An Act to Increase the Transparency and Accountability of the
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0419
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: LOOKNER, TALBOT ROSS
Amends: 25 MRSA §1802, 25 MRSA §1803

Legislative Document
No. 419
H.P. 273
House of Representatives, February 4, 2025
An Act to Increase the Transparency and Accountability of the 
Maine Information and Analysis Center
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative LOOKNER of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator TALBOT ROSS of Cumberland and
Representatives: ANKELES of Brunswick, BOYER of Poland, CHAPMAN of Auburn, 
HASENFUS of Readfield, LEE of Auburn, LIBBY of Auburn, MILLIKEN of Blue Hill, 
PLUECKER of Warren.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  25 MRSA §1802 is enacted to read:
§1802.  Auditor of center
1. Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Auditor" means the auditor of the center pursuant to this section.
B. "Committee" means the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters.
C. "De-identified" means, with respect to a report, that personally identifiable 
information has been removed from or obscured in the report so that the report does 
not identify a person and reasonably cannot be used to identify a person. 
2. Creation and appointment of position.  There is created within the Office of the 
Attorney General the position of auditor of the center. The auditor must be appointed by 
the Attorney General without regard to political affiliation and, as determined by the 
Attorney General, must be a person qualified by integrity and demonstrated ability in 
relevant fields. 
3. Powers and duties.  The auditor shall provide systematic, ongoing oversight of the 
center to ensure the transparency and accountability of its operations and to ensure that the 
center operates within the law and in a manner that preserves the privacy, civil liberties and 
civil rights of all persons in the State.  The auditor:
A.  Shall assist the committee in the oversight duties of the committee over the center;
B. Shall maintain a publicly accessible website that includes the de-identified 
informational reports provided to the committee by the center pursuant to section 1801 
and by the auditor pursuant to subsection 4;
C. Shall include as part of the publicly accessible website described in paragraph B a 
means by which a person may submit questions or complaints about the auditor or 
center.  The identity of a person who submits a good faith complaint to the auditor 
against the center using the website or by other means is confidential and the auditor 
shall maintain the identity of that person as confidential; and
D. May select the type and extent of reviews of center activities to conduct.
4. Reporting.  The auditor shall provide the following reports to the committee:
A. A report no later than April 1st each year beginning in 2026 regarding the oversight 
of the center;
B. An interim progress report no later than September 15th each year beginning in 
2026, including progress made on any goals established by the auditor in prior reports 
and any obstacles the auditor has found in fulfilling the requirements of this section; 
C. A report whenever the center refuses a data request or to make personnel available 
for auditor interviews, if known by the auditor, including the reason for the refusal, if 
known by the auditor; and
D. Other reports as the auditor determines necessary.
A report provided by the auditor to the committee pursuant to this subsection and posted 
on the auditor's publicly accessible website pursuant to subsection 3, paragraph B must be 
de-identified and may not contain any information that is confidential or is otherwise not 
authorized by law to be disseminated to the public.  The auditor shall redact from a report 
required by this subsection any information that is prohibited by law from disclosure, is 
sensitive and pertains to an ongoing investigation of criminal activity or would cause a 
specific and imminent threat to safety.
5. Limitations.  The auditor may not:
A. Require the center to take corrective action; or
B. Disclose the name or other personally identifying information of an informant, 
witness or suspect or other source of information to the center.
6. Center cooperation.  The center shall make available documents and personnel as 
requested by the auditor.
7. Commissioner input.  The Commissioner of Public Safety may present to the 
committee a response to an issue reported by the auditor pursuant to subsection 4.
Sec. 2.  25 MRSA §1803 is enacted to read:
§1803.  Public record
Information shared by the center with a private entity that is not designated as classified 
or confidential under any federal or state law, regulation or rule is a public record within 
the meaning of the Freedom of Access Act.
Sec. 3.  Auditor of Maine Information and Analysis Center; report.  The 
auditor appointed pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 25, section 1802 shall 
review the Maine Information and Analysis Center's record-keeping and information-
sharing practices, particularly with respect to its intelligence-gathering and dissemination 
practices, and assess the policies used by the center to determine the quality or veracity of 
the information the center receives and whether those policies appropriately consider the 
privacy, civil liberties and civil rights of all persons in this State.  The auditor shall also 
determine whether the center's practices comply with the requirements of federal laws and 
regulations regarding criminal intelligence collection, retention and sharing that are 
applicable to the center, including, but not limited to, 28 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 
23.  The auditor shall include the results of the review under this section along with any 
recommendations in the first report the auditor submits to the joint standing committee of 
the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters pursuant 
to Title 25, section 1802, subsection 4.  After reviewing the report, the joint standing 
committee may report out legislation relating to the report.
As used in this section, "auditor" has the same meaning as in the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 25, section 1802, subsection 1, paragraph A and "Maine Information and 
Analysis Center" or "center" has the same meaning as in Title 25, section 1801.
SUMMARY
This bill does the following.
1.  It creates the position of auditor of the Maine Information and Analysis Center 
within the Office of the Attorney General.
2.  It adds a definition for "de-identified" and requires that reports submitted to the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public 
safety matters and posted on the publicly accessible website of the auditor of the Maine 
Information and Analysis Center be de-identified.
3.  It provides that the powers and duties of the auditor include ensuring that the center 
operates within the law and in a manner that preserves the privacy, civil liberties and civil 
rights of all people in the State.
4.  It requires that reports of the auditor to the committee that are posted on the auditor's 
publicly accessible website may not contain any records that are confidential or otherwise 
not authorized by law to be disseminated to the public.
5.  It specifies that the identity of any person who submits a good faith complaint to the 
auditor against the center using the auditor's publicly accessible website or by other means 
is confidential and that the auditor must maintain the identity of such persons as 
confidential.
6.  It specifies that classified or confidential information that is shared by the center 
with a private entity is not considered a public record under the Freedom of Access Act.