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An Act To Preserve Funding for the Maine Clean Election Act by Removing Gubernatorial Candidates from Eligibility
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§1, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended to read:
 
1. Certified candidate.   "Certified candidate" means a candidate running for Governor, State Senator or State Representative who chooses to participate in the Maine Clean Election Act and who is certified as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate under section 1125, subsection 5.
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§§5 and 6, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, are amended to read:
 
5. Nonparticipating candidate.   "Nonparticipating candidate" means a candidate running for Governor, State Senator or State Representative who does not choose to participate in the Maine Clean Election Act and who is not seeking to be certified as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate under section 1125, subsection 5.
 
6. Participating candidate.   "Participating candidate" means a candidate who is running for Governor, State Senator or State Representative who is seeking to be certified as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate under section 1125, subsection 5.
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§8, ¶A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 363, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 4. 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 Election Act must also comply with all other applicable election and campaign laws and regulations.
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1124, sub-§1, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended to read:
 
1. Established.   The Maine Clean Election Fund is established to finance the election campaigns of certified Maine Clean Election Act candidates running for Governor, State Senator and State Representative and to pay administrative and enforcement costs of the commission related to this Act. The fund is a special, dedicated, nonlapsing fund and any interest generated by the fund is credited to the fund. The commission shall administer the fund.
Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 363, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §18, is repealed.
Sec. 8. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§5, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §20, is further amended to read:
 
5. Certification of Maine Clean Election Act candidates.   Upon receipt of a final submittal of qualifying contributions by a participating candidate, the executive director of the commission shall determine whether the candidate has:
 
A. Signed and filed a declaration of intent to participate in this Act;
 
B. Submitted the appropriate number of valid qualifying contributions;
 
C. Qualified as a candidate by petition or other means no later than 5 business days after the end of the qualifying period;
 
D. Not accepted contributions, except for seed money contributions, and otherwise complied with seed money restrictions;
 
D-1. Not run for the same office as a nonparticipating candidate in a primary election in the same election year;
 
D-2. Not been found to have made a material false statement in a report or other document submitted to the commission;
 
D-3. Not otherwise substantially violated the provisions of this chapter or chapter 13;
 
D-4. Not failed to pay any civil penalty assessed by the commission under this Title, except that a candidate has 3 business days from the date of the request for certification to pay the outstanding penalty and remain eligible for certification;
 
D-5. Not submitted any fraudulent qualifying contributions or any falsified acknowledgement forms for qualifying contributions or seed money contributions; and
 
E. Otherwise met the requirements for participation in this Act.
 
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. 9. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§5-A, ¶¶G and H, as amended by PL 2009, c. 363, §6, are further amended to read:
 
G. Knowingly made a false statement or material misrepresentation in any report or other document required to be filed under this chapter or chapter 13; or
 
H. Otherwise substantially violated the provisions of this chapter or chapter 13; or.
Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§5-A, ¶I, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 363, §6, is repealed.
Sec. 11. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§7, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §22, is further amended to read:
 
7. Timing of initial fund distribution.   The commission shall distribute to certified candidates revenues from the fund in amounts determined under subsections 8-B to8-C and 8-D in the following manner.
 
A. Within 3 days after certification, for candidates certified prior to March 15th of the election year, revenues from the fund must be distributed as if the candidates are in an uncontested primary election.
 
B. Within 3 days after certification, for all candidates certified between March 15th and the end of the qualifying period of the election year, revenues from the fund must be distributed according to whether the candidate is in a contested or uncontested primary election.
 
B-1. For candidates in contested primary elections receiving a distribution under paragraph A, additional revenues from the fund must be distributed within 3 days of March 15th of the election year.
 
C. No later than 3 days after the primary election results are certified, for general election certified candidates, revenues from the fund must be distributed according to whether the candidate is in a contested or uncontested general election.
 
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. 12. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§7-B, ¶A, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §23, is repealed.
Sec. 13. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§8-B, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §25, is repealed.
Sec. 14. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§§8-E and 8-F, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 1, §25, are amended to read:
 
8-E. Collection and submission of additional qualifying contributions.   Participating candidates may collect and submit additional qualifying contributions in accordance with subsection 3-A to the commission as follows:
 
A.  For gubernatorial candidates, no earlier than October 15th of the year before the year of the election and no later than 3 weeks before election day; and
 
B. For legislative candidates, no earlier than January 1st of the election year and no later than 3 weeks before election day.
 
Additional qualifying contributions may be submitted to the commission at any time in any amounts in accordance with the schedules in this subsection. The commission shall make supplemental distributions to candidates in the amounts and in accordance with the increments specified in subsections 8-B to8-C and 8-D. If a candidate submits additional qualifying contributions prior to a primary election in excess of the number of qualifying contributions for which a candidate may receive a distribution, the excess qualifying contributions must be counted as general election additional qualifying contributions if the candidate has a contested general election, but supplemental distributions based on these excess qualifying contributions may not be distributed until after the primary election.
 
8-F. Amount of distributions.   On December 1st of each even-numbered year the commission shall review and adjust the distribution amounts in subsections 8-B to8-C and 8-D based on the Consumer Price Index as reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. If an adjustment is warranted by the Consumer Price Index, the distribution amounts must be adjusted, rounded to the nearest amount divisible by $25. When making adjustments under this subsection, the commission may not change the number of qualifying contributions or additional qualifying contributions required to trigger an initial distribution or an increment of supplemental distribution. The commission shall post information about the distribution amounts including the date of any adjustment on its publicly accessible website and include this information with any publication to be used as a guide for candidates.
Sec. 15. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§10, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §26, is further amended to read:
 
10. Candidate not enrolled in a party.   An unenrolled candidate for the Legislature who submits the required number of qualifying contributions and other required documents under subsection 4 by 5:00 p.m. on April 20th preceding the primary election and who is certified is eligible for revenues from the fund in the same amounts and at the same time as an uncontested primary election candidate and a general election candidate as specified in subsections 7, 8-C and 8-D. Revenues for the general election must be distributed to the candidate as specified in subsection 7. An unenrolled candidate for Governor who submits the required number of qualifying contributions and other required documents under subsection 4 by 5:00 p.m. on April 1st preceding the primary election and who is certified is eligible for revenues from the fund in the same amounts and at the same time as an uncontested primary election gubernatorial candidate and a general election gubernatorial candidate as specified in subsections 7 and 8-B. Revenues for the general election must be distributed to the candidate for Governor as specified in subsection 7.
Sec. 16. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§12-B, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 443, Pt. B, §6, is repealed.
 
SUMMARY
This bill eliminates Maine Clean Election Act funding for gubernatorial candidates.