A longtime state lawmaker from Orrington received a reprimand but no fine from the Maine Ethics Commission on Wednesday over his political action committee's repeated failure to file campaign finance reports on time.
Commissioners opted not to impose a fine on Republican Rep. Dick Campbell for filing a report 46 days late since his Building the Maine House PAC hadn't raised or spent any money any money during the reporting period. But active PACs are still required to file reports even when they had no activity. And under a law passed by the Legislature, failure to file a report within 30 days is a misdemeanor crime.
Commission staff said in a memo outlining the complaint against Campbell that they could not recall a case in the past 20 years when the law was invoked and a referral was made to the attorney general's office for potential prosecution. However, staff added that "at no time in the last 20 years has a PAC so consistently and blatantly disregarded Maine’s campaign finance reporting requirements."
Campbell's Building the Maine House PAC has filed nine late reports since 2019, with one report arriving 72 days late and another 55 days late. The PAC has been dormant for much of that time. But Ethics commission staff said they have spent an "inordinate amount of time and effort" trying to get the PAC to file reports.
"It's a clear violation in my mind and it's kind of a pattern that has to change," said William Schneider, a Republican commissioner and a former state attorney general. "But I am reluctant to elevate it to the level of a criminal offense."
Josh Tardy, Campbell's attorney, told commission members before the vote that he has worked out a plan with Campbell to bring the PAC into "strict compliance." That includes changing treasurers and deciding whether to keep the PAC active or to close.
"Message delivered," Tardy said. "The staff memo was very clear about what the PAC's obligations are. I can assure this commission that nothing has ever been intentional. There's no desire to tread upon the threshold of a criminal investigation."
