An Act To Enact the Campus Free Expression Act
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0665
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: ANDREWS, FARRIN, AUSTIN, FAULKINGHAM, FECTEAU, MORRIS, O'CONNOR, ORDWAY, RUDNICKI
Amends: 20-A MRSA §10014

Legislative Document
No. 665
H.P. 486
House of Representatives, February 7, 2019
An Act To Enact the Campus Free Expression Act
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative ANDREWS of Paris.
Cosponsored by Senator FARRIN of Somerset and
Representatives: AUSTIN of Gray, DeVEAU of Caribou, FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor, 
FECTEAU of Augusta, MORRIS of Turner, O'CONNOR of Berwick, ORDWAY of Standish, 
RUDNICKI of Fairfield.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §10014 is enacted to read:
§10014.  Campus Free Expression Act
1.  Short title.  This section may be known and cited as "the Campus Free Expression 
Act."
2.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Expressive activity" means an expressive activity protected under the United 
States Constitution, Amendment I and the Constitution of Maine, Article I, including, 
but not limited to, all forms of peaceful assembly, protests and speeches; distributing 
literature; carrying signs; circulating petitions; and the recording and publication, 
including Internet publication, of video or audio lawfully recorded in outdoor areas of 
campus.  "Expressive activity" does not include commercial speech.
B.  "Free speech zone" means an area on a campus of a public institution of higher 
education that is designated for the purpose of engaging in an expressive activity.
C.  "Material and substantial disruption" means conduct that intentionally and 
significantly hinders another person's or group's expressive activity or, in the case of 
disruption of the functioning of a public institution of higher education in subsection 
3, paragraph A, conduct that intentionally and significantly hinders the functioning of 
a public institution of higher education.  "Material and substantial disruption" does 
not include conduct that is protected under the United States Constitution, 
Amendment I and the Constitution of Maine, Article I, including, but not limited to, 
lawful protests and counterprotests in the outdoor areas of campus or minor or 
fleeting nonviolent disruptions that are isolated or brief in duration.
D.  "Outdoor area of campus" means a publicly accessible area of a campus of a 
public institution of higher education in which members of the public are commonly 
allowed.
E.  "Public institution of higher education" means a university in the University of 
Maine System, a college in the Maine Community College System and the Maine 
Maritime Academy.
3.  Right to free speech activities on campus.  Free speech activities on campus are 
governed by this subsection.
A.  A person who wishes to engage in an expressive activity in an outdoor area of 
campus may do so freely as long as the person's conduct is lawful and does not 
materially and substantially disrupt the functioning of the public institution of higher 
education.
B.  Outdoor areas of campus are considered traditional public forums for individuals, 
organizations and guest speakers.  A public institution of higher education may create 
and enforce restrictions on time, place and manner of expression that are reasonable 
and content-neutral and that are narrowly tailored to achieve a significant institutional 
interest.  Such restrictions must be clear and provide for ample alternative means of 
expression.  A public institution of higher education shall post such restrictions on the 
institution's publicly accessible website.
C.  A public institution of higher education may not designate an area of campus as a 
free speech zone or otherwise create policies restricting expressive activities to a 
particular outdoor area of campus, except as provided in paragraph B.
D.  Students, faculty or staff of a public institution of higher education may not 
materially and substantially disrupt expressive activities on campus that are 
scheduled or reserved.
4.  Enforcement by Attorney General.  The Attorney General has the authority to 
enforce compliance with this section and may bring an action to enjoin violations of this 
section.
5.  Cause of action.  A person whose rights to conduct an expressive activity are 
violated by an action prohibited under this section may bring an action against a public 
institution of higher education in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin violations of 
this section and to recover compensatory damages, reasonable court costs and attorney's 
fees.  If the court finds a public institution of higher education violated this section, the 
court shall award damages of at least $500 for the initial violation and $50 for each day 
thereafter that the person's rights are violated.  Damages stemming from a single violation 
of this section may not exceed $100,000.  If more than one person brings an action arising 
from a single violation of this section and the court finds more than one person's rights 
were violated, the court shall award damages equally among those persons.
6.  Statute of limitations.  An action brought pursuant to this section must be 
commenced within one year of the date of the violation.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes a person who wishes to engage in an expressive activity, as 
defined in the bill, in an outdoor area of campus of a public institution of higher 
education to do so freely as long as the person's conduct is lawful and does not materially 
and substantially disrupt the functioning of the public institution of higher education.  It 
prohibits a public institution of higher education from designating an area of campus as a 
free speech zone or otherwise creating policies restricting expressive activities to a 
particular outdoor area of campus, except that it allows public institutions of higher 
education to create and enforce restrictions on time, place and manner of expression that 
are reasonable and content-neutral.  The Attorney General has the authority to enforce 
compliance, and a person whose rights are violated may bring an action to enjoin 
violations and to recover compensatory damages, reasonable court costs and attorney's 
fees.