An Act To Prohibit the Unwarranted Collection of Identifying Data of Motor Vehicles
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1319
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: SHAW, CHIPMAN, FITTS, PLUMMER, ALFOND, TRAHAN
Amends: 29-A MRSA §2117-B

Legislative Document 
No. 1319 
H.P. 965 
House of Representatives, March 28, 2011 
An Act To Prohibit the Unwarranted Collection of Identifying Data 
of Motor Vehicles 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative SHAW of Standish. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: CHIPMAN of Portland, FITTS of Pittsfield, PLUMMER of 
Windham, Senators: ALFOND of Cumberland, TRAHAN of Lincoln. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  29-A MRSA §2117-B is enacted to read: 
§2117-B.  Collection of motor vehicle data 
1.  Prohibition.  Except as provided in subsection 2 and section 2117-A, a state, 
county or municipal employee may not record or retain identifying data of motor 
vehicles, including, without limitation, registration plate data. 
2.  Exception.  Subsection 1 does not apply to: 
A.  The Department of Transportation for the purposes of protecting public safety and 
transportation infrastructure; 
B.  The Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police for the purposes of 
commercial motor vehicle screening and inspection; and 
C.  Any state, county or municipal law enforcement agency when providing public 
safety, conducting criminal investigations and ensuring compliance with local, state 
and federal laws. For purposes of this paragraph, the motor vehicle information may 
be recorded by a law enforcement officer as defined by Title 17-A, section 2, 
subsection 17 only when based on specific and articulable facts of a concern for 
safety, wrongdoing or a criminal investigation or pursuant to a civil order or records 
from the National Crime Information Center database or an official published law 
enforcement bulletin. 
3.  Confidentiality.  Data collected or retained in accordance with subsection 2 are 
confidential under Title 1, chapter 13 and are available for use only by a law enforcement 
agency in carrying out its functions or by an agency collecting information under 
subsection 2 for its intended purpose and any related civil or criminal proceeding. 
A law enforcement agency may publish and release as public information summary 
reports using aggregate data that do not reveal the activities of an individual or firm and 
may share commercial motor vehicle screening data with the Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration for regulatory compliance purposes. 
4.  Data retention.  Data collected or retained in accordance with subsection 2 that 
are not considered intelligence and investigative information as defined by Title 16, 
section 611, subsection 8, or data collected for the purposes of commercial motor vehicle 
screening, may not be stored for more than 21 days. 
5.  Penalty.  A violation of this section is punishable by a fine of up to $100 for each 
separate violation. 
SUMMARY 
This bill prohibits a state, county or municipal employee from recording or retaining 
identifying data about a motor vehicle.  The prohibition does not apply to the Department 
of Transportation if the recording or retaining of identifying data is conducted for the 
purposes of protecting public safety and transportation infrastructure, to the Department 
of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police if the recording or retaining of identifying data is 
conducted for the purposes of commercial motor vehicle screening and inspection or to a 
state, county or municipal law enforcement agency if the recording or retaining of 
identifying data is conducted to provide public safety, conduct criminal investigations or 
ensure compliance with local, state and federal laws.