Maine Freedom of Access Act

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Contents

State sunshine
State laws
How to ask for records
Transparency headlines
Statutory changes
Notable FOIA requests
State Open Meeting Laws
State sunshine lawsuits
State court cases
E-mail access
Private agency, public dollars
The WikiFOIA portal

The Maine Freedom of Access Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Maine. The Freedom of Access Act also legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

The Maine Open Meeting Law legislates the methods by which open meetings are conducted.

[edit] Maine's transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Maine #33 in the nation with an overall percentage of 48.80%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Maine 41 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 32 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Maine's law as the 29th worst in the country, giving it a letter grade of "D+".[3]

[edit] Public Records

"The Legislature finds and declares that public proceedings exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the Legislature that their actions be taken openly and that the records of their actions be open to public inspection and their deliberations be conducted openly."[4]

[edit] Open Meetings

"Except as otherwise provided by statute or by section 405, all public proceedings shall be open to the public, any person shall be permitted to attend any public proceeding and any record or minutes of such proceedings that is required by law shall be made promptly and shall be open to public inspection."[5]

[edit] Proposed changes

Main article: Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009 LA-ND

LD 1353 [6] "An Act Regarding Salary Information for Public Employees" sponsored by Senator Lisa Marraché seeks to forbid the release of salary information by name, and allow it only by position. [7]

[edit] Who May Request Maine Records?

Anyone may request public records in Maine. "[E]very person has the right to inspect and copy any public record" [8]

For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
  2. ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
  3. ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
  4. ↑ Maine Revised Statutes 401. Declaration of public policy
  5. ↑ Maine Revised Statutes 403. Meetings to be open to public
  6. ↑ Text & Status of LD 1353
  7. ↑ Kennebec Journal, "Bill hides names from list of state worker salaries", April 10, 2009
  8. ↑ Maine Revised Statutes, 408(1)
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