SP0592, LD 1546, item 1, An Act To Improve Disclosure of Campaign Finance Information and the Operation of the Maine Clean Election Act

An Act To Improve Disclosure of Campaign Finance Information and the Operation of the Maine Clean Election Act

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1017-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2009, c. 190, Pt. A, §8, is further amended to read:

1. Contributions. A party committee shall report all contributions in cash or in kind from a single contributor during the reporting period that in the aggregate total more than $200. The party committee shall report the name, mailing address, occupation and place of business of each contributor. Contributions of $200 or less must be reported, and these contributions may be reported as a lump sum.

Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1017-A, sub-§4-A, ¶E, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. A, §17, is further amended to read:

E. A state party committee shall report any expenditure of $500 contributions aggregating $1,000 or more from any one contributor or single expenditures of $1,000 or more made after the 14th day before the election and more than 24 hours before 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election within 24 hours of that expenditure those contributions or expenditures.

Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1017-A, sub-§4-B, ¶C, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. A, §17, is further amended to read:

C. Any expenditure of contributions aggregating $1,000 or more from any one contributor or single expenditures of $1,000 or more made after the 14th day before any election and more than 24 hours before 11:59 p.m. on the day of the election must be reported within 24 hours of that expenditure those contributions or expenditures.

Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1059, sub-§2, ¶E, as amended by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. A, §35, is further amended to read:

E. A committee shall report any expenditure of $500 contributions aggregating $1,000 or more from any one contributor or single expenditures of $1,000 or more made after the 14th day before the election and more than 24 hours before 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election within 24 hours of that expenditure those contributions or expenditures.

Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§12-A, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 302, §21, is repealed.

Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§12-A, ¶E is enacted to read:

E. A document such as an invoice, contract or timesheet that specifies in detail the services provided by a vendor who was paid $500 or more for the election cycle for providing campaign staff or consulting services to a candidate.

summary

This bill amends the existing requirements for political action committees and party committees to file campaign finance reports within 24 hours of receiving large contributions and making large expenditures during the last 13 days before an election. Under the bill, the reporting requirements for political action committees and party committees in this 13-day period are the same as the requirements for candidates. The bill requires political action committees and party committees to report any contribution of $1,000 or more received during the 13-day period. Under existing law, those contributions are not publicly reported until the regular financial report filed 42 days after the election. It also increases the threshold for political action committees and party committees to report large expenditures from $500 to $1,000.

The bill clarifies when a party committee must itemize contributions in its regular campaign finance reports. It specifies that a party committee must itemize contributions received from the same source totaling more than $200 during the time period covered by the report.

The bill amends a requirement that a Maine Clean Election Act candidate keep a record specifying the work performed by a vendor if the candidate has paid $500 or more in public campaign funds to the vendor. The bill limits the requirement to campaign staff and consulting services, rather than services provided by vendors generally.

SP0592 LD 1546	Second Regular Session - 124th Maine Legislature Text: MS-Word, RTF or PDF		LR 2380 Item 1
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