Maine could crack down on illegal secret political donations

Maine ethics regulators want lawmakers to crack down on “straw donor” contributions that have gone to both Democratic and Republican causes in recent years and made news across the country.
The Maine Ethics Commission shared several proposals Wednesday that it intends to review during its Oct. 30 meeting before submitting to the Legislature ahead of its 2025 session, which begins in earnest this January. 
The legislation would create stiffer penalties for straw donations, which involve a funder giving money to an intermediary who then donates to a group or candidate in order to illegally hide the original source’s identity.
What’s the context: Straw donations are already illegal in Maine, but they are difficult to detect because the reported contribution from the intermediary — such as a nonprofit, employee or relative affiliated with the original donor — often appears compliant on its face.
The current maximum penalty in Maine for straw donations is $5,000. Commission staff, led by Executive Director Jonathan Wayne, want lawmakers to increase that to up to five times the amount of the illegal contribution. They also want a requirement for text messages that expressly advocate for or against a ballot initiative and are “mass distributed” at a cost of more than $500 to include the funder of the communication.
Lastly, the commission may ask lawmakers to create a legal definition of “public communication” that would bring more clarity to the types of campaign messages that must identify their sponsors and require an independent expenditure report.
The big picture: Illegal straw donations have made news in Maine and other states in recent years. An ex-defense contractor from Hawaii is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in 2022 to illegally contributing $150,000 to a group supporting U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in 2020 through a shell company. The Republican’s campaign said it had no knowledge of the scheme.
Last November, the commission reached consent agreements with dark money groups that opposed a Central Maine Power transmission corridor ahead of a 2021 referendum on it. Stop the Corridor, a group funded by CMP competitor NextEra Energy, agreed to pay $50,000 for not registering as a ballot committee and not filing several campaign finance reports. 
The commission also agreed to a $160,000 fine with a separate group, Alpine Initiatives, that was used as a pass-through for a $150,000 donation to the Maine Democratic Party that was aimed at opposing the New England Clean Energy Connect project.
What they’re saying: Wayne declined to comment ahead of the meeting, but it will not be a surprise if the proposals find bipartisan support in the Legislature. A memo from Wayne and staff on the proposals otherwise reiterates the current challenge with catching straw donations.
“Even if a campaign finance agency or outside party believes a particular donation appears suspicious as reported, an investigation typically would require a factual predicate that can be hard to establish,” the memo said.