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An Act To Enhance the Address Confidentiality Program Regarding Property Records
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §90-B, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2013, c. 478, §1, is further amended to read:
 
4. Use of designated address.   Upon demonstration of a program participant's certification in the program, state and local government agencies and the courts shall accept and use only the designated address as a program participant's address unless the secretary has determined that:approved an exemption pursuant to subsection 5-A.
 
A.  The agency has a bona fide statutory or administrative requirement for the use of the program participant's address or mailing address, such that it is unable to fulfill its statutory duties and obligations without the residential address; and
 
B.  The program participant's address or mailing address will be used only for those statutory and administrative purposes.
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §90-B, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2013, c. 478, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 3.  5 MRSA §90-B, sub-§5-A  is enacted to read:
 
5-A.  Disclosure to law enforcement and to other state and local agencies.     If the secretary determines it appropriate, the secretary may make a program participant's address or mailing address available for use by granting an exemption under the following circumstances:
 
A.  Upon request to the secretary by:
 
(1) A law enforcement agency in the manner provided for by rule; or
 
(2) A commissioner or other chief administrator of a state or local government agency or the commissioner's or administrator's designee in the manner provided for by rule; and
 
B.  Upon a finding by the secretary that:
 
(1) An agency under paragraph A has a bona fide statutory, administrative or law enforcement requirement for use of the program participant's address or mailing address such that the agency is unable to fulfill its statutory duties and obligations without the address or mailing address; and
 
(2) The program participant's address or mailing address will be used only for those statutory, administrative or law enforcement purposes and otherwise will be kept under seal and excluded from public inspection.
Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §90-B, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2011, c. 195, §2, is further amended to read:
 
7. Confidentiality.   The program participant's application, supporting materials and the program's state e-mail account are not a public record and must be kept confidential by the secretary. A program participant's address or mailing address in the possession of any state or local government agency or court is confidential and must be kept under seal by the agency or court and excluded from public inspection.
Sec. 5. 33 MRSA §651-B, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 626, §1, is amended to read:
 
2. Personal information on registry's website.   If a document that includes an individual's personal information is recorded with a register of deeds and is available on the registry's publicly accessible website, the individual may request that the register of deeds redact that personal information from the record available on the website. The register shall establish a procedure by which individuals make such requests at no fee to the requesting individual. The register shall comply with an individual's request to redact personal information. A participant in the Address Confidentiality Program administered by the Secretary of State pursuant to Title 5, section 90-B may request that the register redact the participant's name from the record on the website and substitute the participant's Address Confidentiality Program identification number issued by the Secretary of State. The register shall comply with the individual's request, subject to verification by the Secretary of State that the individual is certified as a program participant. The Secretary of State shall notify the register upon withdrawal or cancellation of the program participant's certification.
Sec. 6.  36 MRSA §553  is amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:
For purposes of this section, if the owner or person in possession is an individual participant in the Address Confidentiality Program administered by the Secretary of State pursuant to Title 5, section 90-B, that individual may request that the municipal assessor assess the property to the owner or person in possession using the participant's Address Confidentiality Program identification number issued by the Secretary of State in lieu of the individual's name. The request must be granted upon verification by the Secretary of State that the individual is certified as a program participant. The Secretary of State shall notify the municipal assessor upon withdrawal or cancellation of the program participant's certification.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Address Confidentiality Program statute to make clear that the protected address of a certified program participant in the possession of a state or local government agency or court that has been authorized to use it for bona fide statutory, administrative or law enforcement purposes otherwise remains confidential and must be kept under seal and excluded from inspection by the public.
The bill amends the laws governing the registry of deeds and assessment of property taxes to provide address confidentiality protection to participants in the program upon request. In the registry of deeds, a program participant's Address Confidentiality Program identification number rather than name must be used in the record on the registry's publicly accessible website. A municipal assessor must include the identification number rather than the program participant's name in the assessment.