An Act To Amend the InforME Public Information Access Act
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1521
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: THOMAS, VALENTINO, ROSEN
Amends: 1 MRSA §532, 1 MRSA §534, 1 MRSA §535, 1 MRSA §536, 1 MRSA §537, 1 MRSA §538

Legislative Document 
No. 1521 
S.P. 482 
In Senate, April 28, 2011 
An Act To Amend the InforME Public Information Access Act 
Submitted by the Secretary of State pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
JOSEPH G. CARLETON, JR. 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator THOMAS of Somerset. 
Cosponsored by Representative VALENTINO of Saco and 
Representative: ROSEN of Bucksport. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  1 MRSA §532, sub-§1-A is enacted to read: 
1-A.  Agency fees.  "Agency fees" are fees defined in statute or agency rulemaking 
that the data custodian charges to provide a record or service. 
Sec. 2.  1 MRSA §532, sub-§2-B is enacted to read: 
2-B.  Fee service.  "Fee service" means an electronic service provided for a fee. 
Sec. 3.  1 MRSA §532, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 713, §1, is amended to 
read: 
3.  InforME.  "InforME" means the system through which the State electronically 
provides public information, access to public information and premium electronic 
services to individuals, businesses and other entities. 
Sec. 4.  1 MRSA §532, sub-§3-B is enacted to read: 
3-B.  Portal fee.  "Portal fee" means a fee, authorized in section 534, established to 
provide access to electronic services through InforME and to maintain, develop, operate 
and expand InforME on a continuing basis. 
Sec. 5.  1 MRSA §532, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 713, §1, is amended to 
read: 
4.  Premium services.  "Premium services" means InforME services that are 
available only to subscribers.  Premium services include, but are not limited to, the 
enhancement of enhanced information that is otherwise available through InforME for the 
statutory fee or at no charge access or other electronic services that provide significant 
value to the subscriber. 
Sec. 6.  1 MRSA §532, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2003, c. 406, §2, is further 
amended to read: 
6.  Subscriber.  "Subscriber" means a person an individual, business or organization 
who, in exchange for a fee established under section 534, subsection 5, paragraph G, 
subparagraph (8), receives access to premium services or other electronic services 
available for a statutory fee or at no charge. 
Sec. 7.  1 MRSA §532, sub-§6-A is enacted to read: 
6-A.  User.  "User" means an individual, business or organization who uses electronic 
services, whether for a fee or at no charge. 
Sec. 8.  1 MRSA §534, sub-§5, ¶F, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 713, §1, is 
amended to read: 
F.    Approve premium services offered. 
(1)  The board may not approve a service that provides access to public records 
and data in the form they are maintained by the data custodian and available for 
public inspection under chapter 13, subchapter I 1 as a premium service; 
Sec. 9.  1 MRSA §534, sub-§5, ¶G, as amended by PL 2003, c. 406, §6, is further 
amended to read: 
G.    Review revenue and expenditures and approve premium services fees and fee 
schedules to be levied by the network manager. 
(1)  Fees must be sufficient to maintain, develop, operate and expand InforME on 
a continuing basis. 
(2)  Fees for premium services must be reasonable but sufficient to support the 
maximum amount of information and services provided at no charge. 
(3)  The board may establish fee schedules that include no charge for designated 
services for one or more specified classes of users.  If services are to be provided 
at no charge to libraries, the services must be provided to libraries designated as 
depository libraries for government documents pursuant to 44 United States 
Code, Chapter 19 and to any other libraries the board designates. 
(4)  Fees must be sufficient to ensure that, to the extent possible, data custodians 
do not suffer loss of revenues from sources that are approved or authorized by 
law due to the operations of InforME. 
(5)  Fees must be sufficient to ensure that data custodians are reimbursed for the 
actual costs of providing data to InforME. 
(6)  Fees must be sufficient to meet the expenses of the board. 
(7)  The board may approve, when applicable, service level agreements entered 
into by InforME and data custodians for information, electronic services and 
transactions provided by InforME. 
(8)  The board may establish a subscription fee for subscribers;. 
(9)  The board may establish portal fees for electronic services; 
Sec. 10.  1 MRSA §534, sub-§5, ¶I, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 713, §1, is 
amended to read: 
I.    Approve interagency agreements that affect premium electronic services; 
Sec. 11.  1 MRSA §535, sub-§2, ¶F, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 713, §1, is 
amended to read: 
F.    Develop charges fees for the services provided to users, agencies and 
subscribers, which must meet the provisions of section 534, subsection 5, paragraph 
G; 
Sec. 12.  1 MRSA §536, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 713, §1, is amended to 
read: 
2.  Duplication of fee services.  Executive branch and semiautonomous state 
agencies may not provide services that duplicate premium fee services offered by 
InforME except as authorized by the board. 
Sec. 13.  1 MRSA §536, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2007, c. 37, §6, is further 
amended to read: 
3.  Service level agreements.  Services provided by the network manager and 
information to be provided by a data custodian are governed by service level agreements 
between the network manager and the data custodian.  A service level agreement may 
include a provision for the network manager to receive a portion of the agency fee for 
information or services in return for electronically providing that information or service.  
The fee for electronically accessing the information or service may not exceed the agency 
fee for distributing the information or providing the service in its usual form. 
Sec. 14.  1 MRSA §537, sub-§1, as repealed and replaced by PL 2007, c. 37, §7, 
is amended to read: 
1.  Funding.  InforME is self-supporting and may not receive an appropriation or 
allocation from the General Fund or other state funds. 
Revenue is generated through fees or surcharges on services paid by data custodians, 
subscribers or other users, from contracts with other state departments and agencies and 
from money, goods or in-kind services donated or awarded to carry out the purposes of 
this Act. 
Sec. 15.  1 MRSA §537, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 713, §1, is amended to 
read: 
2.  Fiscal year.  InforME's fiscal year begins July January 1st and ends on June 30th 
December 31st of the next each calendar year. 
Sec. 16.  1 MRSA §538, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 713, §1, is amended to 
read: 
3.  User records.  Records that contain information relating to the identity of a 
subscriber user relative to the subscriber's user's use of InforME electronic services, 
outside of public records held by data custodians, are confidential.  Those records may 
only be released with the express written permission of the subscriber user involved or 
pursuant to a court order. 
Sec. 17.  Effective date.  That section of this Act that amends the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 1, section 537, subsection 2 takes effect January 1, 2012. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the InforME Public Information Access Act to add definitions of 
"fee service," "portal fee" and "user" to allow InforME to maintain and expand access to 
electronic services.  The bill also clarifies which InforME user records are confidential 
and changes InforME's fiscal year to coincide with the calendar year.