An Act To Permit Medical and Social Service Professionals To Report Animal Cruelty
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0583
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: SIMPSON, HOBBINS, BRYANT
Amends: 22 MRSA §3474, 22 MRSA §3477, 22 MRSA §4008, 22 MRSA §400

Legislative Document 
No. 583 
H.P.450 
House of Representatives, February 5, 2007 
An Act To Permit Medical and Social Service Professionals To 
Report Animal Cruelty 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative SIMPSON of Auburn. 
Cosponsored by Senator HOBBINS of York and 
Representative: BRYANT of Windham. 
PnmeJ on recyded p3per 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3474, sub-§2, ~, as amended by PL 2003, c. 653, §6, is 
further amended to read: 
H. 
A relative by blood, marriage or adoption of an incapacitated or dependent adult 
named in a record; aRd 
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §3474, sub-§2, ~, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 653, §6, IS 
amended to read: 
I. 
A member of a panel appointed by the department or the Office of the Attorney 
General to review the death or serious injury of an incapacitated or dependent adult 
or a child.,.; and 
II 
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §3474, sub-§2, ~J is enacted to read: 
J. 
The local animal control officer or the animal welfare program of the Department 
of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources established pursuant to Title 7, section 
3902 when there is a reasonable suspicion of animal cruelty, abuse or neglect. For 
purposes of this paragraph, "cruelty, abuse or neglect" has the same meaning as 
provided in Title 34-B, section 1901, subsection 1, paragraph B. 
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §3477, sub-§5 is enacted to read: 
5. Permissive reporting of animal cruelty, abuse or neglect. Notwithstanding any 
other provision of state law imposing a duty of confidentiality, a person listed in 
subsection 1 may report a reasonable suspicion of animal cruelty, abuse or neglect to the 
local animal control officer or to the animal welfare program of the Department of 
Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources established pursuant to Title 7, section 3902. For 
purposes of this subsection, the reporter shall disclose only such limited confidential 
information as is necessary for the local animal control officer or animal welfare program 
employee to identify the animal's location and status and the owner's name and address. 
For purposes of this subsection, "cruelty, abuse or neglect" has the same meaning as 
provided in Title 34-B, section 1901, subsection 1, paragraph B. 
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §4008, sub-§2, ~, as amended by PL 2005, c. 300, §7, IS 
further amended to read: 
I. 
The representative designated to provide child welfare services by the tribe of an 
Indian child as defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 United States 
Code, Section 1903, or a representative designated to provide child welfare services 
by an Indian tribe of Canada; aRd 
Sec. 6. 22 MRS A §4008, sub-§2, ~J, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 502, Pt. A, §77, 
is amended to read: 
J. 
A person making a report of suspected abuse or neglect. The department may 
only disclose that it has not accepted the report for investigation, unless other 
disclosure provisions of this section apply.,.; and 
Page I - 123LR1246(OI)-1 
Sec. 7. 22 MRSA §400S, sub-§2, ~ 
is enacted to read: 
K. The local animal control officer or the animal welfare program of the Department 
of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources established pursuant to Title 7, section 
3902 when there is a reasonable suspicion of animal cruelty, abuse or neglect. For 
purposes of this paragraph, "cruelty, abuse or neglect" has the same meaning as 
provided in Title 34-B, section 1901, subsection 1, paragraph B. 
Sec. S. 22 MRS A §4011-A, sub-§6 is enacted to read: 
6. 
Permissive reporting of animal cruelty. abuse or neglect. Notwithstanding 
any other provision of state law imposing a duty of confidentiality, a person listed in 
subsection 1 may report a reasonable suspicion of animal cruelty, abuse or neglect to the 
local animal control officer or to the animal welfare program of the Department of 
Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources established pursuant to Title 7, section 3902. For 
purposes of this subsection, the reporter shall disclose only such limited confidential 
information as is necessary for the local animal control officer or animal welfare program 
employee to identify the animal's location and status and the owner's name and address. 
For purposes of this subsection, "cruelty, abuse or neglect" has the same meaning as 
provided in Title 34-B, section 1901, subsection 1, paragraph B. 
Sec. 9. 34-B MRSA c. 1, sub-c. 6 is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 6 
REPORTING ANIMAL CRUELTY. ABUSE OR NEGLECT 
§1901. Animal cruelty, abuse or neglect; reporting 
1. 
Definitions. As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, 
the following terms have the following meanings. 
A. "Animal" means every living, sentient creature not a human being. 
B. 
"Cruelty, abuse or neglect" means every act, omission or instance of neglect 
when unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering is caused or permitted. 
C. 
"Owner" means a person, firm, partnership. association or corporation owning, 
keeping or harboring an animal. 
D. 
"Reasonably suspect" means to hold an objectively reasonable suspicion based 
upon facts that would cause a reasonable person in a like position to draw on that 
person's training or experience to suspect animal cruelty, abuse or neglect. 
2. Report. An employee of a state-funded child or adult protective services agencv 
or other social service agency, including those providing mental health services that are 
funded or licensed by the department, while acting in the employee's professional 
capacity or within the scope of the employee's employment, who has knowledge of or 
observes an animal that the employee knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim 
of cruelty, abuse or neglect may report the known or reasonably suspected animal cruelty~ 
I 
abuse or neglect to the local animal control officer or to the animal welfare program of 
the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources established pursuant to Title 7, 
section 3902. 
3. Immediate response. When an immediate response is necessary to protect the 
health and safety of an animal, the report under subsection 2 must be made as soon as 
possible. 
4. Duty. Nothing in this section may be construed to impose a duty to investigate 
known or reasonably suspected animal cruelty, abuse or neglect. 
5. Immunity from liability. A person participating in good faith in reporting under 
this subchapter is immune from any civil or criminal liability that might otherwise result 
from these actions, including, but not limited to, any civil or criminal liability that might 
otherwise arise under state or local laws or rules regarding confidentiality of information. 
In a proceeding regarding immunity from liability, there is a rebuttable presumption of 
good faith. 
SUMMARY 
This bill gives those professionals who are already mandated reporters of adult or 
child abuse, neglect or exploitation and social service agencies under contract with the 
Department of Health and Human Services the option of also disclosing such limited 
confidential information related to a reasonable suspicion of animal cruelty, abuse or 
neglect as would be needed by a local animal control officer or the animal welfare 
program of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources to begin an 
investigation. 
This bill extends the existing good faith immunity provision to the 
reporters of animal cruelty, abuse or neglect that are social service agencies under 
contract with the Department of Health and Human Services. 
In addition, this bill 
permits employees of the Department of Health and Human Services to disclose the same 
information to local animal control officers or to the animal welfare program of the 
Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources.