An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1838
Committee Amendment CA_A_S419 (Senate)
Amends: 17-A MRSA §506

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 690, L.D. 1838, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Laws Governing Indecent Conduct To Include Distribution of Photographic 
Images" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Include in the Crime of Harassment by Telephone or by Electronic 
Communication Device the Distribution of Certain Photographic Images and 
Videos' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §506, as amended by PL 2011, c. 464, §14 and affected by 
§30, is further amended to read: 
§506. Harassment by telephone or by electronic communication device 
1. 
A person is guilty of harassment by telephone or by electronic communication 
device if: 
A. By means of telephone or electronic communication device the person makes any 
comment, request, suggestion or proposal that is, in fact, offensively coarse or 
obscene, without the consent of the person called or contacted. Violation of this 
paragraph is a Class E crime; 
A-1. 
By means of telephone or electronic communication device the person, with 
the intent to cause affront or alarm or for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual 
desire, sends an image or video of a sexual act as defmed in section 251, subsection 
1, paragraph C or of the actor's or another person's genitals and: 
(1) The person called or contacted is in fact under 14 years of age; 
(2) The person called or contacted is in fact 14 or 15 years of age and the actor is 
at least 5 years older than the person called or contacted; or 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
\'' 
(!: 
. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 690, L.D. 1838 
(3) 
The person called or contacted suffers from a mental disability that is 
reasonably apparent or known to the actor. 
Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime; 
A-2. By means of telephone or electronic communication device the person sends an 
image or a video of a sexual act as defined in section 251, subsection 1, paragraph C 
or of the actor's or another person's genitals without the consent of the person called 
or contacted after the person called or contacted has notified the actor, in writing or 
otherwise, that the person does not consent to receiving such images or videos. 
Violation of this paragraph is a Class E crime; 
B. 
The person makes a telephone call or makes a call or contact by means of an 
electronic communication device, whether or not oral or written conversation ensues, 
without disclosing the person's identity and with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten 
or harass any person at the called or contacted number or account. Violation of this 
paragraph is a Class E crime; 
C. The person makes or causes the telephone or electronic communication device of 
another repeatedly or continuously to ring or activate or receive data, with the intent 
to harass any person at the called or contacted number or account. Violation of this 
paragraph is a Class E crime; 
D. The person makes repeated telephone calls or repeated calls or contacts by means 
of an electronic communication device, during which oral or written conversation 
ensues, with the intent to harass any person at the called or contacted number or 
account. Violation of this paragraph is a Class E crime; or 
E. The person knowingly permits any telephone or electronic communication device 
under the person's control to be used for any purpose prohibited by this section. 
Violation of this paragraph is a Class E crime. 
2. The crime defined in this section may be prosecuted and punished in the county 
in which the defendant was located when the defendant used the telephone or electronic 
communication device, or in the county in which the telephone called or made to ring or 
the electronic communication device called or made to ring or be activated or receive data 
by the defendant was located. 
2-A. 
As used in this section, "electronic communication device" means any 
electronic or digital product that communicates at a distance by electronic transmission 
impulses or by fiber optics, including any software capable of sending and receiving 
communication, allowing a person to electronically engage in the conduct prohibited 
under this section. 
3. Harassment by telephone or by eleotronio oommunioation devise is a Class B 
€rime.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment establishes new variants of the crime of harassment by telephone or 
by electronic communication device. The amendment prohibits using a telephone or 
electronic communication device, with the intent to cause affront or alarm or for the 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A "to S.P. 690, L.D. 1838 
purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire, to send an image or video of a sexual act 
or of the actor's or another person's genitals if the person called or contacted is under 14 
years of age, is 14 or 15 years of age when the actor is at least 5 years older or suffers 
from a mental disability that is reasonably apparent or known to the actor. 
The 
amendment designates these new variants of harassment by telephone or electronic 
communication device as Class D crimes. 
The amendment also prohibits using a 
telephone or by electronic communication device to send an image or video of a sexual 
act or the actor's or another person's genitals without the consent of the person called or 
contacted after the person called or contacted has notified the actor, in writing or 
otherwise, that the person does not consent to receiving such images or videos. The 
amendment designates this new variant of harassment by telephone or by electronic 
communication device as a Class E crime. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03/15/18 fea~ 
LD 1838 
LR2797(02) 
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Indecent Conduct To Include Distribution of Photographic 
Images 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ''j./ 
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Establishes new Class D and Class E crimes. 
cs-YI~ 
The additional workload associated with the minimal number of new cases filed in the court system does not require 
additional funding at this time. 
The collection of additional fines may also increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services is expected to be minimal and can be 
managed within current resources. 
LR2797(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of I