An Act to Expand the Definition of "Terrorism" in the Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0224
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: HASENFUS
Amends: 1 MRSA §402, 37-B MRSA §703

Legislative Document
No. 224
H.P. 147
House of Representatives, January 21, 2025
An Act to Expand the Definition of "Terrorism" in the Laws 
Governing the Maine Emergency Management Agency
Submitted by the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management pursuant 
to Joint Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative HASENFUS of Readfield.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  1 MRSA §402, sub-§3, ¶L, as amended by PL 2003, c. 614, §1, is further 
amended to read:
L.  Records describing security plans, security procedures or risk assessments prepared 
specifically for the purpose of preventing or preparing for acts of terrorism, but only to 
the extent that release of information contained in the record could reasonably be 
expected to jeopardize the physical safety of government personnel or the public.  
Information contained in records covered by this paragraph may be disclosed to the 
Legislature or, in the case of a political or administrative subdivision, to municipal 
officials or board members under conditions that protect the information from further 
disclosure.  For purposes of this paragraph, "terrorism" means conduct that is designed 
to cause serious bodily injury or substantial risk of bodily injury to multiple persons, 
substantial damage to multiple structures whether occupied or unoccupied or 
substantial physical damage sufficient to disrupt the normal functioning of a critical 
infrastructure has the same meaning as in Title 37-B, section 703, subsection 8;
Sec. 2.  37-B MRSA §703, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:
1-A.  Cyberattack.  "Cyberattack" means activity targeting the State's information and 
telecommunications technology infrastructure, systems or services or critical 
infrastructure, whether physical or non-physical, for the purpose of disrupting, disabling, 
destroying or maliciously controlling such infrastructure, systems or services or destroying 
the integrity of the data or stealing the information residing thereon.
Sec. 3.  37-B MRSA §703, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 146, §6, is amended 
to read:
8.  Terrorism.  "Terrorism" means the unlawful use of force or violence against 
persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government or civilian population in 
furtherance of political or social objectives. "Terrorism" includes conduct that is designed 
to cause serious bodily injury or substantial risk of bodily injury to multiple persons, 
substantial damage to multiple structures whether occupied or unoccupied or substantial 
physical damage sufficient to disrupt the normal functioning of a critical infrastructure; or 
conduct that constitutes a cyberattack on the State's information and telecommunications 
technology infrastructure, systems or services or critical infrastructure, whether physical or 
non-physical.
SUMMARY
This bill updates the definition of "terrorism" in the laws governing the Department of 
Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management, Maine Emergency Management Agency 
to include acts against non-physical infrastructure, including, but not limited to, 
information and telecommunications technology infrastructure, systems or services or 
critical infrastructure.  The bill also defines the term "cyberattack."