An Act Regarding the Confidentiality of Certain Records Belonging
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0417
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: POIRIER
Amends: 12 MRSA §8007

Legislative Document
No. 417
H.P. 271
House of Representatives, February 4, 2025
An Act Regarding the Confidentiality of Certain Records Belonging 
to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 
Related to the Bureau of Forestry
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative POIRIER of Skowhegan.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BOYER of Poland, CARUSO of Caratunk, DUCHARME of 
Madison, HENDERSON of Rumford, LEE of Auburn, OSHER of Orono, Senators: HAGGAN 
of Penobscot, TALBOT ROSS of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §8007 is enacted to read:
§8007.  Confidentiality of complaints and investigative records
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and 
Forestry.
B. "Conclusion of an investigation" means that an investigation has been closed or one 
of the following events has occurred with respect to the investigation:
(1) A notice of an adjudicatory hearing under Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4 
has been issued;
(2) A consent agreement has been executed; or
(3) An enforcement proceeding has been filed in a court of competent jurisdiction.
C. "Department" means the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
2. Records obtained during an investigation or through provision of services to 
the public. Records of the department are confidential if:
A. The records are obtained during an investigation of a complaint related to a 
provision of or suspected violation of this Part; or 
B. The records are obtained in connection with providing a service to the public 
consistent with the bureau's duties pursuant to this Part.
Records obtained during an investigation of a complaint related to a provision of or 
suspected violation of this Part become public upon conclusion of an investigation unless 
the records are otherwise classified as confidential by any other provision of law.
3. Exceptions. Notwithstanding subsection 2, during the pendency of an investigation, 
a complaint or investigative record may be disclosed:
A. To department employees designated by the commissioner;
B. By a department employee or complaint officer designated by the commissioner 
when and to the extent considered necessary to facilitate the investigation;
C. To other state or federal agencies when the records contain evidence of possible 
violations of laws enforced by those agencies;
D. Pursuant to rules adopted by the department, when the commissioner determines 
that confidentiality is no longer warranted due to general public knowledge of the 
circumstances surrounding the complaint or investigation and when the investigation 
would not be prejudiced by the disclosure;
E. When and to the extent disclosure is considered necessary by the commissioner to 
avoid imminent and serious harm. The authority of the commissioner to make a 
disclosure pursuant to this paragraph may not be delegated; and
F. To a person being investigated on that person's request. The commissioner may 
refuse to disclose part or all of any investigative information, including the fact of an 
investigation, when the commissioner determines that disclosure would prejudice the 
investigation. The authority of the commissioner to make such a determination may 
not be delegated.
4. Attorney General records. The disclosure of investigative records of the 
Department of the Attorney General to a department employee designated by the 
commissioner does not constitute a waiver of the confidentiality of those records for any 
other purposes. Further disclosure of those investigative records is subject to Title 16, 
section 804 and the discretion of the Attorney General.
5. Violation. A person who knowingly or intentionally makes a disclosure of records 
in violation of this section commits a civil violation for which a fine not to exceed $1,000 
may be adjudged.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes provisions governing the confidentiality of records belonging to 
the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry associated with investigations 
of complaints and suspected violations of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, Part 11 and 
records belonging to the department that are obtained in connection with providing a 
service to the public in accordance with Part 11. The bill provides certain exceptions to the 
provisions that require that records associated with an investigation are confidential.
The bill provides that the disclosure of any investigative records to the department by 
the Department of the Attorney General does not constitute a waiver of the confidentiality 
of those records and that further disclosure of those records by the department is subject to 
constraints that include the discretion of the Attorney General.
The bill also provides that a person who knowingly or intentionally makes a disclosure 
in violation of these provisions commits a civil violation for which a fine not to exceed 
$1,000 may be adjudged.