Maine Code § 25-1541

Commanding officer
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this section
1. Appointment. The Chief of the State Police shall appoint a person who has knowledge of the
various standard identification systems and Maine court procedure to be commanding officer of the
State Bureau of Identification, heretofore established within the Bureau of State Police.
[PL 1975, c. 763, §4 (NEW).]
2. Personnel. The Chief of the State Police may delegate members of the State Police to serve in
the State Bureau of Identification upon request of the commanding officer. The commanding officer
may hire civilian personnel, subject to the Civil Service Law and the approval of the Chief of the State
Police, as the commanding officer considers necessary.
[RR 2023, c. 1, Pt. C, §44 (COR).]
3. Cooperation with other bureaus. The commanding officer shall cooperate with similar
bureaus in other states and with the national bureau in the Department of Justice in Washington, D. C.
and he shall develop and carry on an interstate, national and international system of identification.
A. Notwithstanding chapter 199, the commanding officer shall ensure that the fingerprints and
descriptive information of any person that have been submitted to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for the purpose of conducting a criminal history record check for noncriminal justice
purposes through the interstate identification index system, as defined in section 1703, subsection
12, are not retained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are used solely for the purpose of
providing a response to the record check and are not disseminated prior to destruction. The
commanding officer shall immediately report any retention or dissemination by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation of the fingerprints or descriptive information of any person to the joint standing
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice matters, and upon the receipt
of such a report, that committee shall meet to consider renunciation, pursuant to section 1710, of
the State's participation in the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact, chapter 199. [PL
2001, c. 372, §1 (NEW).]
B. Notwithstanding chapter 199, the fingerprints and descriptive information of any person that
have been submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of conducting a criminal
history record check for noncriminal justice purposes through the interstate identification index
system, as defined in section 1703, subsection 12, are not a criminal history record, as defined by
section 1703, subsection 5, or criminal history record information, as defined by Title 16, section
703, subsection 3, and such submittal is not an activity related to criminal justice, as defined by
section 1703, subsection 6, or the administration of criminal justice, as defined by Title 16, section
703, subsection 1. [PL 2013, c. 267, Pt. B, §21 (AMD).]
C. The commanding officer shall report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Instant
Criminal Background Check System a court's finding, upon the commanding officer's receipt of an
abstract from a court that a person has been:
(1) Committed involuntarily to a hospital pursuant to an order of the District Court under Title
34-B, section 3864 because the person was found to present a likelihood of serious harm, as
defined under Title 34-B, section 3801, subsection 4-A, paragraphs A to D;
(2) Found not criminally responsible by reason of insanity with respect to a criminal charge;
or
(3) Found not competent to stand trial with respect to a criminal charge.

The commanding officer may adopt rules to implement the requirements of this paragraph. Rules
adopted pursuant to this paragraph are routine technical rules, as defined in Title 5, chapter 375,
subchapter 2-A. [PL 2009, c. 651, §2 (AMD).]
[PL 2013, c. 267, Pt. B, §21 (AMD).]
4. Rules and regulations. The commanding officer shall make and forward to all persons charged
with any duty or responsibility under this section and sections 1542-A, 1544, 1547 and 1549 rules,
regulations and forms for the taking, filing, preserving and distributing of fingerprints and other juvenile
crime and criminal history record information as provided in this chapter. Before becoming effective,
such rules, regulations and forms are to be approved by the Attorney General.
[PL 1999, c. 260, Pt. B, §1 (AMD); PL 1999, c. 260, Pt. B, §18 (AFF).]
4-A. Responsibility for the collection and maintenance of criminal history record information
and juvenile crime information. The commanding officer shall collect and maintain:
A. Fingerprints and other criminal history record information pertinent to the identification of
individuals who have been arrested as fugitives from justice or who have been arrested or charged
with any criminal offense under the laws of this State except a violation of Title 12 or 29-A that is
a Class D or E crime other than an alcohol-related or drug-related offense. For purposes of this
paragraph, an "alcohol-related or drug-related offense" is a Class D crime that involves hunting
while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or with an excessive alcohol level or the
operation or attempted operation of a motorcraft, all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile or motor vehicle
while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or with an excessive alcohol level. The
commanding officer may collect and maintain fingerprints and other criminal history record
information that may be related to other criminal offenses or to the performance of the commanding
officer's obligations under state laws and under agreements with agencies of the United States or
any other jurisdiction; and [PL 2009, c. 447, §23 (AMD).]
B. Fingerprints and other juvenile crime information pertinent to the identification of individuals
who have been taken into custody for juvenile crimes under a uniform interstate compact on
juveniles or who have been arrested or charged with juvenile crimes under the laws of this State.
The commanding officer may collect and maintain fingerprints and other juvenile crime
information that may be related to other juvenile crimes or to the performance of the commanding
officer's obligations under state laws and under agreements with agencies of the United States or
any other jurisdiction. [PL 1999, c. 260, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1999, c. 260, Pt. B, §18 (AFF).]
For purposes of this subsection, "laws of this State" includes Passamaquoddy tribal law as described in
Title 30, section 6209-A, subsections 1-A and 2 and Penobscot tribal law as described in Title 30,
section 6209-B, subsections 1-A and 2.
[PL 2019, c. 621, Pt. E, §2 (AMD).]
5. Apparatus and materials. The Chief of the State Police shall supply such bureau with the
necessary apparatus and materials for collecting, filing, preserving and distributing criminal history
record information.
[PL 1975, c. 763, §4 (NEW).]
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 7. 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. One dollar of each fee generated under this

subsection must be deposited to the Other Special Revenue Funds account within the Bureau of State
Police to offset the cost of maintenance and replacement of both hardware and software associated with
the criminal history record check system. The remaining revenues generated from these fees must be
credited to the General Fund.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the full fee charged for fingerprint-supported criminal
history record checks fees as collected pursuant to Title 20-A, section 6103, subsection 3-A must be
deposited in the State Police program, Other Special Revenue Funds account for the purpose of funding
the costs of the Department of Public Safety to administer the criminal history record check program.
Notwithstanding any provision of law, all fees associated with any criminal history record check
requirements established after July 1, 2015 must be deposited in a dedicated revenue account for the
purposes of paying costs incurred by the Department of Public Safety, State Bureau of Identification to
conduct such checks.
[PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. SSS, §4 (AMD).]
7. Fees to obtain fingerprints for noncriminal justice background checks. Unless otherwise
provided by law, an applicant shall pay a one-time processing fee of $25 to the Department of Public
Safety to offset the expenses incurred by the department to obtain fingerprints to be used for conducting
state and national criminal history record checks for noncriminal justice purposes when the State
Bureau of Identification is required to retain the fingerprints.
[PL 1999, c. 110, §3 (NEW).]
8. Carrying balance. Any unencumbered balance from funds appropriated from the General Fund
to accomplish the purpose of Title 20-A, section 6103 may not lapse but must be carried forward to be
used for the same purpose.
[PL 1999, c. 791, §6 (NEW).]
9. Compact council rules. The commanding officer shall cause a copy of any rule or procedure
adopted by the compact council established under section 1707 that governs the use of the interstate
identification index system, as defined in section 1703, subsection 12, to be provided to the joint
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice matters.
[PL 2001, c. 372, §2 (NEW).]

‹ Prev All Maine sections Next ›


Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.