Bill broadens state spending disclosure rules
A legislative panel has approved a bill that requires legislators and certain state employees and officials to report if the state buys goods or services from organizations they own or manage. The bill is in response to a report from the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting that found the state spent almost $235 million with organizations headed by lawmakers or their spouses.
Current state law requires legislators and senior employees to report state purchases worth more than $1,000 only if they were bought directly from the legislator or family member. However, the center’s January report found that private organizations run by state legislators or their spouses received state money, and that funding or a possible conflict of interest was not disclosed. The bill, submitted by Gov. Paul LePage, originally had the same $1,000 trigger, but the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee changed the amount to $10,000, the center reported.
The bill now goes to the full Legislature for a vote.
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