An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1340
Committee Amendment CA_B_S244 (Senate)
Amends: 30-A MRSA §4706, 30-A MRSA §5047

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "i.?" to S.P. 454, L.D. 1340, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Laws Governing the Maine State Housing Authority" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 8 to 10 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 8. 30-A MRSA §4706, sub-§§5 to 7 are enacted to read: 
5. Confidentiality of personnel records. The following records are confidential 
and not open to public inspection: 
A. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, applications, resumes, letters and 
notes of reference, working papers, research materials, records, examinations and any 
other documents or records and the information they contain, solicited or prepared 
either by the applicant or the authority for use in the examination or evaluation of 
applicants for employment by the authority. 
(1) Applications, resumes and letters and notes of reference pe1iaining to the 
applicant hired, other than those letters and notes of reference expressly 
submitted in confidence, are public records after the applicant is hired. 
(2) Telephone numbers are not public records if they are designated as unlisted 
or unpublished in an application, resume or letter or note of reference; 
B. 
Authority records pe1iaining to an identifiable employee and containing the 
following: 
(1) 
Medical information of any kind, including information pertaining to 
diagnosis or treatment of mental or emotional disorders; 
(2) Perfonnance evaluations and personal references submitted in confidence; 
(3) Information pe1iaining to the creditw01ihiness of a named employee; 
( 4) Information pertaining to the personal history, general character or conduct 
of members of the employee's immediate family; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "_e)'' to S.P. 454, L.D. 1340 
(5) 
Complaints, charges or accusations of misconduct, replies to those 
complaints, charges or accusations and any other infmmation or materials that 
may result in disciplina1y action. If disciplinmy action is taken, the final written 
decision relating to that action is no longer confidential after the decision is 
completed if it imposes or upholds discipline. The decision must state the 
conduct or other facts on the basis of which disciplinary action is being imposed 
and the conclusions of the acting authority as to the reasons for that action; and 
(6) Personal infmmation, including that which pertains to the employee's: 
(a) Age; 
(b) Ancestry, ethnicity, genetic information, national origin, race or skin 
color; 
(c) Marital status; 
(d) Mental or physical disabilities; 
(e) 
Personal contact infmmation, as described m Title 1, section 402, 
subsection 3, paragraph O; 
([) Personal employment choices pe1taining to elected payroll deductions, 
defeITed compensation, saving plans, pension plans, health insurance and life 
insurance; 
(g) Religion; 
(h) Sex or sexual orientation as defined in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 
9-C; or 
(i) Social security number; and 
C. Other information to which access by the general public is prohibited by law. 
6. Employee right to review. On written request from an employee or fonner 
employee, the authority shall provide the employee, fonner employee or the employee's 
authorized representative with an oppmtunity to review the employee's personnel file, if 
the authority has a personnel file for that employee. The review must take place during 
normal office hours at the location where the personnel files are maintained. For the 
purposes of this subsection, a personnel file includes, but is not limited to, any formal or 
informal employee evaluations and repo1ts relating to the employee's character, credit, 
work habits, compensation and benefits that the authority may possess. The records 
described in subsection 5, paragraph B may also be examined by the employee to whom 
the records relate, as provided in this subsection. 
7. Constitutional obligations of a prosecutor. Notwithstanding this section or any 
other provision of law, subsection 5 does not preclude the disclosure of confidential 
personnel records and the info1mation contained in those records to the Attorney General, 
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a deputy attorney general, an assistant attorney general, a district attorney, a deputy 
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district attorney, an assistant district attorney or the equivalent depmtments or offices in a 
federal jurisdiction that are related to the dete1mination of and compliance with the 
constitutional obligations of the State or the United States to provide discovery to a 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "0" to S.P. 454, L.D. 1340 
defendant in a criminal matter. A person or entity participating in good faith disclosure 
under this subsection or participating in a related proceeding is immune from criminal 
and civil liability for the act of disclosure or for patticipating in the proceeding.' 
Amend the bill in section 18 in paragraph DD in subparagraph ( 4) in the last 
paragraph in the last line (page 6, line 16 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "and" 
Amend the bill in section 19 in the first line (page 6, line 17 in L.D.) by striking out 
the following: "1.EE is" and insetting the following: '11EE and FF are' 
Amend the bill in section 19 in paragraph EE in the last line (page 6, line 23 in L.D.) 
by striking out the following: "income." and insetting the following: 'income; and' 
Amend the bill in section 19 by inserting after paragraph EE the following: 
'FF. Provide grants to eligible homeowners who are served by private well water that 
shows evidence of high levels of arsenic contamination. 
For purposes of this 
paragraph, "homeowner" includes an individual who occupies a single-family 
dwelling that is located on land that is owned by a member of that individual's 
immediate family and "immediate family" means a spouse, parent, child, sibling, 
stepchild, stepparent and grandparent.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 41 and 42 and insetting the following: 
'Sec. 41. 30-A MRSA §5047, sub-§1, ~' as enacted by PL 2005, c. 380, Pt. A, 
§2, is amended to read: 
B. The Director of the Maine State Housing Authority or the director's designee;' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, amends the bill by: 
1. 
Clarifying that only specific items within the personnel files of Maine State 
Housing Authority employees are confidential; 
2. Authorizing the Maine State Housing Authority to provide an arsenic abatement 
program to homeowners with private well water that shows evidence of arsenic 
contamination, including individuals whose homes are located on land owned by an 
immediate family member; and 
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3. 
Eliminating the provisions of the bill that propose to change the process for 
appointing members of the Statewide Homeless Council. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/17/17 frac.. 
LD 1340 
LR 475(03) 
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Maine State Housing Authority 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "b l S -;;2. 4 'Y 
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - Other funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Maine State Housing Authority associated with the implementing the changes in this 
legislation can be absorbed within exsisting budgeted resources. 
LR0475(03) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1