By Leah Dearborn
AUGUSTA- a Maine legislative committee voted down measure LD410 in a 12-1 vote last Friday. The purpose of the measure was to revise the Maine Clean Election Act (MCEA) passed in 1996.
The MCEA is a program which provides candidates running for state Governor, the Senate, or the House with full public funding. One stipulation of the MCEA is that a candidate who uses the funding can accept only limited private contributions. However, there is currently no law barring candidates from setting up political action committees that are not subject to contribution limits. LD410 addressed this by proposing a $350 cap on election PAC contributions.
The Bangor Daily News reports on the measure, quoting Rep. Justin Chenette, the rejected bill’s sponsor:
“The whole intent of the clean elections system is to take money out of politics,” said Chenette, who didn’t use Maine Clean Election Act funding for his campaign because he said he didn’t want to be part of a system with such a clear loophole. “Why do we need a security blanket of big corporate interests and special interest money when the whole purpose is to ensure you focus on the voters, not the funding?”
Chenette’s bill, because it attracted the support of one member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, next goes to the House floor for debate. The legislation is similar to a bill introduced two years ago by then-Rep. Linda Valentino, D-Saco. That measure was voted down by the committee, then failed in votes in the House and Senate.
The Bangor Daily News also reports that 70 percent of current Maine legislators used MCEA funding during their campaigns for office.
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