 20% of the number of votes cast m that mumc1pahty m the 
last gubematonal election, or 
B If the school boatd member was elected as a school boatd membet-at-large m a 
school admm1stlat1ve umt, by a number of voters egual to at least 20% of the vote1s of 
the school admmistlative umt who voted m the last gubematonal election 
3. Notice of intention. In 01de1 to m1tiate a iecall election undei subsection 2, the 
1mt1ator of the petition shall file a notice of mtent1on of 1 ecall with the mumcipal clerk of 
the mumc1pahty m which the school board membe1 was elected 01 with each mumcipal 
clerk of all mumcipahties ma school admmistlatlve umt, if the school boatd membe1 was 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COIITEE AMENDMENT '4" to Hp 939, L D 1443 
elected at large A notice of mtention of recall under this subsection must mclude the name, 
address and contact mformatlon of the person filmg the notice, the name of the school board 
mdmber sub1ect to recall under this section and the reason for the recall mit1at1ve, which 
mJst comply with subsection 1 Only a person registered to vote m the mumc1pahty m 
wH1ch the school board member was elected, or m a mumc1pahty m the school 
adrtumstrative umt if the school boat d member was elected at large, may file a notice of 
mt~ntion of recall under this subsection 
I 
• 
I 4. Petition forms. W ithm 3 busmess days of receipt of a notice of mtent10n of recall 
under subsection 3, the mumc1pal clerk shall prepare pet1t1on forms for the collection of 
signatures under subsection 5 and send notice to the 1mt1ator of the petit10n under 
I 
suosection 3 that the petition forms are avatlable If the school board member was elected 
at large, the mumc1pahties shall com dmate m pt epai mg and providmg the petition forms 
and sendmg notice and shall designate one mumc1pal clerk to handle the subm1ss10n of 
signatures under subsection S A mumc1pahty may charge the mitiator of the petition a 
rea~onable fee for preparmg and providmg the petition forms under this subsection A 
pet~tion form unde1 this subsect10n must mclude 
[ A At the top of the form, the name of the school board member sub1ect to recall, the 
name and contact mfo1mat10n of the imttator of the petition and the date by which the 
signatures must be submitted to the mumcipal clerk undei subsection 5, 
B The reason for the recall imtiat1ve, 
C Spaces for each voter's signature, street address and punted name, and 
D Space at the bottom of the form for the name, addi ess and s1gnatm e of the pet son 
cuculatmg the petition form 
\ 5. Collection and submission of signatures. A pet1t1on form under subsect10n 4 may 
be circulated or signed only by registered vote1 s of the mumc1pahty m which the school 
meinber was elected, or of a municipality withm the school admmisttattve umt 1f the school 
bo~rd member was elected at large 
A circulator of a petition form shall oversee the 
coliect10n of signatures and ensure that the mformation required under subsection 4, 
par~graph C 1s accurate and complete The m1t1ator of the petit10n under subsect10n 3 shall 
collect the petit10n forms from all circulators and submit the signed petit10n forms to the 
muhicipal cleik who prepared the petition f01ms withm 14 days of receipt of notice ft om 
theimumcipal clerk that the pettt10n forms are avatlable under subsect10n 4 A mumc1pal 
cletk may not accept a petition form submitted more than 14 days aftei sendmg notice of 
avatlabihty to the imtiat01 under subsection 4, and any voter signatm es on that petition 
forth are mvahd 
116. Petition certification and notification. Withm 7 busmess days of rece1vmg 
pet~tion forms under subsect10n 5, the municipal clerk shall deteimine whether the petition 
fortns meet the criteria under subsection 5 and certify the validity of any signatm es on the 
pet1t10n f01ms If the municipal clerk finds that the numbei of vahd signatmes submitted 
under subsection 5 meets or exceeds the iequirements under subsection 2, the mumcipal 
cletk shall certify the petition and immediately send notification of the certification to the 
appropriate mumcipal officers, the m1tiat01 of the petition and the school boat d membe1 
sub1ect to the recall If the mumctpal cletk finds that the number of vahd signatmes 
subhutted unde1 subsection 5 does not meet the requirements for a petition undet subsection 
the mumci al clerk shall file the etit10n and the et1t10n forms m the mumci al clerk's 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITIBE AMENDMENT" A• to HP 939, L D 1443 
office and notify the imtiator of the petit10n and. if the school board member was elected 
at large, the clerks of the other mumcipahtles withm the school admmistrative umt, that the 
number of vahd signatures does not meet the requirements for a petition undei subsect10n 
2._ 
7. Scheduling recall election. W ithm 21 busmess days of cert:Ification of the petition 
under subsection 6, the municipal officers shall schedule a recall election to deteimme 
whether the school board member subject to the petition should be recalled The election 
must be held no less than 45 days and no more than 75 days after certification of the petit10n 
under subsection 6 unless a regular mumcipal election is scheduled to be held withm 90 
days of the certification of the petition under subsect10n 6. m which case the recall election 
must be held on the date of the regular mumc1pal elect10n If the mumctpal officers fatl to 
schedule a recall elect10n withm 21 busmess days of ce1tificat10n of the petition under 
subsection 6, the mumcipal clerk shall schedule, or m the case of an at-large elect10n, the 
mumcipal cleiks of the mumcipahties withm the school admimstrative unit shall 1omtly 
schedule the recall elect10n m accordance with the requirements of this subsection 
8. Ballots for recall election. If the school boatd member sub1ect to the recall does 
not resign from the school board member's posit10n withm 21 busmess days of certificat10n 
of the petition under subsection 6, the ballots for the recall election under subsection 7 must 
be prmted A ballot for a recall election under this section must read 
"Do you authonze the recall of (name of school boaid member) ftom the 
(school admmistrative umt) school board? 
Yes 
No" 
9. Valid election. The recall must be approved by a ma1onty of voters man elect10n 
m which the total number of ballots 1s at least 3 0% of the number of votes cast m the 
mumc1pahty m the last gubematonal election, or, if the school board membet was elected 
as a school board membe1-at-large, 30% of the ballots cast m the school admm1stiatlve unit 
m the last gubernatorial election 
10. Results of recall election. W1thm 2 busmess days of a iecall election undet 
subsection 8, the mumcipal clerk, or, if the election was for a school board member-at-
large, the mumcipal clerks of each mumc1pahty w1thm the school admm1strative umt, shall 
certify and record the election results and notify the mumcipal officeis of those results If 
a ma1onty of voters vote to remove the school boaid member, the recall takes effect on the 
date the election 1 esults are recorded pursuant to this subsection 
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §2505, first 1, as enacted by PL 2011, c 324, §1, is amended 
to read 
Except as otherwise provided by the mumcipahty's 01dmances or chattei, an elected 
official of a mumcipality may be recalled from office pursuant to this section F01 purposes 
ofthts section, "official" has the same meanmg as m sect10n 2604, subsection 2, except that 
"official" does not mclude a member of a school board whose 1ecall is governed by Title 
20-A, section 1005 ' 
Amend the bill by ~elettermg or renumbet ing any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITIEE AMENDMENT A" to HP 939, L D I 443 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill The amendment 
Removes, as grounds for a recall pet1t1on, a school board member behaving in a 
manner that relates to and adversely affects the admimstrat1on of the school board member's 
office and the rights and mterests of the public, 
Removes, as grounds for a recall petition, the school board member committing an 
act of misconduct in office, 
Adds as grounds for recall bemg convicted of a felony, 
Lowers the reqmred percentage of voters who must sign the recall petition from 
25% to 20%, 
Increases the reqmred percentage of voters who must authorize the recall of a school 
board member from 25% to 30%, and 
Adds prov1S1ons detailtng the recall petition and election process that are simtlar to 
thooe found m the Mame Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, section 2505 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT