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An Act Concerning Citizens' Initiatives and Public Disclosure of Influence
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1056-B, first ¶,  as enacted by PL 1999, c. 729, §8, is amended to read:
Any person not defined as a political committee who solicits and receives contributions or makes expenditures, other than by contribution to a political action committee, aggregating in excess of $1,500$3,000 for the purpose of initiating, promoting, defeating or influencing in any way a ballot question must file a report with the commission. In the case of a municipal election, a copy of the same information must be filed with the clerk of that municipality.
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1056-B, sub-§1-A  is enacted to read:
 
1-A.  Definitions.     As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
 
A.  "Expenditure" includes any staff time used and any in-kind expenditures made for the purpose of initiating, promoting, defeating or influencing in any way a ballot question.
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1056-B, sub-§4  is enacted to read:
 
4.  Identification of excess contributions.     If the reported contributions exceed the reported expenditures by more than $5,000, the person filing the report under this section shall identify the souces of the contributions that make up the difference.
 
SUMMARY
This bill raises the amount of contributions or expenditures that triggers the requirement for a person not defined as a political committee but who solicits contributions or makes expenditures to influence a ballot question to file a report with the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices from $1,500 to $3,000. The bill also classifies in-kind expenditures and staff time as expenditures for purposes of reporting and requires the identification of contributions that make up a difference when contributions exceed expenditures by more than $5,000.