HP0770, LD 1077, item 1, An Act To Amend the Maine Clean Election Act and Campaign Finance Laws

An Act To Amend the Maine Clean Election Act and Campaign Finance Laws

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 1 MRSA §1015, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2009, c. 286, §1, is further amended to read:

B. The Governor, a member of the Legislature or any constitutional officer or the staff or agent of the Governor, a member of the Legislature or any constitutional officer may not intentionally solicit or accept a contribution from a lobbyist, lobbyist associate or employer during any period of time in which the Legislature is convened before final adjournment , except for a qualifying contribution as defined under Title 21-A, section 1122, subsection 7. A lobbyist, lobbyist associate or employer may not intentionally give, offer or promise a contribution , other than a qualifying contribution, to the Governor, a member of the Legislature or any constitutional officer or the staff or agent of the Governor, a member of the Legislature or any constitutional officer during any time in which the Legislature is convened before final adjournment. These prohibitions apply to contributions directly and indirectly solicited or accepted by, or given, offered and promised to a political action committee, ballot question committee or party committee of which the Governor, a member of the Legislature, a constitutional officer or the staff or agent of these officials is a treasurer, officer or primary fund-raiser or decision maker.

Sec. 2. 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 subsection 2 may be assessed a penalty of no more than the amount by which the contribution exceeded the limitation.

Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1015, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 382, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2009, c. 286, §4, is repealed.

Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2009, c. 286, §5 and c. 363, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §1124, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is repealed.

Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §51, is further amended to read:

1. Declaration of intent. A participating candidate must file a declaration of intent to seek certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate and to comply with the requirements of this chapter. The declaration of intent must be filed with the commission prior to or during the qualifying period, except as provided in subsection 11, according to forms and procedures developed by the commission by April 1st of the election year. Qualifying contributions collected more than 5 business days before the declaration of intent has been filed will not be counted toward the eligibility requirement in subsection 3.

Sec. 8. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 363, §2, is further amended to read:

2. Contribution limits for participating candidates. Subsequent to becoming a candidate as defined by section 1, subsection 5 and prior to certification, a participating candidate may not accept contributions, except for seed money contributions. A participating candidate must limit the candidate's total seed money contributions to the following amounts:

A. Two hundred thousand dollars for a gubernatorial candidate;

B. One thousand five hundred dollars for a candidate for the State Senate; or

C. Five hundred dollars for a candidate for the State House of Representatives.

The commission may, by rule, revise these amounts to ensure the effective implementation of this chapter.

Sec. 9. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2009, c. 286, §§6 and 7, is repealed.

Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2009, c. 363, §4, is repealed.

Sec. 11. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §52, is further amended to read:

5. Certification of Maine Clean Election Act candidates. Upon receipt of a final submittal of qualifying contributions by declaration of intent to be a participating candidate, the executive director of the commission shall determine whether the candidate has:

A. Signed and filed a declaration of intent to participate in this Act;

B. Submitted the appropriate number of valid qualifying contributions;

C. Qualified as a candidate by petition or other means no later than 5 business days after the end of the qualifying period;

C-1. As a gubernatorial candidate, collected at least $40,000 in seed money contributions from registered voters in the State;

D. Not accepted contributions, except for seed money contributions, and otherwise complied with seed money restrictions;

D-1. Not run for the same office as a nonparticipating candidate in a primary election in the same election year;

D-2. Not been found to have made a material false statement in a report or other document submitted to the commission;

D-3. Not otherwise substantially violated the provisions of this chapter or chapter 13;

D-4. Not failed to pay any civil penalty assessed by the commission under this Title, except that a candidate has 3 business days from the date of the request for certification to pay the outstanding penalty and remain eligible for certification; and

D-5. Not submitted any fraudulent qualifying contributions or any falsified acknowledgement forms for qualifying contributions or seed money contributions; and

E. Otherwise met the requirements for participation in this Act.

The executive director shall certify a candidate complying with the requirements of this section as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate as soon as possible after final submittal of qualifying contributions and other supporting documents required under subsection 4 but no later than within 3 business days for legislative candidates and 5 business days for gubernatorial candidates. The executive director may take additional time if further investigation is necessary to verify compliance with this Act as long as the commission notifies the candidate regarding the anticipated schedule for conclusion of the investigation. A candidate or other interested person may appeal the decision of the executive director to the members of the commission in accordance with subsection 14.

A certified candidate must comply with all requirements of this Act after certification and throughout the primary and general election periods. Failure to do so is a violation of this chapter.

Sec. 12. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§5-A, ¶¶A, C, D and F, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. B, §6, are repealed.

Sec. 13. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §54, is further amended to read:

6. Restrictions on expenditures for certified candidates. After certification, a candidate must limit the candidate's campaign expenditures and obligations, including outstanding obligations, to the revenues distributed to the candidate from the fund and may not accept any contributions unless specifically authorized by the commission. Candidates may also accept and spend interest earned on fund revenues in campaign bank accounts. All revenues distributed to a certified candidate from the fund must be used for campaign-related purposes. The candidate, the treasurer, the candidate's committee authorized pursuant to section 1013-A, subsection 1 or any agent of the candidate and committee may not use these revenues for any but campaign-related purposes. The commission shall publish guidelines outlining permissible campaign-related expenditures.

Sec. 14. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§10, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §56 and affected by §62, is repealed.

Sec. 15. 21-A MRSA §1126, as amended by PL 2001, c. 465, §7, is further amended to read:

§ 1126. Commission to adopt rules

The commission shall adopt rules to ensure effective administration of this chapter. These rules must include but must not be are not limited to procedures for obtaining qualifying contributions, certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate, circumstances involving special elections, vacancies, recounts, withdrawals or replacements, collection of revenues for the fund, distribution of fund revenue to certified candidates, return of unspent fund disbursements, disposition of equipment purchased with clean election funds and compliance with the Maine Clean Election Act. Rules of the commission required by this section are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A 2-A.

summary

This bill removes the contribution limits placed on a person who wishes to contribute directly to the campaign of a candidate for the Legislature, Governor or other state or local offices. It also amends the Maine Clean Election Act by eliminating the requirement that participants must collect $5 qualifying contributions. In order to qualify for distributions from the Maine Clean Election Fund, a candidate need only be certified as a candidate under the process governed by the Secretary of State and by filing a declaration of intent by April 1st of the election year. Under this bill, a participating candidate under the Maine Clean Election Act is not prohibited from accepting contributions from outside sources. The bill also provides that there are not distinctions made between enrolled and unenrolled candidates under the Maine Clean Election Act.

HP0770 LD 1077	Session - 126th Maine Legislature		LR 284 Item 1
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