May 30, 2008 Commission Meeting
Click the title of an agenda item below to obtain a pdf file of the
meeting materials relating to that item. The agenda
(2 pages) and materials
for all agenda items (66 pages) are also available as pdf files.
1. Ratification of Minutes of the April 28,
2008 Meeting
2. Request for Waiver of Late-Filing Penalty/Lobbyist
Jed Rathband
Jed Rathband was registered as a lobbyist for the
Maine Association of Agricultural Composters for the 2008 lobbying
year. Because he registered in March 2008, he was required to begin
filing monthly reports on April 15, 2008. He filed the report eight
days late. Mr. Rathband was also the lobbyist for the organization
in 2007. He requests a waiver of the penalty because he was in New
Orleans leading up to the April 15 filing deadline. The amount of
the statutory penalty is $100. Staff recommendation: the staff
recommends denying the request for a waiver and assessing a penalty
of $100.
3. Request for Waiver of Late-Filing Penalty/Lobbyist
Karen Brown-Mohr
Karen Brown-Mohr was registered as a lobbyist for
the Manufactured Housing Association of Maine for the 2008 lobbying
year. She filed the monthly lobbyist report due April 15, 2008 three
days late after receiving a reminder from the Commission staff. The
amount of the statutory penalty is $100. She requests a waiver because
of a serious medical condition in her family. She will be unable to
attend the May 30 meeting. Staff recommendation: the staff recommends
granting the request for a waiver because of the mitigating circumstance
and assessing no penalty.
4. Assessment of $10 Civil Forfeiture
against Four Unregistered Candidates
Candidates for state and county office
are required to register with the Ethics Commission and disclose
a campaign treasurer
and any campaign committee they have formed. To date, 486 candidates
have registered with the Commission for the 2008 elections. In spite
of four written communications and attempted telephone calls, four
candidates have not registered. The Commission staff is hopeful that
some of these four candidates will register before the Commission’s
May 30 meeting. Staff recommendation: the staff recommends assessing
a civil forfeiture of $10 against any remaining unregistered candidates
pursuant to 21-A M.R.S.A. § 1020-A(1).
5. Audit of 2007 Special
Election Candidate Katharine M. Smith
Katharine M. Smith was a Maine
Clean Election Act candidate for State Representative in the 2007 special
election. The
Commission staff conducted an audit of her campaign. The audit report
contained one minor finding: that the candidate did not report a $45
seed money contribution she received. Staff recommendation: the
staff recommends that the Commission find her in violation of 21-A
M.R.S.A. § 1125(2-A)(C) for under-reporting her seed money contributions
and assess no financial penalty for the violation.
6. Selection
of Dates for July, August, and September Commission Meetings
The
Commission staff suggests selecting dates for the Commission’s July,
August, and September meetings in order to schedule them in the hearing
room of the Public Utilities Commission.
Other Business
EXECUTIVE SESSION
If necessary.
ADJOURNMENT
