The state ethics commission staff has recommended the Maine Association of Realtors PAC be fined $10,000, the maximum amount possible, for missing a reporting deadline on money it spent on behalf of two Republican state Senate candidates in October.

The staff said the PAC’s delayed filing constituted a “significant violation” because it potentially affected the outcome of close races in Senate Districts 15 and 22, according to a report made to commissioners by Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the commission staff. The spending was made on behalf of Republican state Senate candidates Lois Snowe-Mello of Poland and Christopher Rector of Thomaston.

On Oct. 10, the Realtors PAC authorized a vendor to issue postcard mailings on behalf of each candidate, spending about $3,000 per candidate. Under the Maine Clean Election Act, the PAC is required to report its spending within 24 hours so opposing candidates can receive matching funds in a timely manner. The PAC filed its report 20 days later, triggering matching funds only four days prior to the election.

An initial fine of about $1,200 was paid by the PAC.

“We absolutely admit the mistake was made,” said Cindy Butts, chief executive officer of the Maine Association of Realtors, who was in charge of making the filings. “It was basically an administrative mistake. We know the rules; we’ve followed the rules for 30 years.”

Butts said the PAC would abide by any decision the commission makes.

“We have a long history of doing everything right and unfortunately, everything is subject to a person making a mistake,” she said. “It’s really hard in any situation for someone to answer the ‘How could you forget?’ question. We just didn’t track it appropriately.”

Wayne’s report to the commissioners said the amount of spending, the time of the spending and the competitiveness of the races were factors in determining the amount of the fine.

Democratic candidate Deb Simpson of Auburn defeated Snowe-Mello by 108 votes in the Senate 15 race; Rector defeated Democratic candidate David Miramant of Camden by less than 2,000 votes in the Senate District 22 race.

“Receiving roughly $3,000 three and a half weeks before an election can open up considerable options for a Senate candidate to communicate with voters,” Wayne said in the report.

He said the staff recommendation of the maximum fine was “heavily influenced” by two recent decisions of the commission, including a $5,000 fine assessed against the Maine Democratic Party for filing a late report of spending on behalf of Simpson. The other decision was the commission’s $10,000 penalty assessed to the Fed Up with Taxes PAC for late reporting of large advertising purchases.

“In the view of the commission staff, the late filing of the Maine Association of Realtors PAC is, regrettably, more serious than the late filings by the Maine Democratic Party and the Fed Up with Taxes PAC,” Wayne said. “That is because the Realtors PAC’s late filing had a direct impact on the campaign funding available to two Senate candidates, one of which lost.”

Miramant, who lost his bid for the District 22 seat, said he agreed the Realtors PAC should have to pay the maximum fine.

“(The reporting delay) made a difference in how we ran our campaign and it really isn’t supposed to. That’s why the rules are in place,” Miramant said. ” I’m not saying I would have won, there’s no telling. But that’s the thing about the clean election process. It’s laid out so people have as much of a chance as is possible and no group can influence the outcome.”

The five-member Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices will meet next Monday and make its decision.