An Act Requiring Internet Auction Registration
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0191
Committee: Business, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: DAVIS, COLLINS

Legislative Document 
No. 191 
H.P.142 
House of Representatives, January 13,2005 
An Act Requiring Internet Auction Registration 
Reference to the Committee on Business, Research and Economic Development suggested 
and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative DAVIS of Falmouth. 
1J1~ 
1J7.7Jld£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: COLLINS of Wells, McKENNEY of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 32 MRSA c.I35 is enacted to read: 
CBAP'l'ER 13 5 
INTERNET AUCTION LISTING SERVICES 
§15301. 
Definitions 
As 
used 
in this 
chapter, 
unless 
the 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. 
1. 
Bid. 
"Bid" means an offer to buy. 
2. 
CQWftissioner. 
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of 
Professional and Financial Regulation~ 
3. 
Interactive 
cOlIPuter 
service. 
"Interactive 
computer 
service" means an information service or system that provides or 
enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, 
including 
a 
service 
or 
system 
that 
provides 
access 
to 
the 
Internet. 
4. 
Internet auction listing service. 
"Internet auction 
listing service" means a publicly accessible site on the Internet 
or other interactive computer service that is designed to allow, 
or is advertised as a means of allowing, users to offer personal 
property or services for sale or lease to a prospective buyer or 
lessee through an on-line bid submission process and that does 
not examine, set the price of or prepare the description of the 
personal property or service to be offered or in any way use the 
services of a natural person as an auctioneer. 
5. 
Office. 
"Office" means the Department of Professional 
and Financial Regulation, Office of Licensing and Registration. 
§15302. 
Registration reguired 
It is unlawful for a person to provide an Internet auction 
listing service in this State for 
compensation without being 
registered with the office, if: 
1. 
Located 
in this State. 
The 
person is 
located 
or 
maintains an office in this State; 
2. 
User located in this State. 
A seller, purchaser, lessor 
or lessee, or prospective seller, purchaser, lessor or lessee, of 
personal property or 
a 
service offered through the Internet 
auction listing service is located in this State; or 
Page I-LR0286 (1) 
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...... 
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3. 
Property or service located in this State. 
Personal 
property or 
a 
service offered for sale or lease through the 
Internet auction listing service is located or is provided in 
this State. 
§15303. 
Form: fee; elements of registration 
A person reguired to register under section 15302 shall make 
its registration on a form provided by the office and shall pay 
an 
accompanying 
registration 
fee 
to 
be 
determined 
by 
the 
commissioner by rule. 
As part of its registration, the person 
shall certify to the office that the person: 
1. 
Not an agent. 
Does not act as the agent of users who 
sell items on its publicly accessible site on the Internet and 
acts only as a venue for user transactions; 
2. 
Requires 
regi~tration. 
Reguires sellers and bidders to 
register with the publicly accessible site on the Internet and 
provide their 
names, 
addresses, 
telephone 
numbers 
and e-mail 
addresses; 
3. 
Retains information. 
Retains the information described 
in subsection 2 for at least 2 years; 
4. 
Transaction 
information. 
Retains 
transactional 
information consisting of at least seller identification, high 
bidder identification and item sold for at least 2 years from the 
close of 
a 
transaction and has 
a 
mechanism 
to identify all 
transactions involving a particular seller or buyer; 
5. 
Complaints. 
Has 
a mechanism to receive complaints or-
inguiries from users; 
6. 
Suspensions. 
Adopts and reasonably implements a policy 
of 
suspending, 
in appropriate 
circumstances, 
the 
accounts 
of 
users who are found to have engaged in a pattern of activity that 
appears to be deliberately designed to defraud consumers using 
the publicly accessible site on the Internet; and 
7. 
Inspection of data. 
Agrees to comply with reguests from 
the 
office 
to 
inspect 
stored 
data 
in 
its 
possession, 
in 
accordance with state and federal law. 
§15304. 
Penalty; injunction 
A person who operates as an Internet auction listing service 
without first registering in accordance with this chapter commits 
a Class E crime. 
The State may bring an action in Superior Court to enjoin 
any person from violating this chapter, 
regardless of whether 
proceedings have been or may be instituted in the District Court 
or whether criminal proceedings have been or may be instituted. 
§15305. 
Renewals 
Registration under this chapter is valid for 
years and 
expires at a time the commissioner designates. 
A registration 
may be 
renewed up to 90 calendar days after the date of its 
expiration upon payment of a late fee in addition to the renewal 
fee. 
Any registrant who submits an application for renewal more 
than 90 calendar days after the expiration date is subject to all 
requirements governing new registrations under this chapter. 
§15306. 
Denial or suspension of registration or renewal 
The office may 
chapter, 
suspend 
a 
renewal if: 
refuse to accept 
registration 
or 
a registration under 
deny 
an 
application 
this 
for 
1. 
Incomplete. 
The registration or renewal is incomplete 
or is not accompanied by the required feet 
2. 
False representation. 
The registrant makes a false or 
fraudulent 
material 
representation 
in 
connection 
wi th 
its 
registration, renewal or any records or reports kept or filed 
relating to Internet auction listing services: 
3. 
Certain crimes. 
The registrant is convicted of a felony 
or a crime of which an essential element is dishonesty, frauCh 
larceny, embezzlement or obtaining money, property or credit by 
false pretenses; 
4. 
Discipline in other jurisdiction. 
The registrant has 
been subject to discipline by another state, the United States, a 
foreign nation or another governmental agency and at least one o~ 
the grounds for discipline is the 
same or equivalent to the 
grounds described in this section: 
5. 
Records unavailable. 
The registrant fails to reasonably 
make 
available 
to 
the office 
relevant 
records 
and 
documents 
relating to its Internet auction listing services upon request; or 
6. 
Failure to provide information. 
The registrant fails to 
provide 
information to 
the office 
~n response 
to 
a 
written 
request within 30 days of the request. 
§15301. 
Rules 
Page J-LR0286 (l) 
.. 
The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this chapter. 
Rules 
adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical 
rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires an Internet auction listing service to 
register 
with 
the 
Department 
of 
Professional 
and 
Financial 
Regulation, Office of Licensing and Registration if that service 
is located in the State, if a user of the service is located in 
the State or if personal property or a service offered for sale 
or lease is located or provided in the State. 
As part of this 
registration, 
among other requirements, 
the bill requires that 
covered Internet auction listing services collect and maintain 
users' contact information and have policies enabling complaints 
In 
to be made and users to be suspended. 
The bill additionally 
makes operation of 
a 
covered Internet auction listing service 
without 
registering 
a 
Class 
E 
crime, 
enumerates 
grounds 
for 
denial or suspension of a registration and gives the Commissioner 
of Frofessional and Financial Requlation authority to adopt rules 
to implement the registration process.