An Act Regarding Computers Used To Commit a Crime or Facilitate the Commission of a Crime
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1316
Committee Amendment CA_A_H317 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 941, L.D. 1316, Bill, "An Act 
Regarding Computers Used To Commit a Crime or Facilitate the Commission of a 
Crime" 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §436 by striking out all of subsection 1 (page 1, lines 
to 19 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'1. 
If a person is convicted upon a finding of guilt or upon the acceptance of a plea 
of guilty or nolo contendere or found not criminally responsible of a violation of this 
Title, the State, after all appeal periods have run and those proceedings have concluded, 
may permanently destroy the computer data on any computer that was used to commit or 
facilitate the commission of that violation or cause the computer data to be permanently 
destroyed through the removal and destruction of any part of the computer in the 
possession of the State on which the computer data are stored.' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §436 in subsection 2 in paragraph F in the 3rd line 
(page 2, line 1 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "accommodated" the following: 
'. The chief officer of the agency may consider whether there is a 3rd-party vendor that 
can accommodate the request if the chief officer determines the agency cannot 
accommodate the request for reasons provided in this paragraph. The chief officer of the 
agency subject to the request shall refer the request to an appropriate 3rd-party vendor for 
processing upon receipt by the chief officer of the agency of full payment from the 
requestor for the amount charged by the vendor to accommodate the request for 
information' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §436 in subsection 2 in the blocked paragraph in the 
2nd line (page 2, line 9 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "must" and inserting the 
following: 'may' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §436 in subsection 2 by inserting at the end a new 
blocked paragraph to read: 
'The chief officer of the criminal justice agency that is subject to a request under this 
subsection shall respond to the requestor within 60 days from the date the request was 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" flu to H.P. 941, L.D. 1316 
received by the chief officer. The chief officer's response must include but is not limited 
to what actions if any the agency will take regarding the computer data identified in the 
request.' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §437 in subsection 1 by striking out all of paragraph A 
(page 2, lines 17 and 18 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'A. A person is convicted upon a finding of guilt or upon the acceptance of a plea of 
guilty or nolo contendere or is found not criminally responsible of a crime committed 
using, or that was facilitated through the use of, the computer and all appeal periods 
have run and those proceedings have concluded;' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §437 in subsection 1 in paragraph C in the 2nd line 
(page 2, line 22 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "the finding of guilt" and inserting 
the following: 'a conviction upon a finding of guilt or upon the acceptance of a plea of 
guilty or nolo contendere or a finding of not criminally responsible' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §437 in subsection 2 by striking out all of paragraph A 
(page 2, lines 31 to 35 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'A. The person notifies the State in writing within 6 months following a conviction 
upon a finding of guilt or upon the acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere 
or a finding of not criminally responsible that a person committed a crime using, or 
that was facilitated by the use of, the computer and all appeal periods have run and 
those proceedings have concluded, that the person wants to take possession of that 
computer. The written notification must be made to the criminal justice agency 
having custody of the computer;' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §437 in subsection 3 in the 4th line (page 3, line 4 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "must" and inserting the following: 'may' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in §437 in subsection 3 by inserting at the end a new 
blocked paragraph to read: 
'When the State receives a notification from a person who wishes to take possession of a 
computer pursuant to subsection 2, the State must respond to that notification within 60 
days from the date the notification was received by the State. The State's response must 
include but is not limited to what actions, if any, the State will take regarding the 
computer identified in the notification.' 
Amend the bill in section 4 in the 3rd line from the end (page 3, line 15 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: "4 months" and inserting the following: '90 days' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment makes the following changes to the bill. 
1. It gives the State the discretion to destroy or dispose of a computer used to commit 
a crime instead of making it mandatory as in the bill. 
2. In addition to a finding of the defendant's guilt as the trigger for the destruction of 
computer data or the disposal of a computer, this amendment adds to that the court's 
acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or a finding by the court that the person 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A "toH.P.941,L.D.1316 
is not criminally responsible for the crime. It also clarifies that the destruction or disposal 
of such property may not be done until after all appeal periods have run and any such 
proceedings have concluded. 
3. In addition to the conditions in the bill that must be met before the State releases 
any computer data to persons requesting the data, this amendment also provides that the 
chief officer of the agency subject to the request may consider whether there is a 
3rd-party vendor that can accommodate the request if the agency cannot provide the 
requested data. 
It also provides that the chief officer shall refer the request to the 
3rd-party vendor for processing upon receipt of full payment from the requestor for the 
amount to be charged by the vendor. 
4. This amendment provides that the chief officer of the criminal justice agency that 
is subject to a request for computer data or for possession of a computer must respond 
within 60 days from the date the request was received by the chief officer. 
5. It changes the notice the State must give before destroying computer data or 
disposing of a computer in the custody of the State prior to the effective date of this Act 
from 4 months to 90 days. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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Approved: OS/29/13 hac 
LD 1316 
LR 440(02) 
An Act Regarding Computers Used To Commit a Crime or Facilitate the Commission of a Crime 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "A' ( H -S 17 1 
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety 
) 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Additional costs to the Department of Public Safety associated with implementing the provisions of this legislation 
can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0440(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1