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Oversight committee seeks Attorney General opinion on jurisdiction over Lewon response fund after AG found no legal concerns
Summary
After discussion of multiple local and state funds created after the Lewon mass‑violence event and an AG letter finding no legal concerns about distributions by the Maine Community Foundation, the committee voted to request a formal Attorney General opinion on whether OPEGA has jurisdiction when public funds are injected into community funds.
The Joint Legislative Committee on Government Oversight debated whether it has authority to investigate distributions made by private nonprofit funds established after the Lewon mass‑violence event and voted unanimously to request a formal Attorney General opinion.
Committee members reviewed a December 30, 2024 letter from Assistant Attorney General Christina M. Moan to the Maine Community Foundation regarding the Lewon Auburn Area Response Fund, which the AG's office summarized as having "identified no legal concerns about the fact of and process for the distributions of those funds" from a charitable enforcement perspective.
Members and the OPEGA director described several distinct funding streams that arose after the incident: state victim compensation reimbursements administered by the Attorney General’s office; governor’s assistance for funerals; and multiple privately administered funds such as the Lewon Area Response Fund (Maine Community Foundation), the Central Maine Medical Center Compassionate Care Fund and other local funds. Committee members noted public confusion about which funds were state‑administered and which were privately administered and asked whether municipal or state money had been deposited into any private fund.
Peter Schlleg, OPEGA director, said he had informal consultations with the Attorney General’s office and did not find clear evidence that state appropriations were directed to the community foundation fund in question; he said the existence of any public‑fund injections or other statutory nexuses would affect the committee’s jurisdiction. Multiple committee members asked for formal clarification.
Representative Chad Perkins moved, and Senator Brad Faron seconded, a motion directing the committee chairs to send a formal written request to the Attorney General’s office asking whether OPEGA/committee jurisdiction extends to nonprofits that received or expended public funds via municipal or other public contributions. The motion passed unanimously of those present; absent members were given an opportunity to submit an absentia vote.
The committee did not order an immediate OPEGA evaluation of the community foundation but will await the Attorney General’s response before deciding whether to direct OPEGA to pursue a formal review or to take other action.
