An Act Regarding Coordinated Access to Public Records of State Agencies
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1511
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: CAIN
Amends: 5 MRSA §200-I

Legislative Document 
No. 1511 
S.P. 566 
In Senate, May 7, 2013 
An Act Regarding Coordinated Access to Public Records of State 
Agencies 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator CAIN of Penobscot. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §200-I, sub-§2, ¶¶D and E, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 603, §1, 
are amended to read: 
D.  Furnish, upon request, advisory opinions regarding the interpretation of and 
compliance with the State's freedom of access laws to any person or public agency or 
official in an expeditious manner.  The ombudsman may not issue an advisory 
opinion concerning a specific matter with respect to which a lawsuit has been filed 
under Title 1, chapter 13.  Advisory opinions must be publicly available after 
distribution to the requestor and the parties involved; and 
E.  Make recommendations concerning ways to improve public access to public 
records and proceedings.; and 
Sec. 2.  5 MRSA §200-I, sub-§2, ¶F is enacted to read: 
F.  Coordinate with the state agency public access officers the compilation of data 
through the development of a uniform log to facilitate record keeping and annual 
reporting of the number of requests for information, the average response time and 
the costs of processing requests. 
Sec. 3.  Development of centralized methods for public record requests; 
report.  The Department of the Attorney General, with input from the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services, Office of Information Technology and state 
agency public access officers as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 
402, subsection 5, shall: 
1.  Review the current system used by state agencies for receiving and responding to 
requests for public records in accordance with Title 1, chapter 13, subchapter 1; and  
2.  Review the feasibility of developing a centralized system for coordinating the 
receipt of and response to requests to state agencies for public records in accordance with 
Title 1, chapter 13, subchapter 1. 
A centralized system developed by the Department of the Attorney General must 
include a single website address, a single e-mail address and a directory for the public to 
use to make requests for public records of all state agencies.  By January 5, 2014, the 
Department of the Attorney General shall submit to the Joint Standing Committee on 
Judiciary a report relating to the reviews under this section, including findings and 
recommendations and suggested statutory changes needed to implement the 
recommendations.  The Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary may report out a bill 
relating to the subject matter of the report to the Second Regular Session of the 126th 
Legislature. 
SUMMARY 
This bill directs the Public Access Ombudsman within the Department of the 
Attorney General to coordinate state agency compliance with the Freedom of Access Act.  
The bill directs the Department of the Attorney General to review the feasibility of 
developing a centralized system that includes a single website address and a single e-mail 
address for the public to use to make requests for public records of all state agencies.  The 
report must be submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary by January 5, 
2014 and the committee is authorized to report out a bill relating to the subject matter of 
the report.