An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Right to Know
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1827
Committee: Judiciary
Amends: 1 MRSA §408-A

Legislative Document
No. 1827
H.P. 1222
House of Representatives, April 29, 2025
An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Right to Know 
Advisory Committee Concerning Public Records Requests
Reported by Representative KUHN of Falmouth for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Judiciary pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 411, subsection 6, paragraph 
G.
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 218.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  1 MRSA §408-A, sub-§4, as repealed and replaced by PL 2015, c. 494, Pt. 
A, §1, is amended to read:
4.  Refusals; denials.  If a body or an agency or official having custody or control of 
any public record refuses permission to inspect or copy or abstract a public record, the body 
or agency or official shall provide, within 5 working days of the receipt of the request for 
inspection or copying, written notice of the denial, stating the reason for the denial or the 
expectation that the request will be denied in full or in part following a review.  A request 
or series of requests for inspection or copying may be denied, in whole or in part, on the 
basis that the request or series of requests is unduly burdensome or oppressive if the 
procedures established in subsection 4‑A are followed.  Failure to comply with this 
subsection is considered failure to allow inspection or copying and is subject to appeal as 
provided in section 409.
Sec. 2.  1 MRSA §408-A, sub-§4-A, as amended by PL 2017, c. 288, Pt. A, §1, is 
further amended to read:
4-A.  Action for protection.  A body, an agency or an official may seek protection 
from a request or series of requests for inspection or copying that is unduly burdensome or 
oppressive by filing an action for an order of protection in the Superior Court for the county 
where the request or series of requests for records was made within 30 60 days of receipt 
of the request or the point at which the body, agency or official determines that the series 
of requests is unduly burdensome or oppressive.
A.  The following information must be included in the complaint if available or 
provided to the parties and filed with the court no more than 14 days from the filing of 
the complaint or such other period as the court may order:
(1)  The terms of the request or series of requests and any modifications agreed to 
by the requesting party;
(2)  A statement of the facts that demonstrate the burdensome or oppressive nature 
of the request or series of requests, with a good faith estimate of the time required 
to search for, retrieve, redact if necessary and compile the records responsive to 
the request or series of requests and the resulting costs calculated in accordance 
with subsection 8;
(3)  A description of the efforts made by the body, agency or official to inform the 
requesting party of the good faith estimate of costs and to discuss possible 
modifications of the request or series of requests that would reduce the burden of 
production; and
(4)  Proof that the body, agency or official has submitted a notice of intent to file 
an action under this subsection to the party requesting the records, dated at least 10 
days prior to filing the complaint for an order of protection under this subsection.
B.  Any appeal that may be filed by the requesting party under section 409 may be 
consolidated with an action under this subsection.
C.  An action for protection may be advanced on the docket and receive priority over 
other cases when the court determines that the interests of justice so require upon the 
request of any party.
D.  If the court finds that the body, agency or official has demonstrated good cause to 
limit or deny the request or series of requests, the court shall enter an order making 
such findings and establishing the terms upon which production, if any, must be made.  
If the court finds that the body, agency or official has not demonstrated good cause to 
limit or deny the request or series of requests, the court shall establish a date by which 
the records must be provided to the requesting party.
SUMMARY
This bill is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary to implement 
statutory changes recommended by the Right to Know Advisory Committee.  The joint 
standing committee has not taken a position on the substance of this bill.  By reporting this 
bill out, the joint standing committee is not suggesting and does not intend to suggest that 
it agrees or disagrees with any aspect of this bill; instead, the committee is reporting the 
bill out for the sole purpose of having a bill printed that can be referred to the committee 
for an appropriate public hearing and subsequent processing in the normal course.  The 
joint standing committee is taking this action to ensure clarity and transparency in the 
legislative review of the proposals contained in the bill.
The bill permits a body or agency or official to deny a series of requests for inspection 
or copying of a public record on the basis that the series of requests is unduly burdensome 
or oppressive.  The bill also allows a body, agency or official to seek protection from a 
request or series of requests that is unduly burdensome or oppressive by filing an action for 
an order of protection in the Superior Court for the county where the request or series of 
requests was made. The action must be filed within 60 days of the receipt of the request or, 
in the case of a series of requests, within 60 days of the point at which a body, agency or 
official determines that the series of requests is unduly burdensome or oppressive.