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State Ethics Panel Presses for Contribution Disclosure Bill

AUGUSTA, Maine - Political groups that get help from Maine state employees during a campaign would have to disclose the value of that contribution, under a bill supported by the state Ethics Commission.

The commission's executive director, Jonathan Wayne, says the panel voted 4-1 Monday to advocate for the change in the upcoming legislative session.

"This would not require the agency to file a financial report with the commission, but if there's a PAC or a ballot question committee receiving paid services from a state agency, it's the PAC or ballot question committee that would have to file a report that includes the value of that time," Wayne says.

The bill comes in the wake of this fall's bear baiting referendum, in which the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife actively campaigned in opposition.

The initiative failed, preserving the use of bait, dogs and traps in Maine's bear hunt.