Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1828
Committee Amendment CA_A-HA_A_H649 (House)
Amends: 3 MRSA §991, 3 MRSA §992, 3 MRSA §994, 3 MRSA §995, 3 MRSA §997

HOUSE 
AMENDMENT "J}" to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT 
"A" 
to H.P. 
1351, 
L.D. 
1828, 
Bill, 
"An 
Act 
To 
Make 
Supplemental 
Appropriations 
and Allocations 
for 
the Expenditures of State 
Government and To Change Certain Provisions of the Law Necessary 
for the Proper Operations of State Government for the Fiscal 
Years Ending June 30, 2004 and June 30, 2005" 
Amend the amendment by inserting after Part CC the following: 
'PARTDD 
Sec. DD·l. 3 MRSA §991, as amended by PL 2003, c. 451, Pt. 
KKK, §l, is further amended to read: 
§991. Evaluation and Government Accountability 
The 
Office 
of 
Program 
Evaluation 
and 
Government 
Accountabill ty is created for the purpose of providing program 
evaluation of agencies and programs of State Government and, when 
determined 
necessary 
by 
the 
committee, 
local 
and 
county 
governments, 
quasi-municipal 
goyernments, 
special 
districts, 
utility districts, regional development agencies or any municipal 
or nonprofit corporation. 
The office also is established to 
ensure 
that 
public 
funds 
provided 
to 
local 
and 
county 
governments, 
quasi-municipal 
governments, 
special 
districts, 
utility districts, regional development agencies or any municipal 
or nonprofit corporation are expended for the purposes for which 
they were allocated, appropriated or contracted. 
When authorized 
by the 
committee, 
the office also may 
examine 
or direct an 
examination of any state contractor financed in whole or part by 
public funds and any expenditure by any public official or public 
employee during the course of public duty, including, but not 
limited to, any expenditure of private money for the purposes of 
the agency or other entity. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
HOUSE 
AMENDMENT "~,, to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 
L.D. 1828 
1351, 
Sec. DD-2. 3 MRSA §992, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 
702, §2, is amended to read: 
4. 
Other entity. 
"Other entity" 
means 
any 
public 
or 
private entity in this State that may be subject to program 
evaluation under this chapter as the result of its receipt or 
expendi ture of public funds. 
"Other entity" may include local 
and 
county 
governments, 
quasi-municipal 
governments, 
special 
districts, utility districts, regional development agencies or 
any municipal or nonprofit corporation. 
Sec. DD-3. 3 MRSA §992, sub-§5, as amended by PL 
2003, c. 
463, §l, is further amended to read: 
5. 
Proqram 
evaluation. 
"Program 
evaluation" 
means 
an 
examination of any government program that includes performance 
audits, management analysis, inspections, operations e~L research 
or examinations of efficiency, effectivenessT or economy aReT 
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Sec. DD-4. 3 MRSA §994, sub-§3-A is enacted to read: 
3-A. 
Auditing services. 
When the committee determines that 
an examination as part of a 
program evaluation requires the 
services of a qualified auditor, to request the Department of 
Audit to conduct all or part of an eXamination or, if the 
Department 'of Audit is unable to perform the examination wi thin 
the time frame established by the committee, to direct the office 
to obtain the services of a qualified auditor; 
Sec. DD-5. 3 MRSA §994, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 
702, §2, is amended to read: 
9. 
Meetings. 
To conduct meetings at such times as the 
cochairs determine necessary; aRe 
Sec. DD-6. 3 MRSA §994, sub-§10, as amended by PL 2003, c. 
463, §3, is further amended to read: 
10. 
Adopt rules. 
To adopt rules, as long as the rules are 
not in conflict with the Joint Rules of the Legislature. 
By 
January 1, 2005, the committee must develop a mission statement 
to be included in the rules~~ 
Sec. DD-7. 3 MRSA §994, sub-§l1 is enacted to read: 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
HOUSE 
AMENDMENT 
" 
L.D. 1828 
" to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT 
"A" to H.P. 
1351, 
11. 
Infonnation available to committee. 
To receive certain 
information. 
Information that is made available to the committee 
is 
governed 
by 
chapter 
21, 
which 
governs 
legislative 
investigating committees, 
and 
by Title 1, 
chapter 13, 
which 
governs public records and proceedings. 
Sec. DD-8. 3 MRSA §995, sub-§§l and 3, as enacted by PL 2001, 
c. 702, §2, are amended to read: 
1. 
Appointment. 
Not 
earlier than April 
1, 
2003, 
the 
Legislative Council shall appoint by an affirmative vote of 8 
members of the Legislative Council a nonpartisan director of the 
office 
for 
the 
purposes 
of 
conducting 
program 
evaluations 
pursuant to this chapter. 
The director must be appointed to an 
initial 
5-year 
term, 
which 
is 
subject 
to 
renewal 
by 
the 
Legislative Council every 5 years thereafter. 
During the term of 
the contract, the director may be terminated only for cause by an 
affirmative vote of 8 members of the Legislative Council. 
The 
Legislative 
Council 
shall establish the 
compensation 
of 
the 
director. 
The director's duties must be performed independently 
and 
in 
a 
nonpartisan 
manner 
but 
under 
the 
general 
policy 
direction of the committee. 
3. 
Employees. 
Employees must be nonpartisan. 
Employees of 
the office are employed by and are responsible to the director, 
who shall hire and fix the compensation of each employee, subject 
to the approval of the committee and within resources available 
in 
the 
biennial 
budget. 
Other 
than 
the director 
appointed 
pursuant to subsection 1, an employee of the office may not be 
employed prior to July 1, 2003. 
Sec. DD·9. 3 MRSA §997, sub-§4, as amended by PL 
2003, c. 
451, Pt. KKK, §4, is further amended to read: 
4. 
Information available to office. 
maQe-~~~~-~e-~~-e"~ee-~~-~eVeFBeQ-~-eaap~eF-~,--wa~ea 
~eveFB6-~e~i~~~~i~~~~~~-~~~~~~r-aBQ Upon reguest of 
the office and consistent with the conditions and procedures set 
forth in this section, state agencies or other entities subject 
to 
program 
evaluation 
must 
provide 
the 
office 
access 
to 
information that is privileged or confidential as defined by 
Title 1, chapter 13, which governs public records and proceedings. 
A. 
Before beginning a program evaluation under this chapter 
that may require access to records containing confidential 
or 
privileged 
information, 
the 
office 
shall 
furnish 
a 
written statement of its determination that it is necessary 
for the office to access 
such records 
and consult with 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
HOUSE 
AMENDMENT 
L.D. 1828 
to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT 
"A" to H.P. 
1351, 
representatives of 
the state agency or other entity to 
discuss methods of identifying and protecting privileged or 
confidential 
information 
in 
those 
records. 
During 
that 
consultation, the state agency or other entity shall inform 
the office of all standards and procedures set forth in its 
policies or agreements to protect information considered to 
be confidential or privileged. 
The office shall limit its 
access to information that is privileged or confidential by 
appropriate methods, 
which may 
include examining records 
without copying or removing them from the source. 
B. 
Documentary or other information obtained by the office 
during the course of a program evaluation under this chapter 
is privileged or confidential to the same extent under law 
that that information would be privileged or confidential in 
the possession of the state agency or other entity providing 
the 
information. 
Any 
privilege or 
statutory 
prov~s~on, 
including 
penalties, 
concerning 
the 
confidentiality 
or 
obligation not to disclose information in the possession of 
a state agency or other entity or its officers or employees 
applies equally to the office. 
Privileged or confidential 
information obtained 
by the office during the course of a 
program evaluation may be disclosed only as provided by law 
and with the agreement of the state agency or other entity 
subject 
to 
the 
program 
evaluation 
that 
provided 
the 
information. 
C. 
If 
the 
office 
accesses 
information 
classified 
as 
privileged or confidential pursuant to state agency or other 
entity policy or procedures or by agreement, 
the office 
shall 
comply with the state agency's 
or other entity's 
stand~rds or procedures for handling that information. 
The 
office may include in its working papers the excerpts from 
information classified as confidential or privileged as may 
be necessary to complete the program evaluation under this 
chapter, as long as the use does not infringe on department 
policies or procedures applicable to the original provision 
of information.' 
Further amend 
any 
nonconsecutive 
consecutively. 
the amendment 
Part 
letter 
by 
or 
SUMMARY 
relettering or renumbering 
section 
number 
to 
read 
This amendment makes the following changes to the statutes 
governing 
the 
Office 
of 
Program 
Evaluation 
and 
Government 
Accountability, or OPEGA. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
I 
HOUSE 
AMENDMENT "if" to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT 
"A" 
L.n. 1828 
to H.P. 1351, 
1. 
It authorizes the legislative oversight committee to 
direct 
OPEGA 
to 
conduct 
evaluations 
of 
local 
government, 
quasi-municipal entities and municipal or nonprofit corporations 
when 
determined 
necessary 
by 
the 
committee 
and 
to 
examine 
expenditures of private money by public officials or employees. 
2. 
It removes language concerning the Department of Audit 
from the subsection that defines program evaluation and instead 
enacts language under the duties of the committee to give the 
commi ttee the discretion to request that the department conduct 
an examination or, if the department is unable to perform the 
examination in a timely manner, to direct OPEGA to obtain the 
services of a qualified auditor. 
3. 
It clarifies what information is made available to the 
committee and to OPEGA. 
4. 
It requires the director and employees of OPEGA to be 
nonpartisan. 
SPONSORED BY, ~~ 
(Representative TRAHAN) 
TOWN: 
Waldoboro 
HOUSE AMENDMENT