An Act To Designate Certain Application and Licensing Information Provided to the State Harness Racing Commission as Confidential

Emergency preamble. Whereas,  acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and

Whereas,  materials included in an application for a commercial race track are of a proprietary nature; and

Whereas,  a designation of confidentiality expedites the submission of records and the application review process; and

Whereas,  timely decisions by the State Harness Racing Commission on applications for licensing commercial race tracks are beneficial to all sectors of the harness racing industry; and

Whereas,  in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Sec. 1. 8 MRSA §270-A  is enacted to read:

§ 270-A.  Confidentiality of records and information

For the purposes of Title 1, section 402, subsection 3, the types of records and information listed in section 1006, subsection 1 when collected by or provided to the commission are designated as confidential and may not be disclosed except as provided in section 1006, subsection 2. This section applies to information or records included in an application or materials required by the commission for issuance of a commercial track license, including records obtained or developed by the commission related to an applicant or licensee.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This bill is the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. It designates as confidential certain information provided to or developed by the State Harness Racing Commission as part of the application review process for issuing a commercial race track license. The bill cross-references the confidentiality provisions in the statutes governing the Gambling Control Board to specify the types of information and records that are confidential.