Sen. Hickman introduces bill to reaffirm powers of the Legislature to perform its oversight duty through access to confidential records
AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, Senator Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, introduced a bill to reaffirm the Government Oversight Committee’s ability to access confidential records necessary in the oversight and investigation processes that it is charged to perform. LD 127, “An Act to Strengthen Legislative Oversight of Government Agencies and Programs by Reaffirming the Legislature’s Access to Confidential Records,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
“This bill is about power; our power as elected members of the legislative branch of government, a separate but co-equal branch of government as provided by the Constitution of the State of Maine,” said Sen. Hickman. “The legislative branch has a responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch, and this bill is vital for its ability to do so. All of us have been elected and entrusted by our constituents to ensure that the government works for the people. However, a recent Law Court ruling has severely restricted our ability, for the time being, anyway, to do just that. LD 127 seeks to reaffirm and restore the Committee’s access to confidential records that are required in specific oversight investigations, including cases in which the safety and welfare of our most vulnerable children is on the line.”
“This bill will restore the ability of the Government Oversight Committee to perform its investigative duties as enacted by the people of the State of Maine from its inception. These are the duties for which our constituents gave us their support with their votes and which are entrusted to us by the Presiding Officers of the Maine Legislature. Let us restore our ability to perform these duties while wielding judiciously and without fear or favor the power vested in us by the Constitution of the State of Maine,” Sen. Hickman continued.
LD 127 explicitly authorizes members of the Government Oversight Committee to receive information and records that are confidential. It provides that these records and this information will not be made accessible to the public.
Sen. Hickman also presented a sponsor amendment that enacts guidelines around committee members’ use of confidential information, including the creation of a code of ethics each legislative session. The amendment allows the committee to subpoena records used by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) in their investigations in order to confirm their findings. This provision relates specifically to case reports from the Child Welfare Ombudsman, who was recently prohibited from explaining to the Committee why she disagrees with parts of a recent report from OPEGA due to confidentiality restrictions. The amendment further provides for a family member to invite their legislator to child protection court proceedings for moral support, regardless of whether the public is permitted to view the proceedings.
LD 127 has been introduced as emergency legislation, which means, if passed, it will take effect immediately upon being signed by the governor.
Four of the founding members of the Government Oversight Committee, former senators David Trahan, Tom Saviello and Bill Diamond, and former representative and current State Auditor, Matt Dunlap, also testified in support of this bill.
In his testimony in support of the bill, former representative and current State Auditor, Matt Dunlap, said, “The Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling in December that while the Office of Program Evaluation and Governmental Accountability may access certain confidential records, but that the Government Oversight Committee may not, has created a gap in information and understanding that this bill is written to address.”
In his response to a question about access to confidential information, former member of the Government Oversight Committee Tom Saviello said, “Some of the fears that people had, that we might abuse it or misuse it. The Committee has great integrity, … and they would not do that.”
In his testimony in support of the bill, former senator Bill Diamond of Windham presented information about various cases that dealt with children killed in DHHS custody. “If the committee that is investigating had that information, it might have made all the difference in the world” in some child protection cases, Diamond explained. “The problem was that they couldn’t get the critical information on what went wrong within that department that enabled these children to be killed. … If they can’t investigate, if they can’t see the critical information, how do they prevent that from happening before the two years it takes to get to trial?”
In his testimony in support of the bill, former senator David Trahan said, “Access to confidentiality was a major part of the delays in the creation of the Agency as well as the Oversight Committee, but it was always the intent to get to the most accurate information possible… To be an equal branch of government, and in order to do the work that you do as a Legislature, you have to have access to this information.”
LD 127 faces further action in the Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Hickman represents Maine Senate District 14, which includes Chelsea, Farmingdale, Gardiner, Hallowell, Manchester, Monmouth, Pittston, Randolph, Readfield, Wayne, West Gardiner and Winthrop.
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