Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§5, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended to read:

5. Certification of Maine Clean Election Act candidates. Upon receipt of a final submittal of qualifying contributions by a participating candidate, the commission shall determine whether or not 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;

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

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

The commission shall certify a candidate complying with the requirements of this section as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate as soon as possible and no later than 3 days after final submittal of qualifying contributions.

Upon certification, a candidate must transfer to the fund any unspent seed money contributions. 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.

A candidate who loses a primary election may not be certified for the general election in the same election cycle.__A certified candidate who loses a primary election loses certification and must transfer to the fund any unspent funds held by that candidate.

SUMMARY

This bill provides that a Maine Clean Election Act candidate who loses a primary election also loses certification under the Maine Clean Election Act and must transfer all unspent campaign funds to the Maine Clean Election Fund.