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An Act To Protect Certain Information under the Maine Human Rights Act
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §4612, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2009, c. 235, §2, is further amended to read:
 
B. The commission or its delegated commissioner or investigator shall conduct such preliminary investigation as it determines necessary to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that unlawful discrimination has occurred. In conducting an investigation, the commission, or its designated representative, must have access at all reasonable times to premises, records, documents, individuals and other evidence or possible sources of evidence and may examine, record and copy those materials and take and record the testimony or statements of such persons as are reasonably necessary for the furtherance of the investigation. The commission may issue subpoenas to compel access to or production of those materials or the appearance of those persons, subject to section 4566, subsections 4-A and 4-B, and may serve interrogatories on a respondent to the same extent as interrogatories served in aid of a civil action in the Superior Court. The commission may administer oaths. The complaint and evidence collected during the investigation of the complaint, other than data identifying persons not parties to the complaintdesignated confidential under subsection 5, is a matter of public record at the conclusion of the investigation of the complaint prior to a determination by the commission. An investigation is concluded upon issuance of a letter of dismissal or upon listing of the complaint on a published commission meeting agenda, whichever first occurs. Prior to the conclusion of an investigation, all information possessed by the commission relating to the investigation is confidential and may not be disclosed, except that the commission and its employees have discretion to disclose such information as is reasonably necessary to further the investigation. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the complaint and evidence collected during the investigation of the complaint may be used as evidence in any subsequent proceeding, civil or criminal. The commission must conclude an investigation under this paragraph within 2 years after the complaint is filed with the commission.
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §4612, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2011, c. 613, §20 and affected by §29, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
 
5.  Confidentiality.     This subsection governs the confidentiality of certain information.
 
A.  Records of the commission that are open to the public under Title 1, chapter 13 must be kept in such a manner as to ensure that:
 
(1) Information identifying a person who is not a party to a complaint under this chapter as a complainant or a respondent is not reflected in the record; and
 
(2) Medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding a complainant's disability is not reflected in the record.
 
B.  Information identifying a minor is confidential and records of the commission that are open to the public under Title 1, chapter 13 must be kept in such a manner as to ensure that information identifying a minor is not reflected in the record.
 
C.  Medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding an individual’s disability are confidential and may not be released without the written authorization of the individual who is the subject of the medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding the disability, except that:
 
(1) During an investigation conducted pursuant to subsection 1, the commission or its delegated commissioner or investigator may request and is entitled to receive access to the complainant’s medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding any disability experienced by the complainant;
 
(2) During an investigation conducted pursuant to subsection 1, medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding an individual’s disability that are used by an investigator must be provided to the commission or its delegated commissioner or investigator with the names redacted of individuals who are not parties to the complaint, except that, upon request, the commission or its delegated commissioner or investigator and the complainant may receive unredacted records;
 
(3) During an investigation conducted pursuant to subsection 1, if the case relates to the complainant’s medical diagnoses or disability, the respondent is entitled to receive unredacted copies of the complainant’s medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding any disability experienced by the complainant, if:
 
(a) The complainant authorizes that disclosure to the respondent by signing the medical release form provided by the commission; and
 
(b) The respondent signs the nondisclosure agreement provided by the commission;
 
(4) Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to limit the ability of the commission during the pendency of an investigation or during its deliberations on a complaint at a public hearing to consider or discuss a complainant’s medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding any disability experienced by the complainant if that information is relevant to consideration of and deliberation on the complaint; and
 
(5) The commission may provide to the parties to a complaint and their counsel an unredacted copy of an investigator’s report concerning that complaint.
 
Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to limit the ability of a complainant or other individual to provide written authorization to disclose the complainant's or the individual's own medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding the complainant's or the individual's disability.
 
SUMMARY
This bill protects from public disclosure information in the records of the Maine Human Rights Commission that identifies minors. It also designates as confidential medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding an individual’s disability contained in the commission's records. The bill specifies that medical records, medical diagnoses, medical information and information regarding an individual’s disability may not be disclosed without the written authorization of the individual who is the subject of the medical records or medical diagnoses and provides specific exceptions designed to authorize disclosure necessary to further investigation of and deliberation on complaints.