Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §709, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1979, c. 701, §11, is further amended to read:

4. Intercept. "Intercept" means to hear, record or aid another to hear or record the contents of any a wire or oral communication through the use of any an intercepting device by any a person other than:

A. The sender or receiver of that communication, except that if the receiver is a law enforcement officer who is not performing duties undercover and the sender knows that the receiver is a law enforcement officer and the sender is under investigation, both the sender and the receiver must agree to the interception of their communication;

B. A person within the range of normal unaided hearing or subnormal hearing corrected to not better than normal; or

C. A person given prior authority by the sender or receiver, except that if the receiver is a law enforcement officer who is not performing duties undercover and the sender knows that the receiver is a law enforcement officer and the sender is under investigation, that person must be given prior authority by both the sender and the receiver.

SUMMARY

This bill amends the law regarding interception of wire and oral communications by requiring both a law enforcement officer and the person with whether the law enforcement officer is communicating to agree to the recording of their communication. Both the law enforcement officer and the other person also have to agree to allow another party to listen to their recorded communication. These requirements do not apply when the law enforcement officer is working undercover.