An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Right To Know Advisory Committee Concerning Existing Public Records Exceptions
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1482
Committee: Judiciary
Amends: 1 MRSA §402, 35-A MRSA §10106

Legislative Document
No. 1482
H.P. 1021
House of Representatives, April 18, 2017
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Right To Know 
Advisory Committee Concerning Existing Public Records 
Exceptions
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 §402, sub-§3, ¶R, as amended by PL 2013, c. 518, §1, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §10106, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 343, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
1.  Confidential records.  The following records are designated as confidential for 
purposes of Title 1, section 402, subsection 3, paragraph A: 
A.  A record obtained or developed by the trust that: 
(1)  A person, including the trust, to whom the record belongs or pertains has 
requested be designated confidential and that the director has determined contains 
information that gives the owner or a user an opportunity to obtain a business or 
competitive advantage over another person who does not have access to the 
information, except through the trust's records, or access to which by others 
would result in a business or competitive disadvantage, loss of business or other 
significant detriment, other than loss or denial of financial assistance from the 
trust, to any person to whom the record belongs or pertains; or 
(2)  The board has determined contains information that gives the owner or a user 
an opportunity to obtain business or competitive advantage over another person 
who does not have access to the information, except through the trust's records, 
or access to which by others would result in a business or competitive 
disadvantage, loss of business or other significant detriment, other than loss or 
denial of financial assistance from the trust, to any person to whom the record 
belongs or pertains; 
(3)  Contains information about the energy usage profile of an identifiable 
customer of a transmission and distribution utility in the State or an identifiable 
customer of a distributor of heating fuel or other energy source; and 
(4)  Contains the social security number, address, telephone number or e-mail 
address of a customer that has participated or may participate in a program of the 
trust; and 
B.  A financial statement or tax return. 
The social security number, address, telephone number or e-mail address of a customer 
that has participated or may participate in a program of the trust is confidential. 
The trust shall provide to a legislative committee, on written request signed by the chairs 
of that committee, any information or records, including information designated 
confidential under this subsection, specified in the written request. The information or 
records may be used only for the lawful purposes of the committee and in any action 
arising out of any investigation conducted by it. 
SUMMARY 
This bill implements the recommendations of the Right To Know Advisory 
Committee relating to its review of existing public records exceptions enacted after 2004 
and before 2013. 
This bill repeals the current exception from the definition of "public records" under 
Maine's Freedom of Access Act for social security numbers in the possession of the 
Secretary of State because this is duplicative of the existing general exception for social 
security numbers in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 402, subsection 3, 
paragraph N. 
This bill changes the criteria for designation of records of the Efficiency Maine Trust 
as confidential from requiring that each of 4 criteria be met to instead require that one of 
criteria be met. Those criteria are that a person to whom the record belongs has 
requested it be designated confidential and that the director of the Efficiency Maine Trust 
Board has determined the record contains proprietary information, access to which would 
result in some competitive disadvantage to any person to whom the record belongs or 
pertains or that the record contains information about the energy usage profile of an 
identifiable individual. The bill provides that the social security number, address, 
telephone number or e-mail address of a customer who has participated or may 
participate in a program of the Efficiency Maine Trust is confidential. This bill also 
provides that the director of the Efficiency Maine Trust, instead of the Efficiency Maine 
Trust Board, may disclose or authorize disclosure of otherwise confidential information 
in certain specified circumstances.