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An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Right To Know Advisory Committee
Mandate preamble.  This measure requires one or more local units of government to expand or modify activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenues but does not provide funding for at least 90% of those expenditures. Pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 21, 2/3 of all of the members elected to each House have determined it necessary to enact this measure.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  1 MRSA §412  is enacted to read:
§ 412. Public records and proceedings training for certain elected officials
 
1.  Training required.   Beginning July 1, 2008, an elected official subject to this section shall complete a course of training on the requirements of this chapter relating to public records and proceedings. The official shall complete the training not later than the 120th day after the date the elected official takes the oath of office to assume the person's duties as an elected official. For elected officials subject to this section serving in office on July 1, 2008, the training required by this section must be completed by November 1, 2008.
 
2.  Approval by advisory committee; minimum requirements.   The training course under subsection 1 must be approved by the advisory committee. The training must be designed to be completed by an official in less than 2 hours. At a minimum, the training must include instruction in:
 
A.  The general legal requirements of this chapter regarding public records and public proceedings;
 
B.  Procedures and requirements regarding complying with a request for a public record under this chapter; and
 
C.  Penalties and other consequences for failure to comply with this chapter.
 
3.  Certification of completion.   Upon completion of the training course under subsection 1, the elected official shall send a written or an electronic notification to the advisory committee attesting to the fact that the training has been completed. The advisory committee shall maintain a record of those elected officials who have completed the training required by this section and make that record available to the public in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
 
4.  Application.   This section applies to:
 
A.  The Governor;
 
B.  The Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State and State Auditor;
 
C.  Members of the Legislature; and
 
D.  An elected official of a county, municipality, school district or school board or any regional or other political subdivision who, as part of the duties of the office, exercises executive or legislative powers.
 
Effective September 20, 2007