MaineMaine law protects personal details in wildlife and accident records
Maine's law protects covered personal information in wildlife and snowmobile and ATV accident records while allowing certain public disclosures and sharing with government agencies.
What it does
Maine's wildlife department keeps covered personal details confidential, with exceptions. Business contact details are not protected, and public license, permit, and registration data may include names and mailing addresses.
Snowmobile and ATV accident records protect identifying information and limit its use in court. Officials may still release certain accident details, names, addresses, and investigating officers' reports.
People requesting wildlife records or snowmobile and ATV accident data may pay reasonable fees. Copying charges are exempt from general public-records fee limits.
At reportable snowmobile and ATV crashes, knowingly withholding correct names and addresses or failing to produce vehicles when officers ask is criminal. Knowingly using covered registration numbers to identify or contact people, or sharing them, is also criminal.
Argument forKeeping sensitive details confidential could reduce misuse of personal information about people in wildlife records and snowmobile or ATV accident databases.
Argument againstAllowing copying charges outside general public-records fee limits could make wildlife records and accident reports harder for people to afford.
More detail
Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife must keep covered personal information confidential. The rules cover the department's records and databases, including licenses, permits, registrations, harvest records, and applications. The department may share protected information for law enforcement, specified accident-report purposes, fish and wildlife management, or with other state and federal agencies. People may receive their own protected information, directly or through an agent. Phone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses in business records are not protected under this rule. Public license, permit, and registration data may include names and mailing addresses. Protected information remains confidential until the records have existed for 100 years.
The Bureau of Warden Service must protect identifying accident data and may release data that does not identify people. These rules cover snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident reports and databases. Officials may release a database registration number only if the requester submits a sworn statement promising not to use it to identify or contact someone or share it. Accident reports, statements, and resulting decisions cannot be used in trials arising from the accident, except to prove compliance with the relevant reporting section. The Game Warden Colonel may release certain accident details and people's names and addresses. On written request, the Colonel may provide an investigating officer's report.
The wildlife department and Bureau of Warden Service may charge reasonable fees for covered records requests. Fees may cover individual wildlife records, whole or partial records databases, and snowmobile and ATV accident data. People requesting copies pay the charges. Copying charges are exempt from the limits in Maine's general public-records fee law.
The law treats specified knowing failures to answer accident investigators or produce vehicles, and specified knowing uses of registration numbers, as crimes. The accident offenses cover reportable snowmobile and ATV crashes. The number-use offenses cover numbers obtained under the respective snowmobile and ATV registration laws. An operator commits an offense by knowingly failing to give a correct name and address when an officer asks at the accident scene. An operator or owner commits an offense by knowingly failing to produce the vehicle when the investigating officer asks, or return it to the scene if it works. Knowingly using a covered registration number to identify or contact someone, or knowingly sharing it, is also an offense. These offenses are classified as Class E crimes.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed 1st Chamber
- Passed 2nd Chamber
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Apr 13Signed by Governor Janet MillsLatest
- Apr 9PASSED TO BE ENACTED, in concurrence.Passed 2nd Chamber
- Apr 8Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.
- Apr 8PASSED TO BE ENACTED.Became Law
- Apr 8Under suspension of the Rules, READ A SECOND TIME and PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED AS AMENDED by Committee Amendment "A" (H-986) as Amended by House Amendment "A" (H-994) thereto in concurrence.Minor
- Apr 8Committee Amendment "A" (H-986) as Amended by House Amendment "A" (H-994) thereto ADOPTEDMinor
- Apr 8House Amendment "A" (H-994) to Committee Amendment "A" (H-986) READ and ADOPTED
- Apr 8Committee Amendment "A" (H-976) READ
- Apr 8READ ONCEMinor
- Apr 8On motion by Senator BALDACCI of Penobscot the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report ACCEPTED.
- Apr 8Reports READ
- Apr 7Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.
- Apr 7The Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (H-986) as Amended by House Amendment "A" (H-994) thereto.Minor
- Apr 7Under suspension of the rules, the Bill was given its SECOND READING without REFERENCE to the Committee on Bills in the Second Reading.
- Apr 7Committee Amendment "A" (H-986) as Amended by House Amendment "A" (H-994) thereto was ADOPTED.Minor
- Apr 7On motion of Representative ROBERTS of South Berwick, House Amendment "A" (H-994) to Committee Amendment "A" (H-986) was READ and ADOPTED.
- Apr 7Committee Amendment "A" (H-986) was READ.
- Apr 7The Bill was READ ONCE.Minor
- Apr 7On motion of Representative ROBERTS of South Berwick, the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report was ACCEPTED.
- Apr 7Reports READ.
- Apr 6Reported Out - OTP-AM/ONTP
- Mar 23Voted - Divided Report
- Mar 23Work Session Held
- Mar 17On motion by Senator Baldacci of Penobscot REFERRED to Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in concurrence.
- Mar 17Report READ and ACCEPTED, in concurrence.
- Mar 17Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.
- Mar 17The Bill was REFERRED to the Committee on INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFEMinor
- Mar 17Report was READ and ACCEPTED.
- Mar 17Representative ROBERTS for the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pursuant to Resolve 2025, chapter 37, section 6 reports that the Bill be REFERRED to the Committee on INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE and printed pursuant to Joint Rule 218.Introduced
AI & PrivacyGovernment & EthicsCriminal Justice