| | Emergency preamble. Whereas, Acts of the Legislature do not become | effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as | emergencies; and |
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| | Whereas, the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary, through its | subcommittee, has been reviewing information relating to abuse | claims by students of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf; | and |
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| | Whereas, much information, including records, relating to | previous investigations of abuse at the school is confidential; | and |
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| | Whereas, it is important that the investigative information be | reviewed while the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary is | developing a response to the claims of abuse; and |
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| | 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, |
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | Sec. 1. Access to information. Notwithstanding any Maine law | prohibiting or limiting access to information, including records, | described in this Act, the members of the Joint Standing | Committee on Judiciary, referred to in this Act as the | "committee," may review such information solely for the purposes | stated in this Act. |
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| | Sec. 2. Process. Review of the records must proceed as follows. |
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| | 1. The members of the committee may review the information | and may not disclose the contents except as provided in this Act. | The committee shall treat all the information as confidential, | unless otherwise instructed by the Attorney General or the court. |
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| | 2. The following persons have the same access to the | information, including records, subject to this Act as the | committee and have the right to be present at executive sessions | held by the committee: nonpartisan staff assigned to the | committee, the Office of the Attorney General and other persons | identified by the committee as being involved in previous | investigations. A person who has access to confidential | information and records under this Act may not make any | disclosure outside of the executive session. |
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