An Act To Amend the Maine Clean Election Act and Related Laws
Sec. 1. 1 MRSA §1008, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 430, §4, is further amended to read:
Sec. 2. 1 MRSA §1008, sub-§5, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §6, is amended to read:
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §153-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2005, c. 568, §6, is further amended to read:
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1004-B, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 302, §3, is amended to read:
§ 1004-B. Enforcement of penalties assessed by the commission
The commission staff shall collect the full amount of any penalty and the return of Maine Clean Publicly Financed Election Act funds required by the commission to be returned for a violation of the statutes or rules administered by the commission and has all necessary powers to carry out these duties. Failure to pay the full amount of any penalty assessed by the commission or return of Maine Clean Publicly Financed Election Act funds is a civil violation by the candidate, treasurer, party committee, political action committee or other person. Thirty days after issuing the notice of penalty or order for the return of funds, the commission shall report to the Attorney General the name of any person who has failed to pay the full amount of any penalty or to return Maine Clean Publicly Financed Election Act funds unless the commission has provided an extended deadline for payment. The Attorney General shall enforce the violation in a civil action to collect the full outstanding amount of the penalty or order for the return of Maine Clean Publicly Financed Election Act funds. This action must be brought in the Superior Court for Kennebec County or the District Court, 7th District, Division of Southern Kennebec.
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1013-A, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2015, c. 350, §4, is further amended to read:
The statement filed by a candidate who voluntarily agrees to limit spending must state that the candidate knows the voluntary expenditure limitations as set out in section 1015, subsection 8 and that the candidate is voluntarily agreeing to limit the candidate's political expenditures and those made on behalf of the candidate by the candidate's political committee or committees, the candidate's party and the candidate's immediate family to the amount set by law. The statement must further state that the candidate does not condone and will not solicit any independent expenditures made on behalf of the candidate.
The statement filed by a candidate who does not agree to voluntarily limit political expenditures must state that the candidate does not accept the voluntary expenditure limits as set out in section 1015, subsection 8.
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §1014, sub-§2-B, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §3, is repealed.
Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §1019-B, sub-§4, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §6 and PL 2015, c. 350, §6, is further amended to read:
Sec. 8. 21-A MRSA §1121, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended to read:
§ 1121. Short title
This chapter may be known and cited as the "Maine Clean "the Maine Publicly Financed Election Act."
Sec. 9. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§1, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended to read:
Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§§4, 5 and 6, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, are amended to read:
Sec. 11. 21-A MRSA §1123, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended to read:
§ 1123. Alternative campaign financing option
This chapter establishes an alternative campaign financing option available to candidates running for Governor, State Senator and State Representative. This alternative campaign financing option is available to candidates for elections to be held beginning in the year 2000. The commission shall administer this Act and the fund. Candidates participating in the Maine Clean Publicly Financed Election Act must also comply with all other applicable election and campaign laws and regulations.
Sec. 12. 21-A MRSA §1124, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §14, is further amended to read:
§ 1124. The election fund established; sources of funding
Sec. 13. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §51, is further amended to read:
Sec. 14. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2, ¶¶B and C, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §15, are further amended to read:
Sec. 15. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2-A, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §16, is further amended to read:
Sec. 16. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§3-A, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §19, is repealed.
Sec. 17. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§5, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §20, is further amended to read:
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 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. 18. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§6-A, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §21, is further amended to read:
Sec. 19. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§7, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §22, is further amended to read:
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.
Sec. 20. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§7-B, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §23, is repealed.
Sec. 21. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§§8-B to 8-F, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §25, are repealed.
Sec. 22. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§8-G is enacted to read:
Before making any determination, the commission shall provide notice of the determination and an opportunity to comment to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, all floor leaders, the members of the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over legal affairs and persons who have expressed interest in receiving notices of opportunities to comment on the commission's rules and policies. The commission shall present at a public meeting the basis for the commission's final determination.
For contested gubernatorial primary elections, the amount of revenues distributed is $400,000 per candidate in a primary election. For uncontested gubernatorial primary elections, the amount of revenues distributed is $200,000. For contested and uncontested gubernatorial general elections, the amount of revenues distributed is $600,000 per candidate in the general election.
Sec. 23. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§10, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §26, is further amended to read:
Sec. 24. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§13-A, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §27, is further amended to read:
Sec. 25. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§14, as amended by PL 2011, c. 389, §59, is further amended to read:
Sec. 26. 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 limited to procedures for obtaining qualifying contributions, certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate under section 1125, subsection 5, 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 publicly financed election funds and compliance with the Maine Clean Publicly Financed 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.
Sec. 27. 21-A MRSA §1127, sub-§2, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended to read:
Sec. 28. 21-A MRSA §1128, as amended by PL 2009, c. 190, Pt. B, §3, is further amended to read:
§ 1128. Study report
By March 15, 2011 and every 4 years after that date, the commission shall prepare for the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over legal affairs a report documenting, evaluating and making recommendations relating to the administration, implementation and enforcement of the Maine Clean Publicly Financed Election Act and Maine Clean Election Fund the fund.
Sec. 29. 36 MRSA §199-E, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §28, is repealed.
Sec. 30. 36 MRSA §5286, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §18, is amended to read:
§ 5286. Contribution to election fund; voluntary checkoff
Sec. 31. Maine Revised Statutes headnote amended; revision clause. In the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 21-A, chapter 14, in the chapter headnote, the words "the maine clean election act" are amended to read "the maine publicly financed election act" and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement this revision when updating, publishing or republishing the statutes.
summary
This bill makes the following changes to the Maine Clean Election Act and other related laws.
1. It changes references to the Maine Clean Election Act to the Maine Publicly Financed Election Act and removes specific references to the Maine Clean Election Fund.
2. It changes the tax revenue amounts required to be deposited in the fund by the State Controller from $3,000,000 to $2,000,000.
3. It limits participation in the Maine Publicly Financed Election Act to first-time candidates for Governor, State Senator or State Representative and provides that seed money for participating candidates running for State Senator or State Representative may come only from the participating candidate's district. It also revises seed money contribution limits for legislative candidates and eliminates the provision allowing participating candidates to collect additional qualifying contributions.
4. It changes funding distributions under the Maine Publicly Financed Election Act to require the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices to determine the funding amounts for legislative candidates at least every 2 years and sets a specific distribution for gubernatorial elections. It also eliminates supplemental fund distributions.
5. It removes a provision requiring that communications that are independent expenditures include a conspicuous statement listing the top 3 funders of the entity making the independent expenditure. It also specifies that reports of independent expenditures aggregating in excess of $250 during any one candidate's election are required to be filed only by party committees, political committees and political action committees.
6. It removes a provision requiring the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters to report out legislation to eliminate corporate tax expenditures totaling $6,000,000 per biennium.