An Act to Support Local Governments in Responding to Freedom of Access Act Requests
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1649
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: TERRY, VITELLI, BOYLE, BRENNAN, CLUCHEY, CRAFTS, MILLETT, MURPHY, O'CONNELL, SALISBURY
Amends: 1 MRSA §408-A, 5 MRSA §200-I

Legislative Document
No. 1649
H.P. 1061
House of Representatives, April 13, 2023
An Act to Support Local Governments in Responding to Freedom of 
Access Act Requests
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TERRY of Gorham.
Cosponsored by Senator VITELLI of Sagadahoc and
Representatives: BOYLE of Gorham, BRENNAN of Portland, CLUCHEY of Bowdoinham, 
CRAFTS of Newcastle, MILLETT of Cape Elizabeth, MURPHY of Scarborough, 
O'CONNELL of Brewer, SALISBURY of Westbrook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  1 MRSA §408-A, sub-§8, ¶B, as amended by PL 2021, c. 375, §1, is further 
amended to read:
B.  The agency or official may charge a fee to cover the actual cost of searching for, 
retrieving and compiling the requested public record in accordance with this paragraph. 
Compiling the public record includes reviewing and redacting confidential 
information.
(1)  The agency or official may not charge a fee for the first 2 hours of staff time 
per request, except when the person making the public records request of that 
agency or official has previously made a request during the same calendar year.
(2)  After the first 2 hours of staff time, the agency or official may charge a fee of 
not more than $25 $40 per hour.
Sec. 2.  1 MRSA §408-A, sub-§13 is enacted to read:
13.  Public records requests regarding school employees.  If a school employee is 
the subject of a public records request, the employee must be notified of the request as soon 
as practicable.  The employee must be provided an opportunity to inspect the records to be 
submitted to the requestor before the requestor receives any documents or materials 
involving the employee.  The school district may require the use of the form under Title 5, 
section 200-I, subsection 2, paragraph H for any request.
If the school district believes the public records request is frivolous or designed to 
intimidate or harass, the school district may seek the opinion of the Public Access 
Ombudsman regarding the request.  If the Public Access Ombudsman determines that the 
request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests, or a pattern of requests, that are 
frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass and that the requests are not intended for the 
broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government 
activity, the Public Access Ombudsman may relieve the agency or official of the obligation 
to provide the public records sought pursuant to Title 5, section 200-I, subsection 2, 
paragraph G.  If the requestor disagrees with the denial of a request by the Public Access 
Ombudsman based on these standards, the requestor may appeal the denial pursuant to 
section 409.
Sec. 3.  5 MRSA §200-I, sub-§2, ¶E, as amended by PL 2013, c. 229, §1, is further 
amended to read:
E.  Make recommendations concerning ways to improve public access to public records 
and proceedings; and
Sec. 4.  5 MRSA §200-I, sub-§2, ¶F, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 229, §2, is amended 
to read:
F.  Coordinate with the state agency public access officers the compilation of data 
through the development of a uniform log to facilitate record keeping and annual 
reporting of the number of requests for information, the average response time and the 
costs of processing requests.;
Sec. 5.  5 MRSA §200-I, sub-§2, ¶G is enacted to read:
G.  Relieve an agency or official of the obligation to provide public records pursuant 
to Title 1, section 408-A, subsection 13; and
Sec. 6.  5 MRSA §200-I, sub-§2, ¶H is enacted to read:
H.  Create a form for the submission of public records requests.  The form must be 
simple, short and designed to provide only the basic information required to fulfill the 
request.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the State's freedom of access laws to increase the fee for a public 
records request from $25 per hour spent retrieving the public record to $40 per hour.  It 
provides that an agency or official may charge a fee for the first 2 hours of staff time per 
request when the person making the public records request of that agency or official has 
previously made a request during the same calendar year.
It requires that school personnel who are the subject of public records requests be 
notified and allows them opportunity to inspect the records before they are released.  If a 
school district believes a request is frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, the school 
district is authorized to seek the opinion of the Public Access Ombudsman within the 
Department of the Attorney General regarding the request.
It provides that, if the Public Access Ombudsman determines that the request is part of 
a series of contemporaneous requests, or a pattern of requests, that are frivolous or designed 
to intimidate or harass and that the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of 
information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Public Access 
Ombudsman is authorized to relieve the agency or official of the obligation to provide the 
records sought.  If the requestor disagrees with the denial of a request based on these 
standards, the requestor may appeal to the Superior Court.
It also directs the Public Access Ombudsman to create a simple, short form for public 
records requests.  A school district may require the use of this form for any public records 
request.