S.P. 30 - L.D. 44
An Act to Clarify Laws Relating to the Acceptance of Gifts of Intellectual and Other Property by the State
Emergency preamble. Whereas, Acts of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the Legislature has been offered the gift of the copyright in a video about the legislative process, which will be available immediately; and
Whereas, the Legislature must immediately accept the gift in order to be able to effectively administer and protect the copyright in the work; and
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,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 2 MRSA §5, as amended by PL 1981, c. 53, is further amended to read:
The Governor is authorized to accept in the name of the State any and all gifts, bequests, grants or conveyances to the State of Maine.
No other state official or any member of any other branch of State Government may accept any gift, grant or conveyance to the State or to that branch of government, with a value greater than $50, unless specifically authorized to do so by statute law or by clear implication of statute law, or unless empowered to do so by the Governor.
Sec. 2. 3 MRSA §162, sub-§16-A is enacted to read:
16-A. Intellectual property. To use, manage or administer on behalf of the Legislature any copyright held by the Legislature or license to use copyrighted materials and to manage the copying, use and dissemination of copies of copyrighted materials in which the Legislature holds the copyright or a license;
Sec. 3. Acceptance of copyright in video production on legislative process. The Legislature acknowledges and accepts the gift to the Legislature of the copyright in a video concerning the Maine legislative process titled "Person to Person: Legislating Maine" produced in 1998 by the Spring Point Media Center of Southern Maine Technical College.
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.
Effective January 14, 1999.
| Revisor of Statutes Homepage | Subject Index | Search | Laws of Maine | Maine Legislature |
