The Maine Ethics Commission voted unanimously against investigating Democratic Senate President Troy Jackson for living part time in Augusta while claiming residency in his district in Allagash. The vote came after a Republican House member and a conservative website alleged that Jackson had violated residency rules.
The wide-ranging complaint by state Rep. John Andrews, a Republican from Paris, stemmed from Jackson's purchase of a home in Augusta four years ago.
It alleged that Jackson violated a requirement that he reside in his district when he claimed on a Federal Housing Authority loan that the Augusta home would be his principal residence for at least a year.
But the five commissioners said Andrews had failed to prove that Jackson had violated campaign finance law and that the rules for obtaining the loan are different than the residency requirements for legislators.
David Hastings, a former legislator and one of two Republican commissioners, said Jackson's role as Senate president is essentially a full-time job and that it's "credible" that he would remain in Augusta for most of 2019 and 2020.
"And that is not inconsistent with him remaining a legal resident of Allagash," Hastings said.
Commissioners and ethics staff noted that guidance from the state attorney general dating back to the 1970s says lawmakers can live temporarily outside their district, provided they have sufficient ties to the district, such as owning a home and paying taxes there.
Jackson, who described the complaint as a partisan attack, says he does both and regularly makes the 300-mile drive from Augusta to Allagash.
The commission declined to take up other aspects of Andrews' complaint, citing their limited jurisdiction over legislator conduct.
