Maine Freedom of Access Act
From Sunshine Review
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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] Recent news
[edit] Transparency blocking
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More transparency blocking news from across the country.
[edit] Litigation
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More FOIA litigation news from across the country.
[edit] Legislation
- Bill would stop public disclosure of state workers' salaries
- Public Salaries Website Causes Privacy Dispute
- Bill hides names from list of state worker salaries
More FOIA legislation news from across the country.
[edit] Sunshine Guardians
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Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.
[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] Features of the law
"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] What records are covered?
Public records include all documents and records both in print and aural that are held by a public body and relate to government business. Exceptions to this include:
- Confidential Records, which include
- Legislative papers and reports until the legislature deems them fit to circulate (402-3-C)
- Bargaining information (402-3-D)
- Memorandum and office papers for State universities and colleges (402-3-E)
- Medical records (402-3-H)
- Juvenile records (402-3-J)
- Security information that protects individuals, infrastructure and telecommunications networks (402-3-L and M)
- Social Security numbers and personal contact information (402-3-N and O)
[edit] What agencies are covered?
The Maine statute includes all government bodies at both the state and local levels.
[edit] Who may request records?
Anyone may request public records in Maine. "[E]very person has the right to inspect and copy any public record" [6]
[edit] Must a purpose be stated?
The law does not require a statement of purpose.
[edit] How can records be used?
The law does not restrict the use of public records.
[edit] Time allowed for response
- See also: Request response times by state.
The law does not specify a time limit with regard to positive request responses. However, a rejection must occur within 5 business days of the receipt of the request. [7]
[edit] Fees for records
The Maine FAA allows for the charging of fees for both copying and duplication as well as staff time involved in the search not to exceed $10 an hour and only after the first hour of searching. Any costs estimated over $100 must be paid in advance. Fees may be waived if the request is made on behalf of the public good or if the person requesting lacks the money to pay the fees. [8]
[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."[9]
[edit] Proposed changes
- Main article: Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009 LA-ND
LD 1353 [10] "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. [11]
[edit] Relevant legal cases
- See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
Here is a list of lawsuits in Maine. For more information go the page or go to Maine sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon to the right of the Year heading)
We do not currently have any pages on litigation in Maine. To add some see our Sunshine litigation project page.
[edit] Notable requests
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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