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.

Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2001, c. 465, §4, is further amended to read:

7. Timing of fund distribution. The commission shall distribute to certified candidates revenues from the fund in amounts determined under subsection 8 in the following manner.

A. Within 3 days after certification, for candidates certified prior to March 15th of the election year, revenues from the fund must be distributed as if the candidates are in an uncontested primary election.

B. Within 3 days after certification, for all candidates certified between March 15th and April 15th of the election year, revenues from the fund must be distributed according to whether the candidate is in a contested or uncontested primary election.

B-1. For candidates in contested primary elections receiving a distribution under paragraph A, additional revenues from the fund must be distributed within 3 days of March 15th of the election year.

C. Within 3 days after the primary election results are certified, for general election certified candidates, revenues from the fund must be distributed according to whether the candidate is in a contested or uncontested general election.

Funds may be distributed to certified candidates under this section by any mechanism that is expeditious, ensures accountability and safeguards the integrity of the fund. The amount of funds to be distributed to a candidate pursuant to this subsection must be reduced by the amount of funds received in qualifying contributions received by the candidate.

SUMMARY

This bill requires donors to make qualifying contributions under the Maine Clean Election Act directly to the candidate, the