An Act To Improve Consistency within the Maine Human Rights Act
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1703
Committee Amendment CA_A_H643 (House)
Amends: 5 MRSA §1825-L, 5 MRSA §4684-A, 5 MRSA §17057, 14 MRSA §1202-A, 17-A MRSA §1501, 20-A MRSA §2404, 20-A MRSA §2412, 24-A MRSA §6910, 25 MRSA §1544, 30-A MRSA §4706, 34-B MRSA §3611, 34-B MRSA §15002, 36 MRSA §5122

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A,, to H.P. 1218, L.D. 1703, Bill, "An Act To 
Improve Consistency within the Maine Human Rights Act" 
Amend the bill by inserting after the enacting clause and before section 1 the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §1825-L, sub-§2, ,A, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. 
NNNN, § 1, is amended to read: 
A. Comply with all applicable wage, health, labor, environmental and safety laws, 
legal guarantees of freedom of association, building and fire codes and laws relating 
to discrimination in hiring, promotion or compensation on the basis of race, 
disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or affiliation 
with any political, nongovernmental or civic group except when federal law 
precludes the State from attaching the procurement conditions provided in this 
subchapter.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §4552 in the first paragraph in the 8th line (page 1, line 
in L.D.) by striking out the following: "housing," 
Amend the bill by adding after section 24 the following: 
'Sec. 25. 5 MRSA §4684-A, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 379, §1, is amended to 
read: 
§4684-A. Civil rights 
For purposes of this chapter and Title 17, section 2931, a person has the right to 
engage in lawful activities without being subject to physical force or violence, damage or 
destruction of property, trespass on property or the threat of physical force or violence, 
damage or destruction of property or trespass on property motivated by reason of race, 
color, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability eF_. sexual 
orientation or gender identity. 
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Sec. 26. 5 MRSA §17057, sub-§5, ,r.B, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 449, §2, is 
amended to read: 
B. 
Personal information. 
Records containing the following information are 
confidential, except that the records may be examined by the employee to whom they 
relate when the examination is permitted or required by law: 
(1) 
Medical information of any kind, including information pertaining to 
diagnosis or treatment of mental or emotional disorders; 
(2) Performance evaluations and personal references submitted in confidence; 
(3) Information pertaining to the creditworthiness of a named employee; 
(4) Information pertaining to the personal history, general character or conduct 
of members of the employee's immediate family; 
(5) Personal information pertaining to the employee's race, color, religion, sex, 
national origin, ancestry, age, physical disability, mental disability, marital status 
and.i. sexual orientation and gender identity; social security number; personal 
contact information as provided in Title 1, section 402, subsection 3, paragraph 
O; and personal employment choices pertaining to elected payroll deductions, 
deferred compensation, savings plans, pension plans, health insurance and life 
insurance; and 
(6) 
Complaints, charges or accusations of misconduct, replies to those 
complaints, charges or accusations and any other information or materials that 
may result in disciplinary action. If disciplinary 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. If an arbitrator completely 
overturns or removes disciplinary action from an employee personnel file, the 
final written decision is public except that the employee's name must be deleted 
from the final written decision and kept confidential. If the employee whose 
name was deleted from the final written decision discloses that the employee is 
the person who is the subject of the final written decision, the entire final written 
decision, with regard to that employee, is public. 
For purposes of this subparagraph, "final written decision" means: 
(a) The final written administrative decision that is not appealed pursuant to 
a grievance arbitration procedure; or 
(b) If the final written administrative decision is appealed to arbitration, the 
final written decision of a neutral arbitrator. 
A final written administrative decision that is appealed to arbitration is no longer 
confidential 120 days after a written request for the decision is made to the 
employer if the final written decision of the neutral arbitrator is not issued and 
released before the expiration of the 120 days. 
This paragraph does not preclude a union representative from having access to 
personnel records that are necessary for the bargaining agent to carry out collective 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·ff" to H.P. 1218, L.D. 1703 
bargaining responsibilities. Any records available to union representatives that are 
otherwise covered by this paragraph remain confidential and are not open for public 
inspection; 
Sec. 27. 14 MRSA §1202-A, as corrected by RR 2017, c. 1, §6, is amended to 
read: 
§1202-A. Prohibition of discrimination 
A citizen may not be excluded from jury service in this State on account of race, 
color, religion, sex, sexual orientation as defined in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 9-C, 
gender identity, national origin, ancestry, economic status, marital status, age or physical 
handicap, except as provided in this chapter. 
Sec. 28. 17-A MRSA §1501, sub-§8, ,iB, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. A, 
§2, is amended to read: 
B. The selection by the person of the victim or of the property that was damaged or 
otherwise affected by the crime because of the race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, 
national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or 
homelessness of the victim or of the owner or occupant of that property; and 
Sec. 29. 20-A MRSA §2404, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
3. Discrimination prohibited. A public charter school may not discriminate on the 
basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender 
identity, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language or 
academic or athletic ability, except that nothing in this subsection may be construed to 
limit the formation of a public charter school that is dedicated to focusing education 
services on at-risk pupils, students with disabilities and students who pose such severe 
disciplinary problems that they warrant a specific education program. 
Sec. 30. 20-A MRSA §2412, sub-§4, 1A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
A. A public charter school may not discriminate against any person on the basis of 
race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, 
religion, age, ancestry or national origin or on any other basis that would be unlawful 
if done by a noncharter public school. 
Sec. 31. 24-A MRSA §6910, sub-§3, ,iB, as corrected by RR 2003, c. 1, §22, is 
amended to read: 
B. Ensure that: 
(1) Providers contracting with a carrier contracted to provide coverage to plan 
enrollees do not charge plan enrollees or 3rd parties for covered health care 
services in excess of the amount allowed by the carrier the provider has 
contracted with, except for applicable copayments, deductibles or coinsurance or 
as provided in section 4204, subsection 6; 
(2) Providers contracting with a carrier contracted to provide coverage to plan 
enrollees do not refuse to provide services to a plan enrollee on the basis of 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A "to H.P. 1218, L.D. 1703 
health status, medical condition, previous insurance status, race, color, creed, age, 
national origin, citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity. 
disability or marital status. This subparagraph may not be construed to require a 
provider to furnish medical services that are not within the scope of that 
provider's license; and 
(3) Providers contracting with a carrier contracted to provide coverage to plan 
enrollees are reimbursed at the negotiated reimbursement rates between the 
carrier and its provider network. 
Sec. 32. 25 MRSA §1544, 2nd ,r, as amended by PL 2001, c. 399, §6, is :further 
amended to read: 
The bureau shall establish a category for abuse by adults of family or household 
members, a category for cruelty to animals and a category for crimes that manifest 
evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation. gender 
identity or ethnicity that are supplementary to its other reported information. The bureau 
shall prescribe the information to be submitted in the same manner as for all other 
categories of the uniform crime reports. 
Sec. 33. 30-A MRSA §4706, sub-§5, ,iB, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 234, §8, is 
amended to read: 
B. Authority records pertaining 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) Performance evaluations and personal references submitted in confidence; 
(3) Information pertaining to the creditworthiness of a named employee; 
(4) Information pertaining to the personal history, general character or conduct 
of members of the employee's immediate family; 
(5) 
Complaints, charges or accusations of misconduct, replies to those 
complaints, charges or accusations and any other information or materials that 
may result in disciplinary action. If disciplinary 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 information, 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; 
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COMMITTEEAMENDMENT"A"toH.P.1218,L.D.1703 
(e) 
Personal contact information, as described in Title 1, section 402, 
subsection 3, paragraph O; 
(f) Personal employment choices pertaining to elected payroll deductions, 
deferred compensation, saving plans, pension plans, health insurance and life 
insurance; 
(g) Religion; 
(h) Sex er,. sexual orientation as defined in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 
9-C or gender identity; or 
(i) Social security number; and 
Sec. 34. 34-B MRSA §3611, sub-§9, ,iB, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 592, §2, is 
amended to read: 
B. A person may not be excluded from the council system or discriminated against 
within the council system by reason of race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, 
gender identity. age, marital status, homelessness, national origin, disability or status 
as a consumer of mental health services. 
Sec. 35. 34-B MRSA §15002, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 790, Pt. A, §1 
and affected by §3, is amended to read: 
6. Rights protections; cultural sensitivity. The program must protect the rights of 
children to receive care without regard to race, religion, ancestry or national origin, 
gender, physical or mental disability er,. sexual orientation or gender identity. 
Sec. 36. 36 MRSA §5122, sub-§2, 10, as amended by PL 2001, c. 679, §3 and 
affected by §6, is further amended to read: 
0. A Holocaust victim settlement payment received by a Holocaust victim to the 
extent included in federal adjusted gross income. This paragraph applies only to a 
taxpayer who is the first recipient of a Holocaust victim settlement payment. For 
purposes of this paragraph, the following terms have the following meanings. 
(1) "Holocaust victim" means an individual who died, lost property or was a 
victim of persecution as a result of discriminatory laws, policies or actions 
targeted against discrete groups of individuals based on race, religion, ethnicity, 
sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin, whether or not the 
individual was actually a member of any of those groups, or because the 
individual assisted or allegedly assisted any of those groups, between January 1, 
1929 and December 31, 1945, in Nazi Germany or in any European country 
allied with or occupied by Nazi Germany. 
"Holocaust victim" includes the 
spouse or descendant of such an individual. 
(2) "Holocaust victim settlement payment" means a payment received: 
(a) As a result of the taxpayer's status as a Holocaust victim; 
(b) As a result of the settlement of any other Holocaust claim, including an 
insurance claim, a claim relating to looted art, a claim relating to looted 
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financial assets, a claim relating to slave labor wages or a class action lawsuit 
claim against Swiss banks; or 
(c) As interest on any payment under division (a) or (b) accumulated or 
accrued through the date of payment;' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment removes housing from the list in the policy section of activities for 
which it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of age. The bill clarifies the Maine Human 
Rights Act by adding "or gender identity" where the phrase "sexual orientation" currently 
is in place; the amendment does the same throughout the rest of the Maine Revised 
Statutes. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 06/06/19 ;1vae.. 
LD 1703 
LR2283(02) 
An Act To Improve Consistency within the Maine Human Rights Act 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment .;J,{ /I~ b '(~ 
Committee: Judiciary 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
This bill may increase the number of civil suits filed in the court system. 
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 filing fees may increase General Fund and other dedicated revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Maine Human Rights Commission due to an increase in complaints filed are expected to 
be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR2283(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1