If the word wasn’t out before, it is now: Campaign reports must be filed on time. The state ethics commission fined the Maine Association of Realtors $10,000 Monday for filing a campaign spending report 20 days past the deadline.

In October, the commission fined the Maine Democratic Party $5,000 for a similar violation, and a $10,000 fine was handed to the Fed Up With Taxes PAC in November.

“The core of the Maine Clean Elections Act is to level the playing field between public and private money,” said Commissioner Mavourneen Thompson.

She’s right. The law doesn’t work unless reports are filed in a timely manner.