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Maine Regulations § 270-1-4 INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS

⤴ Up to Chapter 1: Procedures

Regulation Text

1. Legislative Ethics . The Commission is authorized to investigate and make advisory recommendations to either House of the Maine Legislature concerning legislative conflicts of interest or any breach of the legislative ethics set forth in 1 M.R.S.A. §§ 1001 - 1023 . The Commission's opinion may be sought by three methods, or the Commission may act on its own motion.
A. Legislator's Own Conduct
(1) A Legislator seeking an advisory opinion with respect to his or her own circumstances or conduct should make a written request for an opinion, setting forth the pertinent facts with respect to the legislative matter at issue and the circumstances of the Legislator giving rise to the inquiry.
(2) The request will be officially filed only when received at the offices of the Commission. The Director will promptly send a copy of the request to the Chair, and the matter will be placed on the agenda for the next Commission meeting, or if necessary, at a special meeting.
(3) An oral request by a Legislator for an opinion with respect to his or her own circumstances will not be considered an official request for an advisory opinion, and a Legislator making such a request will be so notified, by letter, and encouraged to file a written request.
B. Complaints . Any written complaint will be included in the agenda of the next Commission meeting.
(1) Complaint by a Legislator . Copies of any sworn complaint filed by a Legislator will promptly be sent to the Legislator against whom the complaint has been lodged and to the Commission Chair, in each case identifying the Legislator making the complaint. A complaint invokes the Commission's authority only if made under oath and only if it addresses an alleged conflict of interest relating to circumstances arising during the term of the legislature then in office.
(2) Other Complaints
(a) The Director will review each complaint to determine whether the matter relates to the Commission's statutory mandate. When a complaint is filed, the Director, in consultation with Commission Counsel, will review the matter to determine whether the complaint has sufficient merit to warrant recommending the calling of a meeting. When a meeting is called, the Commission will determine in executive session whether to hear the complaint. If the nature of the complaint clearly does not fall within the scope of the Commission's jurisdiction, the Director will so notify the complainant by letter within 14 days of receiving the complaint. In such cases, the respondent need not be notified. The Commission may reverse any administrative decision.
(b) An oral complaint by any person alleging a conflict of interest concerning any legislator does not constitute a complaint under 1 M.R.S.A. § 1013 (2)(B) , and a person registering such a complaint will be so notified, by letter.
C. Referral by Presiding Officer . When a Legislator has requested an advisory opinion from the Presiding Officer of the House of which he/she is a member, and the Presiding Officer has referred the inquiry directly to the Commission, the Director will arrange a meeting of the Commission as soon as possible to consider the question.
2. Election Campaign Reporting and Maine Clean Election Act Violations
A. Compliance Review . The Commission staff will review all campaign finance reports filed by candidates pursuant to 21-A M.R.S.A., chapters 13 and 14 to verify compliance with the financial disclosure and documentation requirements set by statute or rule. The staff will review a selection of other campaign finance reports filed by non-candidate committees with the Commission for compliance with legal requirements. Notice of any omission, error, or violation will be given to the filer by electronic mail or U.S. Mail. The Commission staff will establish a reasonable time period for the filer to remedy any omission or error. The Commission staff shall schedule any substantial violations for possible action by the Commissioners at a public meeting. If the filer fails to remedy minor violations, the Commission staff will use its discretion whether to take any further action. Minor violations include, but are not limited to, failing to report the employment information for a contributor or misusing an expenditure code to describe the purpose of an expenditure.
B. Late Reports and Registrations . Where required by statute, notice of failure to file a required report will be timely sent by Commission staff. When a report or registration is filed late, the Director's recommendations will be based on the following considerations:
(1) Lateness of report or registration,
(2) Reason for lateness,
(3) Kind of report (more stringent application for pre-election reports),
(4) Amount of campaign funds not properly reported,
(5) Previous record of the filer; and
(6) Good faith effort of the filer to remedy the matter.
C. Any person (as defined in 21-A M.R.S.A. § 1001 ) may make an official complaint or request for a Commission investigation by filing a signed written request at the Commission's office, setting forth such facts with sufficient details as are necessary to specify the alleged violation. A copy of the signed request may be filed by facsimile or by electronic mail, provided that the original signed request is submitted to the Commission. Statements should be made upon personal knowledge. Statements which are not based upon personal knowledge must identify the source of the information which is the basis for the request, so that respondents and Commission staff may adequately respond to the request. A copy of any such written request will be promptly mailed to the candidate or organization alleged to have violated the statutory requirements. The Director may conduct preliminary fact finding to prepare a matter for presentation to the Commission. The Director, in consultation with Counsel, will prepare a summary of staff findings and recommendations for inclusion on the agenda.
D. An oral report of a violation, or a written request containing insufficient detail to specify the violation charged, does not constitute an official request for a Commission determination, and a person registering such a complaint will be so notified.
E. The signature of a person authorized to sign a report or form constitutes certification by that person of the completeness and accuracy of the information reported. The use of a password in filing an electronic report constitutes certification of the completeness and accuracy of the report.
3. Lobbyist Disclosure Procedures
A. Compliance Review . The Commission staff will review lobbyist registrations and monthly reports for compliance with disclosure requirements. The Commission staff will establish a reasonable time period by which a lobbyist must remedy any apparent omission or error. The Commission staff shall place on the agenda of a Commission meeting any substantial violation of the disclosure requirements, regardless of whether the lobbyist has remedied the violation.
B. Late Registrations and Reports . Notice will be given by mail to any lobbyist whose registration or monthly disclosure report is late. The Commission and its staff shall follow the notice and penalty procedures set out in 3 M.R.S.A. § 319 (1) . For purposes of 3 M.R.S.A. § 319 (1) , the month will end on the 15th day of the month following the month in which a report was due. Any failure to submit a required report, registration, or penalty fee will be noted on the Commission agenda.
C. Suspensions . The Commission may suspend any person from lobbying who fails to file a required report or pay an assessed fee. A notice of the suspension must be mailed to the lobbyist by U.S. Certified Mail within three days following the suspension. Reinstatement will occur on the date the required report or payment is received in the Commission office. A notice of the reinstatement must be mailed to the lobbyist by U.S. Certified Mail or given directly to the lobbyist within three days following receipt of the required report or payment.
D. Request for Penalty Waiver . A lobbyist may request a waiver of any late penalty the lobbyist incurs. The request must be made in writing to the Commission and must state the reason for the delinquency. Any such request must be noted on the agenda of the next Commission meeting. Only the Commission may grant penalty waivers.
E. Request for Waiver of Non-session Reporting Requirement . A lobbyist may request a waiver of the monthly non-session reporting requirement set forth in 3 M.R.S.A. § 317 (4) if the lobbyist does not expect to be engaged in lobbying when the Legislature is not in session. The Director is authorized to provisionally grant such waivers pending approval by the Commission. Provisional waivers may be granted only where a request is properly filed, the statement properly completed, and where there is no apparent reason to doubt the statement is true. During the period in which the waiver is effective, reports will not be required. If lobbying is resumed during the period for which the waiver was granted, the lobbyist must file a monthly disclosure report for the month or months lobbying was conducted.
F. Faxing Duly Executed Lobbyist Registration, Reports . Any registration or report required by 3 M.R.S.A. chapter 15 may be provisionally filed by transmission of a facsimile copy of the duly executed report to the Commission, provided that the original of the same report is received by the Commission within 5 calendar days thereafter.
4. Matters Outside the Commission's Jurisdiction . If the Director and Counsel are in agreement that the subject matter of a request for an investigation is clearly outside the jurisdiction of the Commission, the staff may forward the request to the appropriate authority or return it to the person who made the request, provided that the staff notifies the Commission members of the action at the next Commission meeting.

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