AUGUSTA  — The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices on Dec. 8 will vote whether to assess a $164 penalty to the York County Republican Committee for filing election reports two days after the deadline.

If  the commission chooses to follow the recommendation of its staff and assesses the penalty, it will be the second time this year the York GOP has been penalized;  documents on file at the ethics commission  note there was a late filing in January in connection with a special election in which the committee was fined $150.

In the latest case, ethics commission documents show that the county GOP treasurer, Constance Bemis, logged on to the commission website to file the paperwork Oct. 25. She believed she had, but as it turned out, she had not. A letter she submitted to the commission staff nots she became aware of the situation Oct. 30, and promptly filed the report.

“This was not due to negligence  or an oversight. but some other error on my part, “ she wrote. 

The commission staff recommends the full, $164 penalty. The York County Republican Committee is asking that the penalty be waived.

“Commission staff fully accepts that Ms. Bemis  intended to file the report on October 25, as she was in regular telephone  communication with staff  and spoke of an intention to file the report prior to the filing deadline,” wrote commission staff member Benjamin Dyer. “However, in order to encourage candidates and committees to file complete  campaign finance reports on time, the commission does not always accept good intentions as a basis for a  full waiver. The commission sometimes assesses moderate penalties even for unintentional violations.”

Last month, Daniel Lauzon, who was Democratic candidate for House District 20,  was fined $100 for filing a campaign finance report two days late.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].