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An Act To Amend the Registered Maine Guide Background Check Requirement
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas,  current law subjects certain registered Maine guide applicants and registered Maine guides to duplicative background check requirements; and
Whereas,  multiple background checks are onerous for guide applicants and guides and are not necessary to ensure public safety; and
Whereas,  this legislation must take effect before the end of the 90-day period so that it is in effect for the spring and summer tourism season; 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,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §12853, sub-§4-A, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 204, §2, is amended to read:
 
4-A. Background check.   TheExcept as provided in subsection 4-B, the commissioner shall request a background check for each person who applies for a guide license under this section. The background check must include criminal history record information obtained from the Maine Criminal Justice Information System established in Title 16, section 631 and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
 
A. The criminal history record information must be obtained and used as follows.
 
(1) The criminal history record information obtained from the Maine Criminal Justice Information System must include a record of public criminal history record information as defined in Title 16, section 703, subsection 8.
 
(2) The criminal history record information obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation must include other state and national criminal history record information.
 
(3) An applicant who is the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record check may obtain a copy of the criminal history record check by following the procedures outlined in 28 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 16.32 and 16.33. An applicant who is the subject of a state criminal history record check may inspect and review the criminal history record information pursuant to Title 16, section 709.
 
(4) State and federal criminal history record information may be used by the department for the purpose of screening each applicant.
 
B. The Commissioner of Public Safety shall assess a fee set annually by the commissioner for each initial criminal history record check and a fee set annually by the commissioner for each renewal criminal history record check required by this section.
 
C. An applicant shall submit to having fingerprints taken. The State Police, upon payment of the fee required under paragraph B by the applicant, shall take or cause to be taken the applicant's fingerprints and shall forward the fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety, State Bureau of Identification so that the bureau can conduct state and national criminal history record checks. Except for the portion of the payment, if any, that constitutes the processing fee charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, all money received by the State Police for purposes of this paragraph must be paid over to the Treasurer of State. The money must be applied to the expenses of administration incurred by the Department of Public Safety.
 
D. Information obtained pursuant to this subsection is confidential. The results of background checks received by the department are for official use only and may not be disclosed to any other person or entity.
 
E. A person whose guide license has expired and who has not applied for renewal may request in writing that the Department of Public Safety, State Bureau of Identification remove the person's fingerprints from the bureau's fingerprint file. In response to a written request, the bureau shall remove the person's fingerprints from the fingerprint file and provide written confirmation of that removal to the requester. The Commissioner of Public Safety may, without notice to a person, remove fingerprints from the fingerprint file maintained by the bureau if the person has not held a guide license for 7 years or more.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §12853, sub-§4-B  is enacted to read:
 
4-B.  Exception to background check requirement.     The commissioner may not require a background check conducted pursuant to subsection 4-A of an applicant for a guide license that is within a classification adopted by rule pursuant to section 12851, subsection 5 if passage of a criminal history record check conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a prerequisite for any credential required to obtain that classification of guide license.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §12853, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2005, c. 12, Pt. III, §30, is further amended to read:
 
5. Fee.   The fee for a 3-year guide license is $81.
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §12853, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read:
 
6. Term of license.   A guide license entitles a person to act as a guide through December 31st of the 2nd4th complete year following the year of issuance.
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.
 
SUMMARY
This bill establishes an exception to the requirement that a registered Maine guide applicant and a Maine guide licensed by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife submit to a background check when the applicant or guide holds or seeks to hold a guide license of the type for which passage of a background check is a prerequisite for any credential required to obtain that type of guide license. The bill also extends the term of a guide license from up to 3 years to up to 5 years.