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An Act To Preserve Government Documents
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1017, sub-§3-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 642, §10, is further amended to read:
 
3-A. Other candidates. A treasurer of a candidate for state or county office, or a candidate for municipal office of a town or city with a population of 15,000 or more, other than the office of Governor shall file reports with the commission and municipal candidates shall file reports with the municipal clerk as follows. Once the first required report has been filed, each subsequent report must cover the period from the end date of the prior report filed.
 
A. In any calendar year in which an election for the candidate's particular office is not scheduled, when any candidate or candidate's political committee has received contributions in excess of $500 or made or authorized expenditures in excess of $500, reports must be filed no later than 11:59 p.m. on July 15th of that year and January 15th of the following calendar year. These reports must include all contributions made to and all expenditures made or authorized by or on behalf of the candidate or the treasurer of the candidate as of the end of the preceding month, except those covered by a previous report.
 
B. Reports must be filed no later than 11:59 p.m. on the 11th day before the date on which an election is held and must be complete as of the 14th day before that date. If a report was not filed under paragraph A, the report required under this paragraph must cover all contributions and expenditures through the 14th day before the election.
 
C. 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 any election must be reported within 24 hours of those contributions or expenditures.
 
D. Reports must be filed no later than 11:59 p.m. on the 42nd day after the date on which an election is held and must be complete for the filing period as of the 35th day after that date.
 
D-1. Reports must be filed no later than 5 p.m. on the 42nd day before the date on which a general election is held and must be complete as of the 49th day before that date.
 
E. Unless further reports will be filed in relation to a later election in the same calendar year, the disposition of any surplus or deficit in excess of $100 shown in the reports described in paragraph D must be reported as provided by this paragraph. The treasurer of a candidate with a surplus or deficit in excess of $100 shall file reports semiannually with the commission within 15 days following the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters of the State's fiscal year, complete as of the last day of the quarter, until the surplus is disposed of or the deficit is liquidated. The first report under this paragraph is not required until the 15th day of the period beginning at least 90 days from the date of the election. The reports will be considered timely if filed electronically or in person with the commission on that date or postmarked on that date. The reports must set forth any contributions for the purpose of liquidating the deficit, in the same manner as contributions are set forth in other reports required in this section.
 
F. Reports with respect to a candidate who seeks nomination by petition must be filed on the same dates that reports must be filed by a candidate for the same office who seeks that nomination by primary election.
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §2502, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1999, c. 645, §15, is further amended to read:
 
1. Reports by candidates. A candidate for municipal office of a town or city with a population of 15,000 or more is governed by Title 21-A, sections 1001 to 1020-A, except that notices of appointment of a treasurer and campaign reports must be filed with the municipal clerk instead of the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. A town or city with a population of less than 15,000 may choose to be governed by Title 21-A, sections 1001 to 1020-A by vote of its legislative body at least 90 days before an election for office. A town or city that votes to adopt those provisions may revoke that decision, but it must do so at least 90 days before an election subject to those sections.
 
A.  Notwithstanding Title 17-A, section 4-A, a candidate who fails to file a notice or report as required by this section is guilty of a Class E crime and may be punished by a fine of $5 for every day the candidate is in default or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both.
 
SUMMARY
This bill transfers jurisdiction of campaign finance reports for a candidate for municipal office of a town or city with a population of 15,000 or more from municipal clerks to the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. Such municipal candidates will be required to follow the same procedures and guidelines as candidates for state or county office.