An Act to P1event False Reportmg Leadmg to Evacuation, Shutdown or Lockdown
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0405
Committee Amendment CA_A_S220 (Senate)
Amends: 17-A MRSA §509, 17-A MRSA §1501

COM1\.1ITTEE Alv1ENDi\.1ENT" ~"to SP 186, L D 405, "An Act to P1event False 
Reportmg Leadmg to Evacuation, Shutdown or Lockdown" 
Amend the bill by stukmg out the title and substttutmg the followmg 
'An Act Regardmg False Pubhc Alarms or Reports and Aggravated False Public 
Alarms or Reports' 
Amend the bill by str1kmg out everythmg after the enactmg clause and msertmg the 
followmg 
'Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §509, as amended by PL 1977, c 510, §56, 1s further amended 
to read 
§509. False pubhc alarm or report, aggravated false pubhc alarm or report 
1. A person 1s gmlty of false pubhc alarm or report 1f 
A He The person knowmgly gives or causes to be given false mformatton to a-ay f! 
law enforcement officer, an emergency commumcat10ns center or the enhanced 9-1-1 
services established m Title 25, chapter 3 52 with the mtent of mducmg -s-H-eh the officer.2 
the emergency commumcat1ons center or any other emergency services personnel to 
believe that a crune has been committed or that another has committed a cnme, 
knowmg the mformat1on to be false, er 
B He The person knowmgly gives or causes to be given false mformat10n to afljC g 
law enforcement officer,~ member of a fire fightmg firefightmg agency, mcludmg a 
voluntee1 fire department, an emergency commumcattons center, the enhanced 9-1-1 
services established m Title 25, chapter 352 or any other person knowmg that SHeh the 
other person 1s likely to commumcate the mformat1on to a law enforcement officer er.i 
~ member of a fire fight1ag firefightmg agency, an emergency commumcat10ns center 
or any other emergency services persom1el concemmg a fire, explosive or other s11mla1 
substance wht-eh that 1s capable of endangermg the safety of persons, knowmg that-s-H-eh 
the mfonnat10n 1s false, or knowmg that he the person has no mfonnat1on relatmg to 
5 
the fire, explosive or other similar substance-~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ",4-" to S P 186, L D 405 ( S-z:z.Ei) 
C He The person knowmgly gives or causes to be given false information concemmg 
an emergency to any an ambulance service, an emergency commumcat10ns centei, the 
enhanced 9-1-1 services established m Title 25, chapter 352, any other emergency 
services personnel or te--afly ~ government agency or pubhc ut1hty that deals with 
emergencies mvolvmg danger to hfe or property, with the mtent of mducmg s-aeh the 
service, personnel, agency, center or ut1hty to respond to the reported emergency, 
knowmg saeh the mformat10n to be false 
A v10lat1on of this subsection 1s a Class D cnme 
For the purposes of this subsection, "emergency commumcations center" means a state, 
county or mumcipal government entity that receives calls by 9-1-1, busmess Imes, rad10 or 
other methods i equestmg pubhc service or emergency 1 esponse from pubhc safety agencies 
and, as appropnate, dispatches requests to pubhc safety agencies and assists m coordmatmg 
the iesponse between agencies and other specialized profess10nals 
l. False fH:1:bhe alarm 1s a Class D enme 
3. A person is gmlty of aggravated false pubhc alaim or report if the person v10lates 
subsection 1 and the v10lat10n causes the evacuation, shutdown or lockdown of a bmldmg, 
school, pubhc square or park, place of assembly or pubhc transp01iat10n facility 
A v10lation of this subsection is a Class C cnme 
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1501, sub-§8, 1C, as enacted by PL 2021, c 170, § 1, 1s 
amended to read 
C The discnmmatory motive of the person m makmg a false pubhc alann or report or 
an aggravated false pubhc alarm m v10lat10n of section 5 09, subseetion 1, and' 
Amend the bill by relettermg or renumbermg any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the maJonty report of the committee, replaces the bill and 
changes the title 
It adds emergency commumcations centers to the hst of 01gamzat1ons that may receive 
false mformatlon durmg the comm1ss10n of the cum es of false pubhc alarm or rep01i and 
aggravated false pubhc alarm or report 
It defines "emergency commumcations center" to mean a state, county or mumc1pal 
government entity that receives calls by 9-1-1, busmess Imes, iad10 or other methods 
requestmg pubhc service or emergency response from pubhc safety agencies and, as 
appropnate, dispatches requests to pubhc safety agencies and assists m coordmatmg the 
response between agencies and othei specialized professionals 
It removes language m the bill that would tngger the c11me of aggiavated false public 
alarm or report 1f the v10lat1on generates an emergency response from a law enforcement 
officer or agency, firefighter or firefightmg agency or any other emergency services 
personnel 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved 05/05/23 ~ac. 
LD405 
LR 1220(02) 
An Act to Prevent False Reportmg Leadmg to Evacuation, Shutdown or Lockdown 
Fiscal Note for BIii as Amended by Committee Amendment 'ij' { 5 _ -z.:z.. bJ 
Committee: Crimmal Justice and Pubhc Safety 
Fiscal Note Reqmred: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Current bienmum cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Correct10nal and Judmal Impact Statements 
The bill creates a Class C cnme for making a false public alarm or report that causes the evacuation, shutdown or 
lock.down of certain establishments The current average cost of incarceratmg one individual for a single year is 
$55,203 
The additional workload associated with the mmrrnal number of new felony cases filed in the court system does not 
reqmre add1t1onal funding at this time 
The collect1on of add1t1onal fine revenue will increase General Fund and dedicated revenue by minor amounts 
LR1220(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1