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An Act To Allow Limited Information Sharing in Domestic Violence Cases
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 16 MRSA §614, sub-§3, ¶C, as amended by PL 2003, c. 402, §1, is further amended to read:
 
C. An accused person or that person's agent or attorney if authorized by:
 
(1) The district attorney for the district in which that accused person is to be tried;
 
(2) A rule or ruling of a court of this State or of the United States; or
 
(3) The Attorney General; or
Sec. 2. 16 MRSA §614, sub-§3, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 402, §2, is amended to read:
 
D. A victim or victim's agent or attorney, subject to reasonable limitations to protect the interest described in subsection 1.; or
Sec. 3.  16 MRSA §614, sub-§3, ¶E  is enacted to read:
 
E.  A person with a specific agreement with a criminal justice agency to provide services required for the administration of criminal justice. The agreement must specifically authorize access to information, limit the use of the information to purposes for which it is given, ensure security and confidentiality of the information consistent with this subchapter and provide sanctions for violations. An agreement is not effective until approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety.
 
SUMMARY
The purpose of this bill is to allow law enforcement agencies to share investigative reports with family violence projects and other providers of services to victims. This bill amends the criminal history record information laws to provide an exception to the prohibition on the dissemination of intelligence and investigative information consistent with the existing law concerning the dissemination of nonconviction information. This bill allows a criminal justice agency to share intelligence and investigative information subject to a specific agreement that provides for access to the information, limits the use of the information to the purposes for which it is given, ensures security and confidentiality of the information and provides sanctions for violations. This bill requires that the agreement must be approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety to avoid problems with federal limitations on the sharing of certain information.