Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §5103 is enacted to read:

§5103.__Employers of circulators of direct initiative and people's

veto petitions

For the purposes of Part 1, any person, firm or organization responsible for the collection of signatures on petitions for direct initiative or people's veto legislation that pays anything of value to persons to collect these signatures pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, Sections 19, 20 and 21 is subject to the provisions of Part 1 that apply to employers.

Sec. 5. 39-A MRSA §102, sub-§11, ķA, as amended by PL 1997, c. 600, §§3 and 4, is further amended by amending the first paragraph to read:

A. "Employee" includes officials of the State and officials of counties, cities, towns, water districts and all other quasi-public corporations of a similar character, every duly elected or appointed executive officer of a private corporation other than a charitable, religious, educational or other nonprofit corporation, and every person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, and circulators of petitions as provided in Title 21-A, section 903-B, except:

SUMMARY

This bill provides that any person who is paid a wage, salary or anything of value to collect signatures on petitions for direct initiative or people's veto legislation is an employee of any person, firm or organization that has contracted, subcontracted or agreed to provide for the collection of these signatures. As employees, circulators of petitions will be afforded the protection of Maine's labor and workers' compensation laws. Employers will be responsible for the payment of unemployment insurance workers' compensation insurance, and withholding taxes. This bill does not apply to any person or organization that, without payment of any kind, circulates petitions for direct initiative and people's veto legislation.