An Act to Enhance
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 2121
Committee Amendment CA_A_H913 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " f-\ " to H.P. 1436, L.D. 2121, "An Act to Enhance
the Safety of Judicial and Elected Officials, Constitutional Officers and the State Auditor
by Allowing Certain Personal Information to Be Removed from Designated Public
Records"
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
'Resolve, to Convene a Working Group to Study Methods for Enhancing the Safety
of Judicial and Elected Officials'
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and inserting the following:
'See. 1. Working Group. Resolved: That the Department of fhe Secretary of State
shall convene a working group, referred to in this resolve as "the working group," to study
methods for enhancing the safety of judicial officers and elected officials in accordance
with this section.
1. The working group must consist of at least the following 13 members :
A. The Secretary of State or the Secretary of State's designee;
B. Two members of the Legislature, including one member of the Senate designated
by the President of the Senate and one member of the House of Representatives
designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The President of the Senate
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall confer to ensure that one of the
designated Legislators is a member of the party holding the largest number of seats in
the Legislature and the other designated Legislator is a member of the party holding
the 2nd largest number of seats in the Legislature;
C. A judge or justice of the District Court, the Superior Court or the Supreme Judicial
Court designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court;
D. A representative of the Administrative Office of the Courts designated by the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court;
E. A county probate court judge designated by the Secretary of State;
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
<.? COMMm-EE AMENDMENT "^" to H.P. 1436, L.D, 2121
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F. The Commissioner of Public Safety or the commissioner's designee;
G. The Chief Information Officer or the Chief Information Officer's designee;
H. The Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee;
I. A register of deeds in fhe State designated by the Secretary of State;
J. A representative from the Maine Municipal Association designated by the Maine
Municipal Association;
K. A representative from the Right to Know Advisory Committee who is not a member
of the Legislature designated by the Chair of the Right to Know Advisory Committee;
and
L. A representative of fhe media designated by the Secretary of State.
2. At a minimum, the working group shall examine threats of violence currently faced
by judicial officers and elected officials in the State; legislation enacted in other states to
enhance the safety of judicial officers and elected officials, including but not Umited to
legislation directing the removal of the home addresses and other personally identifying
information of judicial officers and elected officials from publicly accessible government
websites and databases and other public records; the logistical, financial, technological and
other requirements for government entities m the State to remove home addresses and other
personally identifying information of judicial officers and elected officials from publicly
accessible government websites and databases and other public records; whether it is
necessary to continue to include home addresses and other personally identifying
information of judicial officers and elected officials in certain types of public records
maintained by government entities in the State; and whether and how the State may direct
data brokers and other private entities to remove home addresses and other personally
identifying information of judicial officers and elected officials from publicly accessible
websites and databases.
Sec. 2. Pilot project. Resolved: That, no later than January 15, 2027, the
Department of the Secretary of State shall establish a 2-year pilot project that provides each
qualifying official who applies to participate in the pilot project with a subscription to a
service that removes the qualifying official's personally identifying information from
publicly accessible websites and databases. For the purposes of this section, "qualifying
official" means a judge or justice of a county probate court, the District Court, the Superior
Court and the Supreme Judicial Court or a Legislator.
Sec. 3. Report. Resolved: That the Department of the Secretary of State shall submit
a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over judiciary
matters no later than February 1, 2027 with an interim evaluation of the costs and
effectiveness of the pilot project under section 2. The iuterim evaluation must identify the
working group members, summarize the activities of the working group and set forth the
8 working group's findings and recommendations for enhancing the safety of judicial officers
9 and elected officials by protecting personally identifying information of these officers and
officials in government records, including any suggested legislation. The joint standing
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over judiciary matters may report out
legislation to fhe 133rd Legislature in 2027 based on the report.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
.fS '? COMMTTTEE AMENDMENT "J\ " to H.P. 1436, L.D. 2121
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Sec. 4. Appropriations and allocations. Resolved; That the following
appropriations and allocations are made.
SECRETARY OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF
Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions 0692
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for a subscription service to remove qualifying
information fl-om publicly accessible websites.
GENERAL FUND 2025-26 2026-27
All Other $0 $60,280
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $0 $60,280
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section
number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, replaces the bill with
a resolve directing the Department of the Secretary of State to convene a working group of
at least 13 members to study methods for enhancing the safety of judicial officers and
elected officials and to establish a 2-year pilot project that provides each judge or justice
and Legislator who applies to participate in the pilot project with a subscription to a service
that removes that participant's personally identifying information from publicly accessible
websites and databases. The amendment directs the department to submit a report to the
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over judiciary matters no
later than February 1, 2027 with an interim evaluation of the costs and effectiveness of the
pilot project and setting forth the working group's findings and recommendations for
enhancing the safety of judicial officers and elected officials. The j oint standing committee
of the Legislature having jurisdiction over judiciary matters may report out legislation to
the 133rd Legislature in 2027 based on the report.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Revised: 03/18/26 t-Kt.
LD 2121 LR 2650(02)
An Act to Enhance the Safety of Judicial and Elected Officials, Constitutional Officers and the State
Auditor by Allowing Certain Personal Information to Be Removed from Designated Public Records
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "/f
Committee: Judiciary
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Legislative Cost/Study
Projections Projections
FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27 FY 2027-28 FY 2028-29
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund $0 $60,280 $60,280
Appropriations/Allocations
General Fund $0 $60,280 $60,280 $0
Legislative Cost/Study
The general operating expenses of this study are projected to be $1,400 in fiscal year 2026-27, The Legislature's
budget for the 2026-2027 biennium includes $7,253 in fiscal year 2025-26 and $17,696 in fiscal year 2026-27 for the
costs of legislative studies, as well as $41,338 of balances carried over from prior fiscal years for this purpose,
Whether these amounts are sufficient to fund all studies will depend on the number of studies authorized by the
Legislative Council and the Legislature, The additional costs of providing staffing assistance to the study during the
interim can be absorbed utilizing existing budgeted staff resources.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The bill includes a one-time General Fund appropriation to the Department of the Secretary of State of $60,280 in
fiscal year 2026-27 for a subscription to remove qualifying information from internet websites,
Any additional costs to departments and agencies designated to participate in the working group are assumed to be
minor and can be absorbed with existing budgeted resources.
LR2650(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1