An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Task Force on the Use of Deadly Force by Law Enforcement Officers Against Individuals Suffering From Mental Illness
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1166
Sponsors: PRIEST, GERZOFSKY, GREELEY, HANLEY, HASKELL, LAJOIE, WHEELER
Amends: 25 MRSA §2803-B, 25 MRSA §2804-C, 34-B MRSA §1207, 34-B MRSA §3871

, Legislative Document 
No. 1166 
H.P.805 
House of Representatives, March 25, 2009 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Task 
Force on the Use of Deadly Force by Law Enforcement Officers 
Against Individuals Suffering From Mental Illness 
Reference to the Committee'on CIiminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
, Presented by Representative PRIEST of Bnmswick. 
Cosponsored by Senator GERZOFSKY of Cumberland and 
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111· 7Il~~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representa~ives: BURNS of Whiting, GREELEY of Levant, HANLEY of Gardiner, 
HASKELL of Portland, LAJOIE of Lewiston, WHEELER of Kittery. , 
Printed un recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2803-B, sub-§l, ~J, as corrected by RR 2003, c. 2, §90, is 
amended to read: 
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J. Public notification regarding persons in the community required to register under 
. Title 34-A, chapter 15; arui 
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2803-B, sub-§l, EffK, as reallocated by RR 2003, c. 2, §91, is 
. amended to read: 
K. Digital, electronic, audio, video or other recording of law enforcement interviews 
of suspects in serious crimes and the preservation of investigative notes and records· 
in such cases~; and 
Sec. 3. 25 MRS A §2803-B, sub-§l, <IflLis enacted to read: 
L. Mental illness and the process for involuntary commitment. 
Sec. 4. 25 MRSA §2803-B, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL2005, c. 397, 
Pt. C, § 1 7, is amended to read: 
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2. Minimum policy standards .. The board shall establish minimum standards for 
each law enforcement policy no iater than June 1, 1995, except that policies for expanded 
requirements for domestic violence under subsection 1, paragraph D, subparagraphs (1) 
to (3) must be established no'later than January 1, 2003; policies for death investigations 
under" subsection 1" paragraph I must be established no later than January 1, 2004; 
policies for public notification regarding persons in the corru:nunity required to register 
under Title 34-A, chapter 15 under subsection 1; paragraph J must be ~stablished no later 
than January 1, 2006; arui policies for the recording and preservation of interviews of 
suspects in serious crimes under subsection 1, paragraph K must be established no later 
than January 1, 2005; and policies for mental illness and the process for involuntary 
commitment under subsection 1, paragraph L must be established no later than January 1, 
2010. 
. 
Sec. 5. 25 MRSA §2803-B, sub-§3, as repealed and replaced by PL 2005, c. 331, 
§ 16 and affected by' § 33, is amended to read: 
3. Agency compliance. The chief administrative officer of each law enforcement 
agency shall certify to the board no later than January 1, 1996 that the agency has adopted 
written policies consistent with the minimum~tandards established by the board pursuant 
to subsection 2, except that certification to the board for expanded poliC?ies for domestic 
violence under subsection 1, paragraph D, subparagr~phs(l) to (3) must be made to the 
board no later than June 1, 2003; certification to the board for adoption of a death 
investigation policy under subsection 1, paragraph I must be made to the board no later 
than June 1, 2004; certification to the board for adoption of a public notification policy 
under subsection 1, paragraph J must be made to the board no later than June 1, 2006;. arui 
certification to the board for adoption of a policy for the recording and preservation of 
interviews of suspects in serious crimes under subsettion 1, paragraph K must be made to 
the board no . later than June .1, 2005; and certification to the board for adoption of.a 
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policy regarding mental illness and the process for involuntary commitment under 
subsection 1, paragraph L must be made to the board no later than June 1, 2010. The 
certification rri.ust be accompanied by· copies of the agency policies. 
The chief 
. administrative officer of each agency shall certify to the board no lat~r than June 1, 1996 
that the agency has provided orientation and training for its members with respect to the 
policies, except that' certification for orientation and training with respect to expanded 
policies for domestic violence under subsection 1, paragraph D, subparagraphs (1) and (3) 
must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2004; certification for orientation and 
training with respect to policies regarding death investigations under subsection 1, 
paragraph I must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2005; certification for 
orientation· and training .with respect to policies regarding public notification under 
subsection 1, paragraph J must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2007; aH€l 
certification for orientation and training with respect to policies regarding the recording 
and preservation of intervie\v interviews of suspects in serious crimes under subsection 1, 
paragraph K must be made to the board no later than January 1, 2006; and certification 
for orientation and training with respect to policies regarding mental illness and the 
. process for involuntary commitment under subsection 1, paragraph L must be made to the 
board no later than January 1, 2011. 
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Sec. 6. 25 MRSA §2804-C, sub-§2-D is enacted to read: 
2-D. Training regarding people who have mental illness and the involuntary 
commitment process. The board shall include in the basic law enforcement training 
program a block of instruction aimed specifically at the clinical, safety and procedural 
components of the involuntary commitment process, including the provision of a uniform 
checklist that includes reference to Title 34-B, section 1207,·· subsection 7 for law 
enforcement officers to use in order to effectively describe the seriousness of a case to a 
mental health professionai. 
Sec. 7. 34-B MRSA §1207, sub-§6-A, as enacted by PL 2007, c.:310, §6, is 
amended to read: 
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'6-A. 
Disclosure of danger. 
A licensed mental health professional may shall 
. disclose protected health information that the professional believes i::; necessary to avert a 
serious and imminent threat to .health or safety when the disclosure is made in good faith 
to any person, including a target of the threat, who is reasonably able to prevent or 
l'ninirnize the threat. 
Sec. 8. 34-B MRSA §1207, sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
7. Disclosure to law enforcement. A licensed mental health. professional shall 
disclose protected health information when the disclosure is made in good faith for a law 
enforcement purpose to a law enforcement officer if the conditions, as applicable, are met 
as described in 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 164.512(f) (2008). 
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Sec. 9. 34-B MRSA §1207, sub-§8 isenactedto read: 
8. Disclosure of knowledge of firearms. A licensed mental health professional 
shall notify law enforcement when the notification is made ·in good faith that the licensed 
mental health professional has reason to believe that a person committed to a state mental 
health institute has access to firearms. 
Sec. 10. 34-B MRS~ §3863, sub-§6-A is enacted to read: 
6-A.. Notification to law enforcement of release after examination. When a 
person is taken by a law enforcement officer to a psychiatric hospital for examination 
under this section and not admitted but released, the chief administrative officer of the 
hospital shall notify the law enforcement officer or the iaw enforcement officer's agency 
of that release. 
Sec. 11. 34-B MRSA §3871, sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
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7. Firearms and discharge planning. Discharge planning-must include inquiries 
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and· documentation of those inquirIes into access by the patient ·to firearms and 
notification to the patient, the patient's family and any other caregivers that possession, 
ownership or control of a firearm by the person to be· discharged is prohibited pursuant to 
Title 15, section 39{ subsection 1. As used in this subsection, "firearm" has the same 
meaning as in Title 17 -A, section 2, subsection 12-A. . 
Sec. 12. Mental illness training in the tactical team certification. The 
Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy shall incorporate specific 
training on mental illness as a component of the police tactical team certification process. 
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Sec. 13 .. Development of uniform checklist for law enforcement. The 
Commissioner of H~alth and Huma,n Seryices shall develop, in cooperation with 
representatives of state, local and county law ·enforcement, a uniform checldist to be used 
by all law enforcement officers in order to effectively describe the seriousness of a case 
to a mental health professional. 
Sec. 14. Education regarding prohibition of firearms. The Coriunissioner of 
Health and Human Services shall develop a method to provide education to all mental 
health professionals regarding the prohibition of possessing firearms by certain persons as 
described in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, section 393. 
SUMMARY 
This bill implements legislative recommendations from the Attorney General's Ad 
Hoc Task Force on the Use of Deadly Force by Law Enforcement Officers Against 
Individuals Suffering From Mental Illness. 
The· bill . includes recommendations for 
increased law enforcement training and awareness of mental illness and the involuntary 
commitment process, increased sharing of mental health patients' information by mental 
health professionals to law enforcement consistent with Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act of 1996 standards and increased education and awareness on the part 
of mental health providers regarding prohibitions of access to firearms by persons who 
are to be discharged from commitment. 
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