An Act To Implement Recommendations of the Right To Know Advisory Committee Concerning Freedom of Access Training for Public Officials
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1821
Committee: Judiciary
Amends: 1 MRSA §412

Legislative Document
No. 1821
H.P. 1263
House of Representatives, February 5, 2018
An Act To Implement Recommendations of the Right To Know 
Advisory Committee Concerning Freedom of Access Training for 
Public Officials
Reported by Representative MOONEN of Portland for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Judiciary pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 411, subsection 6, paragraph 
G.
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 218.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  1 MRSA §412, as amended by PL 2011, c. 662, §7, is further amended to 
read:
§412.  Public records and proceedings training for certain officials and public access 
officers
1.  Training required.  A public access officer and an elected official subject to this 
section shall complete a course of training on the requirements of this chapter relating to 
public records and proceedings.  The official or public access officer shall complete the 
training not later than the 120th day after the date the elected official takes the oath of 
office to assume the person's duties as an elected official or the person is designated as a 
public access officer pursuant to section 413, subsection 1.
2.  Training course; minimum requirements.  The training course under subsection 
must be designed to be completed by an official or a public access officer in less than 2 
hours.  At a minimum, the training must include instruction in:
A.  The general legal requirements of this chapter regarding public records and public 
proceedings;
B.  Procedures and requirements regarding complying with a request for a public 
record under this chapter; and
C.  Penalties and other consequences for failure to comply with this chapter.
An elected official or a public access officer meets the training requirements of this 
section by conducting a thorough review of all the information made available by the 
State on a publicly accessible website pursuant to section 411, subsection 6, paragraph C 
regarding specific guidance on how a member of the public can use the law to be a better 
informed and active participant in open government.  To meet the requirements of this 
subsection, any other training course must include all of this information and may include 
additional information.
3.  Certification of completion.  Upon completion of the training course required 
under subsection 1, the elected official or public access officer shall make a written or an 
electronic record attesting to the fact that the training has been completed.  The record 
must identify the training completed and the date of completion.  The elected official 
shall keep the record or file it with the public entity to which the official was elected or 
appointed.  A public access officer shall file the record with the agency or official that 
designated the public access officer.
4.  Application.  This section applies to a public access officer and the following 
elected and appointed officials:
A.  The Governor;
B.  The Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State and State Auditor;
C.  Members of the Legislature elected after November 1, 2008;
E.  Commissioners, treasurers, district attorneys, sheriffs, registers of deeds, registers 
of probate and budget committee members of county governments;
F.  Municipal officers, clerks, treasurers, assessors and budget committee members of 
municipal governments;
G.  Officials of school administrative units; and
H.  Officials of a regional or other political subdivision who, as part of the duties of 
their offices, exercise executive or legislative powers.  For the purposes of this 
paragraph, "regional or other political subdivision" means an administrative entity or 
instrumentality created pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 115 or 119 or a quasi-
municipal corporation or special purpose district, including, but not limited to, a 
water district, sanitary district, hospital district, school district of any type, transit 
district as defined in Title 30-A, section 3501, subsection 1 or regional transportation 
corporation as defined in Title 30-A, section 3501, subsection 2.
SUMMARY
Current law requires officials elected to certain positions to complete training on the 
requirements of the Freedom of Access Act but does not require officials appointed to 
those positions to complete that training.  This bill implements the recommendation of the 
Right To Know Advisory Committee that appointed officials also be required to complete 
the training.