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An Act To Make Criminal Background Checks and Department of Health and Human Services Child Protective Substantiation Checks on Volunteers More Affordable
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4008, sub-§6, ¶G  is enacted to read:
 
G.  The department may not charge a fee in excess of $3 for a check to determine whether a person is named in the department’s records if the requestor is a nonprofit corporation and the person is a volunteer who may be working with a minor for the nonprofit corporation.
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §1541, sub-§6,  as amended by PL 2003, c. 451, Pt. S, §1, is further amended to read:
 
6. Establishment of fees.   The State Bureau of Identification may charge a fee to individuals, nongovernmental organizations, governmental organizations that are engaged in licensing and governmental organizations that are not a governmental entity of the State, a county of the State or a municipality of the State for each criminal history record check requested for noncriminal justice purposes pursuant to Title 16, chapter 3, subchapter 8. The requestor shall provide a name and date of birth for each record being requested. A request made pursuant to 5 United States Code, Section 9101 must be accompanied by fingerprints. A governmental organization that is engaged in licensing may charge an applicant for the cost of the criminal history record check. The commissioner shall establish a schedule of fees that covers the cost of providing these services. Revenues generated from these fees must be credited to the General Fund. The State Bureau of Identification may not charge a fee in excess of $3 for a criminal history record check of a person if the requestor is a nonprofit corporation and the person is a volunteer who may be working with a minor for the nonprofit corporation.
 
SUMMARY
This bill limits to $3 the fee that the Department of Health and Human Services may charge for a check of its records to see if a person is named as substantiated child abuser and that the Department of Public Safety, State Bureau of Identification may charge for a criminal history record check of a person if the requestor is a nonprofit corporation and the person is a volunteer who may be working with a minor for the nonprofit corporation.