LEWISTON — The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices is scheduled to address three separate allegations of possible campaign finance reporting violations during its meeting Thursday.

Commissioners are expected to weigh in on an investigation of the group Maine Leads, which is accused of failing to register as a political action committee or ballot question committee and, as a consequence, failing to file campaign finance reports going back to 2007. Maine Leads has worked to put the citizen initiative that would cut the municipal excise tax on this fall’s ballot, but lawyer Dan Billings says that’s not the group’s “major purpose.”

In a recent letter addressed to Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the ethics commission staff, Billings, who represents Maine Leads, said the commission should be careful in coming to a conclusion on whether or not a group should be considered a PAC.

“If significant referendum-related activities by a new organization are used to define that organization as a PAC simply because the organization does not have a track record of other activities, new organizations would be forced to avoid referendum-related activities to avoid being deemed to be a PAC,” he said. “Such a result would have a significant impact on the First Amendment rights of such organizations.”

A lawyer representing Deborah Hutton, a former Democratic legislator who brought forth the complaint, also recently wrote to Wayne.

“Maine law is designed to shine light on those groups who decide to engage in certain types of political action; that an organization might engage in other activities in the future is of no (consequence),” said Benjamin K. Grant, a Topsham lawyer. “Ms. Hutton has continuously argued that what Maine Leads “intended” to accomplish or what activities it has budgeted for is not relevant to this determination.”

The commission took testimony on the complaint at a previous meeting.

In the two other cases, the five-member ethics panel is asked to determine whether or not there is sufficient reason to launch an investigation.

Fred Karger, of Californians Against Hate, has requested commissioners examine the origins of campaign contributions from several groups who have made large donations to the Stand for Marriage Maine PAC. The PAC has documented the donations, but Karger says groups such as the National Organization for Marriage that has donated at least $250,000 to the PAC should have to report where those donations originated. Stand for Marriage Maine is a PAC working to repeal Maine’s same-sex marriage law, which is a question before voters this fall. Karger launched a similar complaint during last year’s successful campaign in California to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage.

Testimony from representatives of the groups involved is expected.

David Crocker of TABOR NOW has made a similar request for an investigation of four groups opposed to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights Initiative, which also will appear on the ballot Nov. 3. Crocker alleges the Maine People’s Alliance, Maine Can Do Better, Maine Center for Economic Policy and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities should all have to file campaign finance reports based on their efforts to impact the upcoming statewide vote.

The meeting will take place in room 208 of the Cross Building in Augusta at 9 a.m. Oct. 1.

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