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Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Amend the Maine Clean Election Act Regarding Candidate Participation in Political Action Committees’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§6-F  is enacted to read:
 
6-F.  Participation in political action committees.     A participating candidate or a certified candidate may not establish a political action committee for which the candidate is a treasurer or principal officer or for which the candidate is primarily responsible for fund-raising or decision making. This prohibition applies between April 1st immediately preceding a general election through:
 
A.  The date on which the candidate withdraws from a race;
 
B.  The date of the primary election or general election for a candidate who loses either election; or
 
C.  January 1st immediately preceding the next general election for a candidate who wins the general election.
 
This prohibition also applies to a participating candidate or certified candidate in a special election, except that the prohibition begins on the date of the candidate's nomination. This subsection does not prohibit a participating candidate or certified candidate, including a certified candidate who wins a general or special election, from engaging in fund-raising or decision making for a party caucus political action committee, a ballot question committee or a political action committee formed for the purpose of promoting or opposing a ballot question. This prohibition applies to a participating candidate or certified candidate regardless of the date on which the political action committee was established.
Sec. 2. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2016.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment replaces the bill. The amendment prohibits a Maine Clean Election Act candidate, as part of the terms of participation in the act, from establishing a political action committee for which the candidate is a treasurer or principal officer or for which the candidate is primarily responsible for fund-raising or decision making. This prohibition applies beginning with the election cycle beginning in 2016. For the purpose of this prohibition, an election cycle begins on April 1st immediately preceding the general election and ends on January 1st immediately preceding the next general election.