3.__Search and seizure.__To be protected against unreasonable search and seizure;

4.__Warrants.__To have no warrants issued except upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized;

5.__Due process of law.__To not be deprived of property without due process of law;

6.__Just compensation.__To not have the corporation's private property taken for public use without just compensation; and

7.__Equal protection.__To equal protection as compared to other business corporations but not as compared to a person or other entity.

§108. Other entity rights

An entity, other than a domestic or foreign business corporation, has the same rights as a person.

Sec. 7. Review of use of "person." The Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary shall review the use of the term "person" throughout the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 13-C to ensure consistency of the use of that term with this Act. The committee shall report out by January 15, 2006 any legislation necessary to carry out the intent of this Act.

SUMMARY

This bill changes the definition of "person" for purposes of the Maine Business Corporation Act to specify that "person" means a natural person and not an entity such as a corporation, a state, the United States or a foreign government. The purpose of this change is to prohibit a corporation from engaging in political speech or activity using funds of the corporation, unless those funds are from a segregated account established specifically for the purpose of funding political speech or activity.