AUGUSTA — The Senate enacted Monday a bill from Sen. Chloe Maxmin, D-Nobleboro, to improve Maine’s laws regarding spending by political action committees.

LD 1621, “An Act To Reform Payments to Legislators by Political Action Committees,” received unanimous, bipartisan support in the Senate.

“This is a necessary step in making our politics more honest and transparent,” said Sen. Maxmin. “Running for office shouldn’t be seen as an opportunity to enrich oneself, and Maine people should have the confidence that safeguards are in place to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m grateful to my colleagues for supporting these common-sense reforms.”

LD 1621 would make changes to the laws governing payments to a legislator by a political action committee (PAC) if the legislator is a principal officer or treasurer of the PAC or is one of the people primarily responsible for raising contributions or making decisions for the PAC. Those changes include:

The PAC may not compensate an immediate family member of the legislator for services provided to the PAC, or make payments to or compensate a business owned or operated by an immediate family member of the legislator.

The PAC may not pay for or reimburse a legislator for any expenses that have been or will be reimbursed by the Legislature or any other source of payment or reimbursement.

The PAC may not pay for or reimburse a legislator for costs of repairing or maintaining the Legislator’s vehicle or for accessories that are not necessary for the proper performance of the vehicle.

A PAC or legislator violating these laws may be subject to a penalty of up to $500 or the amount of the unlawful payment or reimbursement, whichever is greater.

“For years, I’ve fought to get big money out of local politics, and for years politicians have been able to use loose laws surrounding PACs to skirt around ethics regulations,” said Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, a longtime advocate of campaign finance reform. “This bill sets the kind of reasonable spending limits that Mainers expect.”

LD 1621 now goes to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills, who has 10 days to sign the bill into law, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature.