1. Ratification of the Minutes of the February 28, 2022 Meeting
Motion: Adopt the Minutes.
Made by: Mr. Lee
Seconded by: Mr. Schneider
Vote: 5-0
2. Annual Statement of Sources of Income – Late Filings by Legislators
Members of the Maine Legislature are required to file an annual statement of the sources of their personal income by February 15th disclosing their employment and other income sources during the previous year. The statement also includes gifts, travel reimbursements, and positions in for profit, nonprofit and/or political organizations. State Representatives Chad Grignon, Frances Head, and MaryAnne Kinney filed their statements 23 or 24 days late, after the Commission sent them four email notices of the upcoming February 15 deadline and two post-deadline reminders by email and regular mail. The Commission will consider whether to find that the Representatives violated 1 M.R.S. § 1016-G(2) by not filing on time and to refer the Legislators to the Office of the Attorney General for collection of a civil penalty of up to $100.
Motion: Find that Representatives Chad Grignon, Frances Head and MaryAnne Kinney violated 1 M.R.S. § 1016-G(2) by not filing an annual Statement of Sources of Income within 15 days of being notified by the Commission and these violations should be referred to the Attorney General’s office for imposition of a civil penalty of up to $100 to be imposed by the court.
Made by: Mr. Lee
Seconded by: Mr. Schneider
Vote: 5-0
3. Request for Waiver of Late-Filing Penalty – Piscataquis County Republican Committee
The Piscataquis County Republican Committee was one week late in filing a campaign finance report due January 18, 2022 covering the 2021 calendar year. The preliminary penalty is $500. The committee requests a waiver of the penalty due to the inexperience of the treasurer and because the committee had not been financially active for some years. Staff recommendation: the staff recommended reducing the penalty to $100.
Motion: To reduce the statutorily calculated penalty of $500 for the late filing to $100 as recommended by the Commission staff.
Made by: Mr. Lee
Seconded by: Mr. Marble
Vote: 5-0
4. Request for Waiver of Late-Filing Penalty – Lobbyist Marta Nelson - WITHDRAWN
5. Overview of Maine Clean Election Act Program
In preparation for items that may be scheduled later in 2022, the Commission staff will provide an overview of the Maine Clean Election Act program, including the policy on when candidates may fix qualifying contributions that are defective. No action is required by the Commission.
Executive Session – Legislative Ethics Complaint
The Commission met in executive session as required by 1 M.R.S. § 1013(3-A) to consider whether to take action on a complaint alleging that a Legislator engaged in a violation of legislative ethics as defined in 1 M.R.S. §§ 1014(2-A) & (3).
Motion: There are insufficient grounds to commence an investigation of the complaint against a legislator.
Made by: Mr. Lee
Seconded by: Mr. Marble
Vote: 5-0
Other Business
ADJOURNMENT