Sec. 1. 1 MRSA §353, as amended by PL 1991, c. 837, Pt. A, §1, is further amended to read:

§353. Explanation of proposed amendments

With the assistance of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General shall prepare a brief explanatory statement which that must fairly describe the intent and content of each constitutional resolution or statewide referendum that may be presented to the people and, which must include any information prepared under Title 5, section 152. In addition to the explanatory statement, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General shall prepare an explanation of what a yes vote favors and a no vote opposes and of the financial impact on State revenues, appropriations or allocations of each referendum. The Secretary of State may request assistance from the Office of Fiscal and Program Review in preparing the fiscal analysis. The Secretary of State shall publish this explanatory statement in each daily newspaper of the State, not more than 10 and not less than 7 days prior to the voting. The explanatory statement may be published in the English language in a foreign language newspaper. This explanatory statement may not include comments of proponents or opponents as provided by section 354.

Sec. 2. 1 MRSA §354 is enacted to read:

§354.__Public comment on proposed amendments; rules; fees

The Secretary of State shall allow for the publication of public comment by proponents and opponents of statewide referendum questions along with the explanatory statement required in section 353.__The Secretary of State shall adopt rules regarding the publication of public comment.__These rules must include, but are not limited to, a word limit, the labeling of public comment as supporting or opposing a measure, and the identification of the author of the comment.__ Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.__A person filing a proponent or opponent statement for publication shall pay a fee of $500 to the Secretary of State.__ Fees collected pursuant to this section pay for the costs of publishing the information related to the referendum pursuant to this section, and any unspent excess must be deposited in the General Fund.__The Secretary of State shall publish the information relating to a referendum, including the referendum question, explanatory information, public comment and fiscal impact, on a publically accessible site on the Internet and in pamphlets distributed to municipalities.