AUGUSTA – The Maine Ethics Commission wants to make sure it’s not too difficult for candidates to get public funding.

It just can’t be too easy, either.

The panel is releasing a report detailing the effect the Clean Elections Act had on recent elections. Commission officials gave the report’s executive summary and recommendations to the state’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee, whose members heard five bills related to the act Wednesday.

The full report will be available Sept. 30, said Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the commission.

Committee members submitted a bill to the Legislature last week making changes to the act. Wayne said the bill aims to fix problems found in the act. The bill will be heard April 30 in the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee.

The act, started in 2000, is a voluntary program of full public financing for candidates for governor and seats in the Legislature. Candidates collect a certain amount of “seed money,” small private contributions at first, then collect $5 checks from registered voters made out to the Clean Elections Fund.

Candidates then can qualify for matching funds based on their opponents’ expenditures.

According to the initial report, compiled by the commission’s data and surveys, the act encouraged more candidates to run, and helped first-timers. It controlled spending and reduced the amount of private contributions. All donations and expenditures are public record.

“Voters do have more choices now, and there is more financial parity,” Wayne said.

There were a few snags, the report showed. The commission conducts audits of the candidates, and from these audits two cases of fraud were exposed. One Senate candidate faked all of his $5 contributions, the report stated. There were also problems found with contributions to gubernatorial candidate John Michael.

Wayne said one thing the commission wants to emphasize in its upcoming bill is the inclusion of third-party advertisements. When there are ads put out by interest groups or Political Action Committees supporting a candidate by name, the opponent would qualify for matching funds, he said.

Also in the bill, the commission has recommended that any independent expenditures qualify for matching funds within 60 days before the election, instead of the current 21 days. The commission defines these types of expenditures as “any expenditure that expressively advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.”

Opponents have 48 hours from release of the ad to make the claim, according to the commission.

The bill also would require gubernatorial candidates to collect a minimum of $15,000 in seed money. They are allowed to collect a maximum of $50,000, according to the statute.

The proposed bill has been approved by the Senate, but not yet by the House. It was put forth by the commission, and sponsored by Sen. Lisa Marrache, D-Waterville.