An Act To Enact the Maine Fair Chance Employment Act
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1566
Committee Amendment CA_A_H705 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1079, L.D. 1566, Bill, "An Act To 
Enact the Maine Fair Chance Employment Act" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 5 MRSA c. 337-D is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 337-D 
MAINE FAIR CHANCE EMPLOYMENT ACT 
§4721. Short title 
This chapter may be known and cited as "the Maine Fair Chance Employment Act.
§4722. Declaration of policy 
It is the declared public policy of the State to increase meaningful employment 
opportunities for persons with arrest and conviction records. 
§4723. Definitions 
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates. the following terms 
have the following meanings. 
1. 
Applicant. 
"Applicant" means any person considered, or requesting to be 
considered, for public employment. including any current public employee considered or 
requesting to be considered for another position of public employment. 
2. Criminal history information. "Criminal history information" includes criminal 
history record information. as defined in Title 16. section 703, subsection 3, and any other 
information regarding the criminal history of an applicant. as well as information 
regarding infractions and other civil violations and information regarding a juvenile 
crime, regardless of the source. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" M" to H.P. 1079, L.D. 1566 
3. Public employer. "Public employer" means the State or any office, department, 
agency, authority, commission, board, institution, hospital or other instrumentality of the 
State, as well as political subdivisions of the State as defined in Title 30-A, section 2252. 
§4724. 
Limitations on consideration of and disclosure of criminal history 
information 
1. Prohibition. A public employer may not consider the following categories of 
criminal history information in connection with an application for employment unless 
federal or state law specifically requires otherwise: 
A. 
Information related to a deferred criminal adjudication, participation in a 
diversion program or an arrest not followed by a criminal conviction; 
B. A criminal offense that has been dismissed or pardoned or for which the records 
have been sealed or expunged: 
C. Juvenile adjudications; 
D. Infractions or civil violations; or 
E. Convictions that were adjudicated more than 3 years prior, excluding any period 
of incarceration or custody, unless the applicant was convicted of a subsequent 
offense within the prior 3 years that was not excluded from consideration by 
paragraphs A to D. 
2. 
Confidential. Any information pertaining to an applicant's criminal history 
information obtained in conjunction with the hiring process must remain confidential and 
may not be used, distributed or disseminated by the State or its political subdivisions, 
except as specifically required by law. This subsection does not apply to information in 
aggregate form maintained by a public employer pursuant to section 4727. 
§4725. Public employer consideration of criminal history information 
1. Application form. Except as provided in subsection 3, a public employer may 
not request criminal history information on its initial employment application form. 
2. Interview. A public employer may request criminal history information during an 
interview or after the applicant has been determined to be otherwise qualified for the 
position. 
3. Exceptions as required by law. Subsection 1 does not apply when a federal or 
state law prohibits persons with certain conviction histories from holding the position and 
the questions on the application form are limited to the types of criminal history 
information the prohibition concerns. 
4. Individualized assessment. Unless an applicant is disqualified from employment 
in a particular position because of the applicant's criminal history information pursuant to 
a specific provision of federal or state law, a public employer may reject an applicant in 
whole or in part because of the applicant's criminal history information only after 
considering the following: 
A. Whether the criminal history information is directly related to the duties and 
responsibilities of the position; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEEAMENDMENT"A"toH.P.1079,L.D.1566 
B. Whether the position offers the opportunity for the same or a similar offense to 
occur;and 
C. The amount of time that has passed since the offense occurred. 
§4726. Denial of employment on basis of criminal history 
1. Notification. If a public employer denies an applicant a position solely or in part 
because of the applicant's criminal history information, the employer shall notify the 
applicant of the denial in writing and shall include the following: 
A. The criminal history information that is the basis for the denial: 
B. A copy of the criminal history information, if any; and 
C. Any available process for contesting the denial. 
§4727. Data collection 
A public employer shall maintain a record of the number of applicants who applied 
for a position requiring a criminal background check; for whom a criminal background 
check was conducted; for whom a criminal background check revealed a conviction 
history; who were denied employment in whole or in part because of criminal history; 
and who had a criminal history and were hired. The records required by this section are 
public records pursuant to Title 1, section 402, subsection 3. 
Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF 
Administration - Human Resources 0038 
Initiative: Appropriates funds on a one-time basis for the information technology and 
related costs of implementing requirements regarding the criminal history information of 
job applicants. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
SUMMARY 
2017-18 
$0 
$0 
2018-19 
$398,952 
$398,952 
This amendment strikes and replaces the bill and is the majority report of the 
committee. It creates requirements regarding the inquiry into and consideration of the 
criminal history information of job applicants by public employers, including the 
following. 
1. It prohibits a public employer from requesting criminal history information on an 
initial employment application form, except when a federal or state law prohibits persons 
with certain criminal histories from holding the position. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,.p,,, to H.P. 1079, L.D. 1566 
2. It allows a public employer to request criminal history information during an 
interview or after the prospective employee has been determined otherwise qualified for 
the position. 
3. It prohibits a public employer from considering certain categories of criminal 
history information, unless specifically required by federal or state law. 
4. It requires a public employer who denies an employment applicant a position 
solely or in part based on the applicant's criminal history information to provide the 
applicant written information on the basis for the denial and any available process for 
contesting the denial. 
5. It requires a public employer to maintain statistical information regarding the 
public employer's use of criminal background checks, including the number of denials of 
applicants based on those criminal background checks. These records are public records 
subject to Maine's Freedom of Access Act. 
6. 
It designates as confidential any information pertaining to an employment 
applicant's criminal history information that was obtained by a public employer in 
conjunction with the hiring process and prohibits disclosure of such information by the 
public employer except as otherwise specifically required by law. 
The amendment includes an appropriations and allocations section. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 03/20/18 feac 
LD 1566 
LR 561(02) 
An Act To Enact the Maine Fair Chance Employment Act 
CH- 705) 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment /j 
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential State Mandate - Unfunded 
FY 2017-18 
FY 2018-19 
Projections 
FY 2019-20 
Projections 
FY 2020-21 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Approp riatious/ Allocations 
General Fund 
State Mandates 
Required Activity 
$0 
$0 
Creates requirements for public employers regarding the criminal histo1y 
information of job applicants. 
$398,952 
$398,952 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
Unit Affected 
Local Cost 
County 
Moderate 
Municipality 
statewide 
School 
The required local activities in this bill may represent a state mandate pursuant to the Constitution of Maine. If the bill 
does require a local unit of government to expand or modify its activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures 
from local revenue, the state mandate provisions of the Constitution of Maine require either: (1) General Fund 
appropriations be provided to fund at least 90% of any additional necessitated local costs of the mandate; or (2) a 
Mandate Preamble be added to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each House vote to exempt the mandate from 
the funding requirement. If the bill does represent a state mandate and neither one of these actions occms, the local 
units of government will not be required to implement the mandated activities. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
This bill provides a one-time appropriation of $398,952 in 2018-19 to the Department of Administrative and Financial 
Services for the infonnation technology and related costs of implementing the bill's requirements regarding the 
criminal hist01y infonnation of job applicants. 
Additional costs to other state agencies and the Maine Community College System, the Maine Maritime Academy, the 
University of Maine System, the Finance Authority of Maine, the Maine State Housing Authority and the Maine 
Public Employees Retirement System to implement the requirements of this legislation can be absorbed within 
existing budgeted resources. 
LR0561(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1