An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Right To Know Advisory Committee Concerning Training for Elected Officials
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2198
Committee: Judiciary
Amends: 1 MRSA §411, 1 MRSA §412

Legislative Document 
No. 2198 
H.P. 1568 
House of Representatives, February 6, 2008 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Right To Know 
Advisory Committee Concerning Training for Elected Officials 
(EMERGENCY) 
Reported by Representative SIMPSON of Auburn for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Judiciary pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 411, subsection 6, paragraph G. 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed under Joint Rule 
218. 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
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Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, the training of elected officials pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, 
Title I, section 4 I 2 must begin July 1,2008, and that law needs clarification; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 1 MRSA §411, sub-§6, ~, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 631, §I, is 
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amended to read: 
D. 
Shall serve as a resource to support training and education about the freedom of 
access laws. Although each agency is responsible for training for the specific records 
and meetings pertaining to that agency's mission, the advisory committee shall 
provide core resources for the training, share best practices experiences and support 
the establishment and maintenance of online training as well as written question-and-
answer summaries about specific topics. The advisory committee shall recommend a 
process for collecting the training completion records required under section 4 I 2, 
subsection 3 and for making that information publicly available; 
Sec.2. 1 MRSA §412, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 349, § I, is amended to read: 
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§412. Public records and proceedings training for certain elected officials 
1. Training required. Beginning July I, 2008, an elected official subject to this 
section shall complete a course of training on the requirements of this chapter relating to 
public records and proceedings. The official shall complete the training not later than the 
120th day after the date the elected official takes the oath of office to assume the person's 
duties as an elected official. For elected officials subject to this section serving in office 
on July I, 2008, the training required by this section must be completed by November I, 
2008. 
2. Training course; minimum requirements. The training course under subsection 
must be approved ey the advisor), committee. The training must be designed to be 
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completed by an official in less than 2 hours. At a minimum, the training must include 
instruction in: 
A. The general legal requirements ofthis chapter regarding public records and public 
proceedings; 
B. Procedures and requirements regarding complying with a request for a public 
record under this chapter; and 
C. Penalties and other consequences for failure to comply with this chapter. 
Page I - 123LR3449(OI)-1 
An elected official meets the trammg requirements of this section by conducting a 
thorough review of all the information made available by the State on a publicly 
accessible website pursuant to section 411, subsection 6, paragraph C regarding specific 
guidance on how a member of the public can use the law to be a better informed and 
active participant in open government. To meet the requirements of this subsection, any 
other training course must include all of this information and may include additional 
information. 
3. Certification of completion. Upon completion of the training course required 
under subsection I, the elected official shall seOO make a written or an electronic 
notification to the adviso!)! committee record attesting to the fact that the training has 
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been completed. The adviso!)' committee shall maintain a record of those elected officials 
who have completed the training required by this section and make that record available 
to the public in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. The record must 
identify the training completed and the date of completion. The elected official shall 
keep the record or file it with the public entity to which the official was elected. 
4. Application. This section applies to the following elected officials: 
A. The Governor; 
B. The Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State and State Auditor; 
C. Members of the Legislature elected after November I, 2008; aOO 
D. An elected official of a county, municipality, school district or school board or 
any regional or other political subdivision who, as part of the duties of the office, 
exercises e)(ecutive or legislative powers. 
E. Commissioners, treasurers, district attorneys, sheriffs, registers of deeds, registers 
of probate and budget committee members of county governments; 
F. Municipal officers, clerks, treasurers, assessors and budget committee members of 
municipal governments; 
G. Officials of school units and school boards; and 
H. Officials of a regional or other political subdivision who, as part of the duties of 
their offices, exercise executive or legislative powers. 
For the purposes of this 
paragraph, "regional or other political subdivision" means an administrative entity or 
instrumentality created pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 115 or 119 or a quasi-
municipal corporation or special purpose district, including, but not limited to, a 
water district, sanitary district, hospital district, school district of any type, transit 
district as defined in Title 30-A, section 3501, subsection 1 or regional transportation 
corporation as defined in Title 30-A, section 350 I, subsection 2. 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the law regarding training requirements for elected officials, as 
enacted by Public Law 2007, chapter 349. 
This bill maintains the minimum content requirements for the training programs but 
provides that an elected official who completes a training program that contains all the 
information contained under the Frequently Asked Questions heading on the State's 
Freedom of Access law website meets the minimum requirements. Current law directs the 
Right To Know Advisory Committee to approve the training programs. This bill 
eliminates that role. 
Current law requires an elected official to send notice of the completion of the 
required training to the advisory committee. This bill requires the elected official to make 
a record of the completion of the training and either keep it or file it with the public entity 
to which that official was elected. The record of completion is a public record. The 
advisory committee is directed to recommend to the Legislature a process for collecting 
the completion data and making it available to the public. 
This bill addresses the application of the mandatory training requirement to elected 
officials. Current law applies beginning July 1, 2008. This bill revises the application to 
Legislators to begin for Legislators elected after November 1, 2008. This avoids training 
in July 2008 those Legislators who will not be reelected the following November. This 
bill also specifically spells out the elected officials who are subject to the training and 
provides a general description of those who, as part of the duties of their offices, exercise 
executive or legislative powers as elected officials of regional or other political 
subdivisions.