State Senate: Democratic majority
State House: Democratic majority
Governor: Janet Mills (D)
Attorney General: Aaron Frey (D)
Summary:
Small and rural Maine has not taken up as many speech-related bills as other states, but it has been nonetheless productive, passing a new law to strengthen free speech for private-sector employees. Maine is also one of the most recent states to pass the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, which protects the public’s ability to engage in activities protected by the First Amendment without legal retaliation.
Key Policymakers:
Legislative Activity:
LD 1640 (2021): The Campus Free Speech and Free Press Act. Applies to state public institutions of higher education, namely, the Maine Community College System, the University of Maine System and the Maine Maritime Academy. It establishes the right to use the campus of these institutions for free speech activities and prohibits the limitation of expression to so-called free speech zones. It also protects student journalists and their student media advisors, although it does not authorize or protect expression by a student journalist that violates federal or state law. It creates a cause of action against a public institution of higher education and its agents, to be filed by the Attorney General or any aggrieved person, for injunctive relief as well as damages. Introduced by Sen. Lisa Keim [R] and Rep. John Andrews [R] in May 2021. Passed both chambers but did not become law.
LD 1609 (2021): Stop Social Media Censorship Act. This bill creates a private right of action for users of social media websites whose religious or political speech has been subject to deletion, censorship or other disfavor by the social media website. The bill also provides that the Attorney General may bring a civil action on behalf of a social media website user who resides in this State and whose religious or political speech has been censored by the social media website and makes violation an unfair and deceptive trade practice. Introduced by Rep. Heidi Sampson [R], Rep. Gary Drinkwater [R], Sen. Lisa Keim [R], and Sen. David Miramant [D] in April 2021 but failed in both chambers.
LD 870 (Became Law): Enacting the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act. This Act adopts the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act authored by the Uniform Law Commission. The Uniform Law Commission provides states with non-partisan legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law. The Act was adopted by the Uniform Law Commission in October 2020. The Act protects the public’s right to engage in activities protected by the First Amendment without abusive, expensive legal retaliation. Specifically, the Act combats the problem of strategic lawsuits against public participation, also called “SLAPPs.” A SLAPP may come in the form of a defamation, invasion of privacy, nuisance, or other claim, but its real goal is to entangle the defendant of a SLAPP in expensive litigation and stifle the ability to engage in constitutionally protected activities. Bipartisan bill introduced by Sen. Michael Tipping [D] and Rep. David Boyer [R] in February 2023. Passed both chambers with unrecorded votes in March 2024 and became law in April without the governor’s signature.
LD 1756 (Signed into Law): An Act to Protect Employee Freedom of Speech. This bill prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining or otherwise penalizing or threatening to discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize or taking any adverse employment action against an employee because the employee declines to attend or participate in an employer-sponsored meeting or declines to receive or listen to a communication from the employer if the meeting or communication is to communicate the opinion of the employer about religious or political matters. The bill provides an exemption for a religious employer. A Democrat-only bill introduced by Sen. Matthea Larsen Daughtry [D] in April 2023, passed both chambers largely along partisan lines and was signed by the governor in July 2023.
Legal Actions:
Attorney General Aaron M. Frey Announces Multistate Lawsuit against Meta for Social Media Harms to Children. On October 24, 2023, AG Frey joined 42 attorneys general throughout the country suing Meta in federal and state courts alleging that the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and its other social media platforms that purposefully addict children and teens. At the same time, Meta falsely assured the public that these features are safe and suitable for young users. In parallel complaints filed in state courts, eight states have made similar allegations.
The multistate coalition that brought this complaint is also investigating TikTok’s conduct on a similar set of concerns. That investigation remains ongoing, and states have pushed for adequate disclosure of information and documents in litigation related to TikTok’s failure to provide adequate discovery in response to requests by the Tennessee Attorney General’s office. States joining the federal lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Florida is filing its own federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Filing lawsuits in their own state courts are the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont.
