An Act To Inform and Protect the Public Regarding State Employees with Certain Criminal Records
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1859
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: SMITH, MAYO, BARSTOW, PERCY, RECTOR, DAMON, SCHNEIDER
Amends: 5 MRSA §19-C

Legislative Document 
No. 1859 
H.P.1299 
House of Representatives, January 3, 2006 
An Act To Inform and Protect the Public Regarding State 
Employees with Certain Criminal Records 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 28,2005. Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative SMITH of Monmouth. 
Cosponsored by Senator MAYO of Sagadahoc and 
7J1~/h·711~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BARSTOW of Gorham, PERCY of Phippsburg, RECTOR of Thomaston, 
Senators: DAMON of Hancock, SCHNEIDER of Penobscot. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §19-C is enacted to read: 
§19-C. 
State employees with criminal records 
1. 
Notice. 
An agency, department, board or commission that 
employs a person who has been convicted of a serious crime or is 
~red to register under the Sex Offender Registration and 
Notification Act of 1999 
and who, 
as part of that person's 
duties, has direct contact with a member of the public in that 
member's home or place of business shall notify that member of 
the public of: 
A. 
The crime of which the person was convicted and the date 
of conviction; and 
B. 
The ability of a member of the public to reguest a 
different person with whom to conduct business. 
For purposes of this subsection, "serious crime" means murder or 
a Class A, 
Class B or Class C crime or a crime committed in 
another jurisdiction that, if committed in this State, would be 
murder or a Class A, Class B or Class C crime. 
2. 
Rules. 
The Department of Administrative and Financial 
Services shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this 
section, including determining the method of communicating the 
information reguired by subsection I. 
Rules adopted pursuant to 
this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2. 
Report. 
The 
Department 
of 
Administrative 
Financial Services shall conduct a study and report on: 
and 
1. 
The number of state employees who would be subject to 
the reporting requirements of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
5, section 19-C, subsection 1; 
2. 
The type of public exposure that these state employees 
have and the extent of the access they have to confidential 
information belonging to members of the public; and 
3. 
Recommendations for limiting public exposure to these 
state 
employees 
and 
restricting 
the 
access 
of 
these 
state 
employees to confidential information belonging to members of the 
public. 
The department shall submit its report and recommendations, 
including any necessary implementing legislation, to the joint 
standing committee of the l23rd Legislature having jurisdiction 
over state and local government matters no later than January 5, 
2007. 
The 
committee may report out a bill implementing the 
recommendations of the department. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
requires 
an 
agency, 
department, 
board 
or 
commission of State Government that employs a person who has been 
convicted of a serious crime or who is required to register as a 
sex offender and who, as part of that person's duties, has direct 
contact with a member of the 
public in the home or business of 
that member of the public to inform that member of the public of 
the date and crime for which the person was convicted and to 
provide the member of the public with the option of requesting a 
different person with whom to conduct business. 
This bill also requires the Department of Administrative and 
Financial Services to study- and report to the l23rd Legislature 
regarding the number of state employees who have been convicted 
of a serious crime, the level of public exposure those employees 
have 
and 
the 
extent of 
the 
access 
those 
employees 
have 
to 
confidential information of members of the public.