HP1096
LD 1554
Second Regular Session - 124th Maine Legislature
C "A", Filing Number H-669, Sponsored by
Text: MS-Word, RTF or PDF
LR 2138
Item 2
Bill Tracking Chamber Status

Amend the bill in section 1 in §651 by striking out all of the 4th and 5th indented paragraphs and inserting the following:

Title 1, chapter 13 does not apply to fees for copying records maintained under this chapter.

Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 2 and 3 and inserting the following:

Sec. 2. 33 MRSA §751, sub-§14,  as amended by PL 1991, c. 497, §8, is further amended to read:

14. Abstracts and copies.   Making abstracts and copies from the records, a reasonable fee as determined by the county commissioners for each category of abstracts and copies, such as paper copies, attested copies, copies obtained online and bulk transfers of copies. In setting a reasonable fee for each category of abstracts and copies, the commissioners shall consider several factors, which may include, but are not limited to: the cost of depleted supplies; records storage media costs; actual mailing and alternative delivery costs or other transmitting costs; amortized infrastructure costs; any direct equipment operating and maintenance costs; costs associated with media processing time; personnel costs, including actual costs paid to private contractors for copying services; contract and contractor costs for database maintenance and for online provision and bulk transfer of copies in a manner that protects the security and integrity of registry documents; and a reasonable rate for the time a computer server is dedicated to fulfilling the request; and’

summary

This amendment limits the exemption from the freedom of access laws so that the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 33, chapter 11 prevails for the purpose of setting fees for copying registry documents. It removes the increase in recording fees from the bill. The amendment clarifies that copying fees can be different depending on the type of document being copied. It also increases the factors that can be used to determine a reasonable fee for copying registry documents to include contract and contractor costs for database maintenance and for online provision and bulk transfer of copies in a manner that protects the security and integrity of registry documents.


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