An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1224
Committee Amendment CA_A_H629 (House)
Amends: 22 MRSA §4008, 22 MRSA §4033, 22 MRSA §4034

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 842, L.D. 1224, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Child Protective Services Laws" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 1 to 5. 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 6 the following: 
'Sec. 7. 22 MRSA §4008, sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
7. Appeal of denial of disclosure of records. A parent, legal guardian, custodian or 
caretaker of a child who requests disclosure of information in records under subsection 2 
and whose request is denied may request an administrative hearing to contest the denial 
of disclosure. The request for hearing must be made in writing to the department. The 
department shall conduct hearings under this subsection in accordance with the 
requirements of Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4. The issues that may be determined at 
hearing are limited to whether the nondisclosure of some or all of the information 
requested is necessary to protect the child or any other person. The department shall 
render after hearing without undue delay a decision as to whether some or all of the 
information requested should be disclosed. The decision must be based on the hearing 
record and rules adopted by the commissioner. The decision must inform the requester 
that the requester may file a petition for judicial review of the decision within 30 days of 
the date of the decision. The department shall send a copy of the decision to the requester 
by regular mail to the requester's most recent address ofrecord.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 8 (page 2, lines 27 to 41 and page 3, lines 
to 9 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 8. 
MRSA §4033, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 733, §18, is 
amended to read: 
2. 
Notice of preliminary protection order. If there is to be a request for a 
preliminary protection order, the petitioner shall, by any reasonable means, atteffif)t to 
notify the parents, legal guardian and custodians of his the intent to request that order and 
of the tifl'l:e and plaee at v1hieh he will make the reEIUest court in which counsel for the 
parents, legal guardian or custodians may file motions, including motions to modify or 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A" to H.P. 842, L.D. 1224 
vacate any preliminary protection order issued. This notice is not required if the petitioner 
includes in the petition a sworn statement of his eelief detailing a sufficient factual basis 
that: 
A. 
The child would suffer serious harm during the time needed to notify the 
parents, legal guardian or custodians; or 
B. 
Prior notice to the parents, legal guardian or custodians would increase the risk 
of serious harm to the child or petitioner. 
Failure to provide the notice required by this section, after a good faith attempt to do so, 
does not constitute grounds for denial of a preliminary protection order.' 
Amend the bill in section 10 in subsection 3-A in the 2nd line (page 3, line 26 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "his" and inserting the following: 'his- the child's' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 12 (page 4, lines 5 to 19 in L.D.) and 
inserting the following: 
'Sec. 12. 22 MRSA §4033, sub-§6 is enacted to read: 
6. Notice to legal guardians. When notice is required to be given to the legal 
guardian of a child, the department shall provide notice to all of the child's legal 
guardians that are known to the department.' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 13 the following: 
'Sec. 14. 22 MRSA §4034, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2001, c. 696, §26, is 
further amended to read: 
4. Summary preliminary hearing. If the eHStosial pa-reat appea-rs aas sees aot 
eoaseat, or if a aoaeustosial pa-reat requests a hearing, then the eourt shall hola a 
sufflffla-r)' preliminary hearing on that orser within 14 says eut not less thaa 7 says of its 
issuaaee or request. If a pa-rent or eustosian is not serves with the petitioa eefere the 
summ.ary prelim.iaarJ heariag, the pa-rent er eustosiaa m.a-y request a suesequent 
prelim.iaa-ry heariag within 10 says after reeeipt of the petition. The court shall schedule 
a summary preliminary hearing on a preliminary protection order within 14 days but not 
less than 7 days after issuance of the preliminary protection order, except that counsel for 
a parent may request that the hearing take place sooner. Upon request of counsel, the 
court may conduct the summary preliminary hearing as expeditiously as the court 
determines the interests of justice require. If a parent, custodian or legal guardian appears 
for the summary preliminary hearing and does not consent to the preliminary protection 
order, the court shall conduct a hearing at which the petitioner bears the burden of proof. 
At a summary preliminary hearing, the court may limit testimony to the testimony of the 
caseworker, parent, custodian, legal guardian, guardian ad litem, foster parent, 
preadoptive parent or relative providing care and may admit evidence, including reports 
and records, that would otherwise be inadmissable as hearsay evidence. If after the 
hearing the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that returning the child to the 
child's custodian would place the child in immediate risk of serious harm, it shall 
continue the order or make another disposition under section 4036. If the court's 
preliminary protection order includes a finding of an aggravating factor, the court may 
order the department not to commence reunification or to cease reunification, in which 
case the court shall conduct a hearing on jeopardy and conduct a permanency planning 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A "to H.P. 842, L.D. 1224 
hearing. 
The hearings must commence within 30 days of entry of the preliminary 
protection order. 
If the petitioner has not been able to serve a parent, custodian or legal guardian before the 
scheduled summary preliminary hearing. the parent, custodian or legal guardian may 
request a subsequent summary preliminary hearing within 10 days after receipt of the 
petition.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment deletes from the bill sections 1 through 5, which change the 
confidentiality provisions of the child protective statutes, and instead adds a new 
administrative hearing process to give parents, custodians and legal guardians an 
opportunity to seek a review of the discretionary denial of access to information in child 
protection records. The hearing must be conducted by the Department of Health and 
Human Services under the Maine Administrative Procedure Act. The parents, custodians 
and legal guardians can appeal the decision of the hearing officer as a final agency action. 
This amendment strikes out section 8 of the bill, which addresses notice about a 
request for a preliminary protection order, and replaces it with language that clarifies that, 
when the department gives notice that it will be seeking a preliminary protection order, 
the notice does not include the time and place when the petition will be presented to a 
judge, but must include the court in which the counsel for the parents, legal guardian or 
custodians may file motions, including motions to modify or vacate any preliminary 
protection order that is issued. 
This amendment also requires that the information 
provided to the court explaining why notice is not required must include a sworn 
statement detailing a sufficient factual basis either that the child would suffer serious 
harm during the time needed to notify the parents, legal guardian or custodians or that 
prior notice would increase the risk of serious harm to the child or the petitioner. This 
amendment clarifies that failure to provide the required notice, after a good faith attempt 
to do so, does not constitute grounds for denial of a preliminary protection order. 
This amendment amends section 10 to make current law gender-neutral. 
This amendment deletes section 12, which provides for a new expedited process for 
dissolving or modifying a preliminary protection order, and instead amends the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 4034, subsection 4 to allow the summary preliminary 
hearing to be expedited upon request by the parent's counsel. Upon counsel's request, the 
court may conduct the summary preliminary hearing, the first hearing opportunity 
available after the preliminary protection order is issued, as expeditiously as the court 
determines the interests of justice require. 
This amendment retains the language in current law that provides that, if the 
department has not been able to serve a parent, custodian or legal guardian before the 
scheduled summary preliminary hearing, the parent, custodian or legal guardian may 
request a subsequent summary preliminary hearing within 10 days after the parent, 
custodian or legal guardian receives the petition. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 842, L.D. 1224 
This amendment clarifies that when notice is required to be given to a legal guardian 
of a child, the department is required to provide notice to all of the child's legal guardians 
that are known to the department. 
FISCAL NOTE REQlJIRID 
(See aflldlecl) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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Revised: 03/31/16 
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LD 1224 
LR 983(04) 
An Act To Amend the Child Protective Services Laws 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'A' ( H · loJ..q} 
Committee: Judiciary 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Increases the number of civil suits. 
The collection of additional filing fees may also increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Department of the Attorney General, the Department of Health and Human Services and 
the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services from the provisions of this bill are expected to be minor and can be 
absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0983(04) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1