Code of Maine Rules › 94 - INDEPENDENT AGENCIES › 270 - COMMISSION ON GOVERNMENTAL ETHICS AND ELECTION PRACTICES › Chapter 1 - PROCEDURES › Section 270-1-6 - CONTRIBUTIONS AND OTHER RECEIPTS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
1. The date of a
				contribution is the date it is received by a candidate, an agent of the
				candidate, a candidate's committee, a party committee and its agents, or a
				political action committee and its agents.
2. A loan is a contribution at the time it is
				made unless the loan was made by a financial institution in the State of Maine
				in the ordinary course of business. Loans continue to be contributions until
				they are repaid. Loans are subject to the candidate contribution limitations,
				except for loans made by the candidate, the candidate's spouse, or a financial
				institution in the State of Maine in the ordinary course of business. The
				Commission may consider any reported loan to be a cash contribution if it
				remains unpaid four years after the election in which it was
				incurred.
3. Candidates and
				political action committees must report the name, address, occupation and
				employer of each individual contributor who gives, in the aggregate, more than
				$50 for the reporting period. The reporting is required for private
				contributions raised by privately financed candidates and for seed money
				contributions to candidates participating in the
Maine Clean Election
				Act
. Candidates, political action committees, ballot question
				committees, and party committees must make a reasonable effort to obtain the
				employment information of the contributor when required by statute. The
				reasonable effort must include requesting the employment information and
				providing a convenient means for the donor to provide the information, such as
				a paper form to be submitted with a contribution or text fields to enter the
				information on an online fundraising screen. If a candidate or committee is
				unable to obtain the information from the contributor in response to a
				candidate's or committee's request, the candidate or committee shall indicate
				"information requested" in the occupation and employer sections of the campaign
				finance report. If the Commission staff believes that due to the amount of
				missing information further inquiry is warranted, the Commission staff shall
				verify whether the candidate or committee has made a reasonable effort to
				obtain the information.
4. Unless
				specifically exempted under Title
				21-A
				M.R.S.A. §§1012 and
				1052 or this section, the
				provision of any goods or services without charge or at a charge that is less
				than the usual and customary charge for such goods or services is an in-kind
				contribution. Examples of such goods and services include, but are not limited
				to: equipment, facilities, supplies, personnel, advertising, and campaign
				literature. If goods or services are provided at less than the usual and
				customary charge, the amount of the in-kind contribution is the difference
				between the usual and customary charge and the amount charged the candidate or
				political committee.
A. A commercial vendor
				that has provided a discount to a candidate or political committee because of a
				defect in performance or other business reason has not made a contribution if
				the vendor grants substantially similar discounts to other customers in the
				ordinary course of the vendor's business.
B. If a candidate is a public official who is
				provided a vehicle for transportation by a public entity for the purpose of
				conducting official duties, the use of such vehicle for campaign purposes is
				considered to be an in-kind contribution to the candidate from the public
				entity unless the candidate reimburses the public entity for the use of the
				vehicle.