An Act To Implement the Attorney General's Recommendations on Data Collection in Order To Eliminate Profiling in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0132
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: TALBOT ROSS

Legislative Document
No. 132
H.P. 88
House of Representatives, January 21, 2021
An Act To Implement the Attorney General's Recommendations on 
Data Collection in Order To Eliminate Profiling in Maine
Received by the Clerk of the House on January 19, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Judiciary pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA c. 337-D is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 337-D
PROFILING DATA COLLECTION
§4751.  Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Law enforcement agency.  "Law enforcement agency" means an agency in the 
State charged with enforcement of state, county, municipal or federal laws or laws of a 
federally recognized Indian tribe, with the prevention, detection or investigation of 
criminal, immigration or customs laws or with managing custody of detained persons in 
the State and includes, but is not limited to, a municipal police department, a sheriff's 
department, the State Police, a university or college police department and the Department 
of Public Safety.
2.  Law enforcement officer.  "Law enforcement officer" means a state, county or 
municipal official or an official of a federally recognized Indian tribe responsible for 
enforcing criminal, immigration or customs laws, including, but not limited to, a law 
enforcement officer who possesses a current and valid certificate issued by the Board of 
Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy pursuant to Title 25, section 2803-A.
§4752.  Collection of information; reporting of information
1.  Information collected.  Beginning July 1, 2023, a law enforcement agency shall 
record and retain the following information regarding traffic violations occurring in this 
State:
A.  The number of persons stopped for traffic violations;
B.  Characteristics of race, color, ethnicity, gender and age of each person described in 
paragraph A.  The identification of such characteristics must be based on the 
observation and perception of the law enforcement officer responsible for reporting the 
stop.  The person stopped may not be required to provide the information;
C.  The nature of each alleged traffic violation that resulted in a stop;
D.  Whether a warning or citation was issued, an arrest was made or a search was 
conducted as a result of each stop for a traffic violation; and
E.  Any additional information the law enforcement agency determines appropriate.  
The additional information may not include any other personally identifiable 
information about a person stopped for a traffic violation such as the person's driver's 
license number, name or address.
2.  Report to Attorney General.  A law enforcement agency shall report the 
information required to be recorded and retained under subsection 1 to the Attorney 
General pursuant to rules adopted pursuant to section 4753.
§4753.  Rules; consultation
1.  Adoption of rules.  By January 1, 2023, the Attorney General shall adopt rules for 
the recording, retention and reporting of information pursuant to section 4752 pertaining to 
persons stopped for traffic violations.  The information must include the characteristics of 
race, color, ethnicity, gender and age of the persons stopped, based on the observation and 
perception of the law enforcement officer making the stop.  Rules adopted pursuant to this 
subsection are routine technical rules as defined in chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
2.  Consultation.  In adopting rules pursuant to subsection 1, the Attorney General 
shall consult with the Commissioner of Public Safety and interested parties, including law 
enforcement agencies and community, professional, research, civil liberties and civil rights 
organizations and persons with lived experience of being profiled.  The Attorney General 
shall ensure that the parties consulted represent the racial and ethnic diversity of the State.
§4754.  Report; publication of data
1.  Report.  Beginning January 15, 2024 and annually thereafter, the Attorney General 
shall provide to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over 
judiciary matters and criminal justice and public safety matters and make available to the 
public a report of the information collected pursuant to this chapter.  The report must 
include an analysis of the information and may include recommendations for changes in 
laws, rules and practices.  Information reported may not include personally identifiable 
information.
2.  Name, personally identifiable information confidential.  The name and 
personally identifiable information of a law enforcement officer or any other person 
involved in any activity for which information is collected and compiled under this chapter 
are confidential and may not be released to the public or disclosed to any person except as 
necessary to comply with this chapter or the policies prohibiting profiling adopted as 
provided in Title 25, section 2803-B, subsection 1, paragraph E or, if it is information 
regarding a particular person, to that person.
SUMMARY
This bill requires all law enforcement agencies, beginning July 1, 2023, to collect 
information about each person stopped for a traffic violation.  The information must include 
the characteristics of race, color, ethnicity, gender and age of those persons.  The 
identification of such characteristics must be based on the observation and perception of 
the law enforcement officer responsible for reporting the stop.  The person stopped may 
not be required to provide the information.  The information must also include whether a 
warning or citation was issued, an arrest was made or a search was conducted as a result of 
the stop.  Each law enforcement agency must report the information to the Attorney 
General, who is required to report the information, along with analysis and any 
recommendations, to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over judiciary matters and criminal justice and public safety matters beginning January 15, 
2024 and annually thereafter.  The report must be made available to the public.
The Attorney General is directed to adopt rules governing the recording, retention and 
reporting of the information.  In adopting the rules, the Attorney General must consult with 
the Commissioner of Public Safety and other interested parties, including law enforcement 
agencies and community, professional, research, civil liberties and civil rights 
organizations and persons with lived experience of being profiled.  The Attorney General 
must ensure that the parties consulted represent the racial and ethnic diversity of the State. 
The name and personally identifiable information of a law enforcement officer or any 
other person involved in any activity for which information is collected and compiled under 
these provisions are confidential.