Bills aim to make citizen initiatives more transparent

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Several bills now under consideration would make changes to the citizen initiative process.

They would, among other things, make it clear who's being paid to collect signatures and who is paying those people.

In recent years citizen ballot initiatives in Maine have grown more contentious, with issues ranging from gay marriage to new taxes. Some lawmakers feel the signature gathering process has turned more aggressive, with out of state organizations trying to buy those signatures.

Democratic representative Seth Berry is sponsor of a bill that would require those organizations to register with the state.

"We have a number of organizations, primarily in other states, that have really made a business out of collecting people's signatures and putting things on the ballot. So its essentially possible now for somebody to buy a law in the state of Maine", Berry said. 

Critics say some of the changes would harm the process including making names on the petitions public before they are validated. That would give opponents the opportunity to contact those people to try to convince them to change their minds. One republican lawmaker said that would turn the process into a circus.